ST. STEP’ANOS NAXAVKA / XIV, XVI-XVII century
This monastery complex, dedicated to St. Stephen Proto-martyr may be found near that of Arak, slightly to the east of Jula and almost on the Soviet border not far from the town of Darasamb, appears to be in good condition. The convent is enclosed in a rectangular fortified wall with cylindrical towers including the church to the north next to a chapel (dedicated to the saints Peter and Paul) as well as other monastic buildings that cannot with precision be identified. The rectangular shaped church presents its dome on a tambour. The passageway between the central room and the impost of the tambour and that of the tambour and the dome are made of elaborate alveoli-like structures, frequently found in Persian Islamic architecture.
Externally, the tambour with its umbrella-like cover, shows a continual series of acute, blind arches on spiral columns and rich relief decorations with geometric and square designs containing the figures of saints and crosses as well as angels and animals.

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