Garni temple awarded UNESCO prize

The ancient Armenian pagan temple of Garni will share the 2011 UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize.

According to a press release by the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the decision to award the prize to the monument was made by the UNESO Director General and the International Prize Committee.

The official award ceremony is scheduled for May 24 at UNESCO's central headquarters in Paris.

The UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize is granted every two years to organizations or individuals who made considerable contribution to the preservation and maintenance of cultural landscape.

The proposal for participation in the contest was prepared jointly by the Armenian National Commission for UNESCO and the Historical Environment and Historical-Cultural Museum-Reserves Protection Service.