The Cathedral of Talin is the reason most travellers stop in this otherwise unremarkable provincial town — a 7th-century domed basilica whose walls still stand to roof height despite multiple earthquakes (the dome itself collapsed in 1840). The plan is unusual: a tetraconch (four-apse) interior wrapped inside a rectangular outer wall, with the central square once covered by a dome on squinches. The carving on the surviving capitals and window mouldings is some of the finest of the early-medieval Armenian period.
The setting is part of the appeal. The cathedral stands in the middle of a working cemetery on the edge of town — vakhachkars (carved cross-stones) and modern graves lap up against the walls. Wander the exterior first, then duck inside. The smaller 7th-century church of St Astvatsatsin sits a hundred metres away.