Meghri

Southern Armenian border town above the Arax River, with medieval churches and Middle Eastern texture.

Meghri is Armenia's southernmost town, perched above the Arax River where it forms the border with Iran. The place has a completely different feel from the rest of the country — the narrow, winding alleys, the dusty craggy peaks, the sand-brown buildings and medieval churches all carry a Middle Eastern character that Soviet planning was never quite able to erase.

The old town preserves three Armenian churches — Surb Astvatsatsin and Surb Hovhannes the most notable — a ruined fortress on the hillside, and patches of pre-Soviet architecture unusual for this part of the Caucasus. It sits on the main road between Armenia and Iran and has long been a stop for Iranian truckers, giving it a quietly cosmopolitan edge for such a small place. Travelers passing through on their way between Yerevan and Tabriz will find it worth a few hours on foot.

Guide

Eating Out

Meghri has only a handful of restaurants, mostly simple kebab houses around the small bazaar in the lower town. Standard Armenian fare — khorovats (grilled meat), lavash, dolma, soups, salads of fresh tomato and cucumber. Prices are very cheap by Armenian standards.

The town is famous in Armenia for its orchards: apricots, pomegranates, figs, mulberries. In late summer and autumn, roadside stalls sell the fresh fruit and the dried apricots and walnuts for which Syunik province is known. The local bekmes (mulberry molasses) and pomegranate wine are worth trying.

Guide

Getting There

Meghri is at the extreme southern tip of Armenia, on the main road between Yerevan and the Iranian border. The drive from Yerevan takes about eight hours along the M-2 highway, much of it spectacular as the road climbs over high passes and drops through deep canyons in southern Syunik. Minibuses (marshrutkas) run daily between Yerevan and Meghri; they are cheap but uncomfortable for the long ride.

The Agarak border crossing into Iran is about 10 km further south. Foreign travellers heading into Iran by land usually have their visa already arranged; a Persian-speaking taxi driver can often be hired in Meghri for the short ride to the border. Within Meghri itself everything is walkable; for the surrounding villages and the Tatev road north, you need either a hired car or local minibuses.

Guide

Things to Do

Meghri is small and most of what you came for can be done in a long afternoon. The three Armenian churches in the upper town, a ramble through the narrow alleys of the old quarter, the ruined fortress on the hillside, and — if you have time — a short drive out into the surrounding desert mountains. The atmosphere here is the main attraction: sun-baked stone, the call to prayer carrying across the river from the Iranian side, the smell of orchards.