Nerses III the Builder built the first chapel here in 642, of white limestone. The present church dates from 1662 and was built around the ruins of the old chapel, the monastery, the refectory and the monks' cells. The infobox gives the style as Armenian.
The church has a twelve-sided tholobate and dome, dedicated to St. Astvatsatsin. The monastery is a walled enclosure around a large courtyard and resembles a fort. Beneath the small St. George Chapel, a basilica with a semicircular apse, is the pit where Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned. The article gives its depth as 20 feet (6 m), but elsewhere describes the climb down as 200 feet (60 m). It does not reconcile the two.
The site is about 100 yards (100 m) from the closed Turkish border. It holds regular services, draws pilgrims and tourists, and has souvenir kiosks.
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