Lake Sevan is a lake in Armenia, and the biggest lake in the Caucasus. It is also among the largest high altitude lakes in the world. The monastery, originally consisting of 3 churches once rested on an island, which then became a peninsula due to a decrease in the lake's surface altitude (around 2000m above sea level). In the 9th century, it was the residence of King Ashot (Yergat), who led the a resistance against the invading Arabs.