Tzitzer Spring :: ARMENIAN HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

Tzitzer Spring

Azerbaijan / Northern Artsakh / Shamkhor / Nukzar

Location

In a gorge lying half a kilometre north-east of Amenaprkich Monastery, a rock towers “with its lower part shaped like a cave.”

Barkhutariants, M. Artsakh. Baku, 1895, p. 295.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 514.

Historical Introduction

Water drops from some stalactite stones hanging above into a natural stone basin, forming a spring commonly known among the locals by the name of Tzitzer: “The stone whence the water drops contains some lime, due to which its ends are identified with human nipples; hence the name of the spring, i.e. Tzitzer. That rare shape of the stone has imparted sanctity to the spring, making it a pilgrimage destination.”

The equivalent for ‘Breasts’ in vulgar Armenian. “Ardzagank,” 1886, No. 21, p. 307.
Also see Karapetian, S. A New Year in the Shamkor Gorge (Travelling Notes). In: “Gardmank,” 1996, No. 3, p. 13.
Karapetian, Samvel. Northern Artsakh, Yerevan, 2007, p. 514.

Some three to four simple cross-stones are preserved in the vicinity of the spring.