Aghin
A quiet village above the Akhurian

What is this place

Aghin is a small village in western Shirak, Armenia, set in mountainous country near the Akhurian River. Today about 382 people live here at roughly 1,470 metres above sea level.

Aghin sits on the western edge of Shirak, a few dozen kilometres from the provincial centre, among cool highlands close to the Akhurian. The climate is harsh and damp, the winters long, and the elevation of 1,470 metres is felt in the crisp mountain air. The village took shape in the second half of the 19th century, settled by people from Mush, Alashkert, Basen and later Kars, who brought their own dialects and customs with them.

When the Gyumri–Yerevan railway was laid, the village gained its own station in the 1920s, and after the Akhurian Reservoir was built some residents moved to new plots, splitting the settlement into several parts. Life in Aghin rests on the usual highland trades — livestock raising, beekeeping and growing grain.

The main draw for a traveller is the old village cemetery with its carved gravestones, where the stone holds the memory of more than one generation. Churches also survive in Aghin, among them the Church of Saint Jacob, along with a small chapel — all of which make a short stop here genuinely warm for anyone travelling along the Akhurian.