Tukh Manuk Shrine of Oshakan

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Tukh Manuk shrine atop of a hill cemetery in the village of Oshakan (In the background on the far upper left can be seen the Shrine of S. Grigor). Tukh Manuk Shrine.JPG
Tukh Manuk shrine atop of a hill cemetery in the village of Oshakan (In the background on the far upper left can be seen the Shrine of S. Grigor).

The Tukh Manuk Shrine of Oshakan is located in the town of Oshakan in Aragatsotn Marz, Armenia. Tukh Manuk literally translates to "dark baby" or "dark-skinned youth."

Oshakan Place in Aragatsotn, Armenia

Oshakan is a major village in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia located 8 kilometers southwest from Ashtarak. It is well known to historians and pilgrims of the Armenian Apostolic Church as the site of the grave of Mesrop Mashtots, the inventor of the Armenian alphabet.

Tukh Manuk

Tukh Manuk refers to archaic rural shrines in Armenia. Their origin is regarded to be pre-Christian or pagan, but are now a part of a folk tradition existing within the Armenian Church. Many are ruins or crude shacks, others are well preserved. Some of them are thought to date back to the 5th century, or even the BCE era.

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