The village of Hovhannavanq is on
the edge of a rocky ravine. According to the legend, the monastery was built at
the beginning of IV c. when the Illuminator built the mononave basilica. The
other structures of the complex date from XII-XIII c. In 1216-1221, at the
initiative of Prince Vacheh Vachoutyan the main church of the monastery was
built in the south as an attachment to the mononave church.
The Main Church of St. Karapet is a
domed church, with a rectangular exterior, a cruciform interior and two-storey
sacristies in its four corners.