CATHEDRAL

The Talin Cathedral rises a little away from the village, next to a domed chapel, in a kind of meadow that does not really do honour to this superb religious building, one of the largest in Armenia, and also one of the oldest, since its foundation, in 60, dates back to the Kamsarakan princes, that is to say before the Arab conquest. It deserves more care and full restoration. It suffered from the Turkish campaign and the 1840 earthquake, and is still waiting for the completion of slow restoration work. The dome has been raised, as well as the chevet and side walls built of orange and grey stones, elegantly worked. The three rounded apses are noteworthy, with elegant arcades and windows enhanced by arches decorated with vegetal and geometric motifs. The front facade, pierced with bull's-eye windows and hemmed with arcatures, is unfortunately ruined. The interior space is also impressive, articulated around the four powerful free pillars supporting the central dome. The walls were covered with frescoes, of which only fragments remain in the apse. This religious complex is located in the upper part of the city (Vérin Talin).

In the lower part of the locality, Nerkevi Talin, consisting of a few peasant houses with mud walls, the remains of a medieval fortress can be seen; the blood-red tufa walls, carved in places with crosses and pierced with a pointed bay, are punctuated by a square corner tower and a rounded tower.