Zoravan ( hy, Զորավան; formerly, Ghargavank and Pokravan; historically and prior to 1972–80, Khacho) is a village situated along the lower slopes of Mount Ara in the

Kotayk Province Kotayk ( hy, Կոտայք, ), is a province (''marz'') of Armenia. It is located at the central part of the country. Its capital is Hrazdan and the largest city is Abovyan. It is named after the Kotayk canton of the historic Ayrarat province ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ...

. The village was established in 1972–80, during which time it was called Pokravan, for the purpose of developing a large stockyard or

feedlot A feedlot or feed yard is a type of animal feeding operation (AFO) which is used in intensive animal farming, notably beef cattle, but also swine, horses, sheep, turkeys, chickens or ducks, prior to slaughter. Large beef feedlots are called co ...

that would ultimately be utilized to breed a target of eleven-thousand animals. After reaching capacity, the village was renamed to Zoravan after the nearby Zoravar Church, also known as

Gharghavank Gharghavank (also, Zoravor Church, hy, Զորավոր եկեղեցի) is a ruined Armenian Apostolic church located on the outskirts of the village of Zoravan, at the lower slopes of Mount Ara in Kotayk Province, Armenia. To get to the church, ...

, built between 661 and 685 by Prince

Grigor Mamikonian Mamikonian or Mamikonean ( Classical hy, Մամիկոնեան; reformed orthography: Մամիկոնյան; Western Armenian pronunciation: ''Mamigonian'') was an aristocratic dynasty which dominated Armenian politics between the 4th and 8th ...

. The community currently has a school and a kindergarten.

Drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, ...

for the village comes from a source near

Karenis Karenis ( hy, Կարենիս; formerly, Gyumush and Glamuzh) is a village in Kotayk Province of Armenia. See also *Kotayk Province Kotayk ( hy, Կոտայք, ), is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. It is located at the central part of the ...

, while water for

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been dev ...

comes from

Lake Sevan Lake Sevan ( hy, Սևանա լիճ, Sevana lich) is the largest body of water in both Armenia and the Caucasus region. It is one of the largest freshwater high-altitude (alpine) lakes in Eurasia. The lake is situated in Gegharkunik Province, ...

Gallery

Image:Ս. Թեոդորոս եկեղեցի26.JPG, Gharghavank in relation to the villages of Zoravan (left) and Yeghvard (right) Image:Ս. Թեոդորոս եկեղեցի15.JPG, Gharghavank, 7th c. Image:Gharghavank Funeral Chapel.JPG, Funeral chapel adjacent to the church

References

*
World Gazeteer: Armenia
– World-Gazetteer.com * Populated places in Kotayk Province {{Kotayk-geo-stub