For a long time, mysteries surrounded the bizarre natural formations, the basalt pillars. Their natural architecture is associated with man-made citadels.
Shaping the canyon of the Azat River, two hundred-meter-high basalt columns amaze people with their perfection. The sources of the mountain river are located on the Gegham volcanic massif and feed on the thawed snow of the highlands. Despite its modest length (about 55 kilometers), Azat is unpredictable and unique.
It has a significant slope and stony channel and features lots of rapids and waterfalls. However, the diadem of its erosion activity is the picturesque Garni Canyon located 20 kilometers east of Yerevan.
It was here, in the foothills of the Gegham mountains, that the basalt lava created this famous pillars. Frozen in time and space, they could not influence the worldview of the man who settled in the canyon.
In ancient Armenia, they were called the Devil’s apiary. A clear echo of prehistoric beliefs. However, is it worth to be surprised by such primitive ignorance? The origins of the 200-meter polyhedra were a mystery for scientists for a long time!
Specialists seriously believed that the “honeycomb” stones are huge basalt crystals. The secret of the quaint pillars was discovered relatively recently. Their appearance is a result of the uneven cooling of the rock, which changed it into this unusual shape known today.
Симфония камней или Базальтовый орган