In the village of Sarnaghbyur in Shirak Province is a sanctuary called Zagan (zaga - a cave, grotto); its official name is Agndzadzur. It is a cave whose flowing water has healing properties. Many people from all over the world come here to drink and take the healing water of Zaga with them. According to legend, Saint Gregory the Illuminator, the first Catholicos of All Armenians, asceticised in Zaga. The relics of the Catholicos were interred in various places, while his hand was entombed in Zaga.
According to oral tradition, a large rock once fell from the top of the cave onto a pregnant woman, yet she was miraculously unharmed. In the left-hand section of the cave, there is a peculiar tree that grows right out of the rock. It receives little sunlight or water, yet every year it yields a plentiful harvest.
