Cliff Door of Mher

Working days: No days off
Opening hours: Always open

Mhera Door Cliff, or Agravakar (Raven Stone), a sacred stone near the Van Fortress (Turkey), a niche in the rock carved in the shape of a door. The cliff is more than 50 meters high. According to legend, the last hero Pokr Mher (Younger Mher) of the Armenian epic Sasuntsi David (David of Sasun) is locked there. Mher was locked in this cave due to the curse of his father,David of Sasun. Mher and his horse must remain there until humanity, justice, honesty and peace reign in the world.

Once a year, on the night ofVardavar(a holiday of the Armenian Apostolic Church, which has pagan roots), when heaven and earth kiss, Mher with his fiery torch and his horse leave the cave and feed on heavenly manna. He walks across the sky and the earth, but, convinced that “the earth still cannot support his weight,” he returns to his cave. There is a legend that whoever sees this, his wish will come true. According to legend, at this time, greedy people entered Mher’s door several times and tried to take as much gold as possible. Because of greed, they were late, the door was closed, and they remained inside.

In the future, Mher will supposedly leave there to free the “Armenian world” from evil forces and establish a happy kingdom. The legend preserves the idea of the second coming of the pagangod Mihrand the liberation of the world from the power of evil spirits. According to Mher, “It will appear when a grain of wheat is larger than a nut, and when a barley is larger than a rose hip.”

There is a hole here calledCharkhi falak(in Arabic, Wheel of Fortune), descending from the top of the mountain into its depths, which, according to legend, leads to theWheel of Fortune.

The Mher door is famous for its cuneiform inscription, which was carved during the reign of the kings of Urartu Ishpuini (825-810 BC) and Menua (810-786 BC .). Artificial gorges and large buildings dug into the Van rock also became widely known. Some of the caves were probably tombs.

The Mher Door is also called the Haldi Gate or the God Gate. Khald was the main god inUrartuwhere the “Gate of God” was probably the name of the temples. In the famous cuneiform writings, the Urartian kings built a “gate” only for Khaldi.