In 1868, Goris was proclaimed as the capital of Zangezur Region of Elisabethpol Governorate. However, the area of Goris has been inhabited since ancient times, which is evidenced by the cave dwellings of Old Goris. In these carved-into-rocks dwellings distinguished are stone chairs and tables, shelves, and hollows for fire; it is also believed that one of the caves was once used for the first theater in Armenia. Not far from Goris, there is another cave village – the famous Khndzoresk, while Tatev Monastery is located a little bit further.
The architecture of Goris – a matchless plan of a “chess-board” layout of the streets with two-story houses of the same type and, unprecedented for Armenia, similar roofs – makes it one of the coziest and most beautiful towns of the country. Among the interesting sights of the town is the museum of the writer Aksel Bakunts. Almost nothing has really changed in the house since the writer’s times, except that the museum staff began to breed pheasants in the courtyard – the heroes of Bakunts’ most famous work.
