Sisian

Sisian

Geographical Position

Sisian is a city in Armenia in the Syunik Province. It is located on both banks of the Vorotan River, 6 km south of the Yerevan – Meghri highway, 217 km from Yerevan, and 115 km from Kapan. The city's population is 16,823 people. The temperature in Sisian varies depending on season. The weather is characterized with cold winters and cool summers. The average temperature in January is -5°C and +28 °C in July.

General Description

Sisian is a city in Southern Armenia with long, cold winters. It is the place of a few of Armenia's more diverse tourist attractions, among them being the countless petroglyphs atop Mt. Ughtasar, and the 'Armenian Stonehenge' of Zorats Karer. The bitter winter also means a cool summer, which is a nice respite from the heat of Yerevan. The final attraction of Sisian is the availability of cheap and comfortable accommodation.

The more attractive palace in Sisan is “Zorats Karer”, which is also called Karahunj, or Carahunge. It is an archaeological site. The site is located on a rocky promontory near Sisian. About 223 large stone tombs are found in the area.

Zorats Karer was mainly a necropolis from the Middle Bronze Age to the Iron Age. The Munich archaeologists add that it may have served as a place of refuge in times of war, possibly in the Hellenistic -Roman period (c. 300 BC - 300 AD). A wall of rocks and compacted soil (loam) was built around the site with vertical rocks plugged into it for reinforcement. Today, only these upright rocks remain. About 84 of the stones feature a circular hole, although only about 50 of the stones survive. In 2004, the site was officially named the Karahunj (Carahunge) Observatory.

In September 2010, Oxford Astrophysicist Mihran Vardanyan led the Oxford University Royal Geographical Society joint Expedition Stars & Stones 2010, to check the previous results as well as to produce modern 3D maps and an archeological survey of the site.

In the nearby city of Sisian, there is a small museum dedicated to findings in the area, including Paleolithic petroglyphs found on mountain tops in the area, and grave artifacts from the Bronze Age.  Over 200 shaft graves were discovered.

Sisian has many places worth visiting and it’s an extremely interesting place for tourists and archeologists.

Cultural and historical places are:

There are a number of places to stay in Sisian. A well-known hotel in this area is the The Basen Hotel. The Basen Hotel has a very cozy restaurant. The food is delicious and reasonably priced. Other hotels are thw Zorats Karer Hotel and the Sisian Hotel.