Dog resting in the courtyard (next to the Bjni water machine) at the Khor Virap monastery. Khor Virap means “deep dungeon.”
Indoor tandoor oven in floor for making lavash, a soft thin flatbread of Armenian origin, but that is also eaten in many surrounding countries.
View of the Ararat valley from Khor Virap. This was also the location of a former capital of Armenia, from about 180 B.C. until 330 A.D. At that time it was called Artashat, founded by king Artashes I. The site was attractive as a capital due to its elevation above the surrounding valley.
Khor Virap monastery. Again, Khor Virap means “deep dungeon.” Around 300 A.D., king Trdat imprisoned St. Gregory the Illuminator for 13 years in a deep dungeon at Khor Virap. The dungeon is located underneath the building in the lower right part of the picture. We climbed down a ladder to reach the bottom of the dungeon, about 6.5 meters down.
Gregory is the patron saint of the Armenian Apostolic church, the oldest organized Christian church in the world. While being held prisoner, Gregory miraculously cured king Trdat of a serious disease. In response, Trdat released Gregory from his snake-filled underground prison, and converted to Christianity.
Photo of rocky cliffs, taken from our tour van. We sat in the back seat in front of a squeaky back door, lurching around switchbacks and bouncing down the road for several hours.
A view from the village of Areni. Areni is famous for its delicious red Armenian wines. The table on the left is holding several snacks available for passing motorists. Notice the bottles: they are soda bottles that have been filled with wine. These bottles are sometimes purchased by passing truck drives, especially if their religion forbids alcohol. That way they can enjoy the wine, without the appearance of actually drinking the forbidden fruit of the vine.
The road to Noravank monastery, which winds among steep cliffs perforated by many natural caves in the cliff walls, as it passes 6 kilometers through the gorge of the Amaghu river.
Back of (on left) the Mother of God church (1339) at the Noravank monastery. To the right is the Saint John the Baptist church, built around 1225.
Distinctive red stone of this region.
View down to the road from the heights of the Noravank monastery.
To the left of the Mother of God church are ruins of an ancient church. In the back center you can see two small chapels.
Two tympana above a door into the Saint John the Baptist church at Noravank. According to the Bradt guide to Armenia by Nicholas Holding, the upper carving shows “God, with his almond-shaped eyes looking straight ahead while a dove is entangled in his beard. He is raising his right hand in blessing while holding a head in his left. Whose head must remain a matter of speculation: possibly that of John the Baptist . . . who was decapitated.” The lower carving shows Mary holding Jesus while she sits on a tasseled rug.
View of a chapel from inside the church.
Inside St. John the Baptist church.
Looking though the window.
Side door of St. John the Baptist church. At first glance, many carvings at Armenian churches appear to be symmetrical. However, they are deliberately not perfectly symmentrical. The artisans believe firmly that perfection can be achieved only by God, so the carvings are “imperfect” by design.
Stopping to have coffee along the road overlooking the town of Goris. The rock formations in the background are the result of “the intense weathering of the volcanogenic-sedimentary rocks” (Stone Garden Guide).
As you enter Stepanakert, the capital city of the autonomous oblast of Nagorno-Karabagh, you pass this statue along the highway entering the town. This statue, “We Are Our Mountains,” “ . . . is intended to symbolise the unity of the Karabagh people with their mountains. It is universally referred to as 'Mamik yel Babik' (Granny and Grandad)” (Bradt Guide to Armenia).
The two of us in front of Granny and Grandad. The depiction of a womand with her mouth covered is typical of art of this region, but is not typical of Armenia.
The group on or trip through Artsakh (Nagrono-Karabagh). From left: (back) Ed, Pam & Ven, Kathy, and Shakuntala & Sivakumar; (front) Brian, Jill, Elizabeth, Juliet, Victor, and our wonderful driver! “Nagorno” is Russian for “mountainous,” and “Karabagh” means “dark garden.” Notice how rich and fertile the ground in front of us is.
View of Stepanakert from the mound of “Granny and Grandad.”
Gandzasar (“treasure mountain”) monastery, dedicated to St. John the Baptist. A working monastery and seminary, Ganzasar was built in the 13th century. Notice the 16-sided tambour under the pinnacle on the left.
Another view of the tambour.
The gavit (vestibule) door is framed by an immense portal that includes two birds sculptured into the top corners, as well as other intricate designs.
View from Gandzasar.
The Gandsazar seminary.
Another view from Gansazar.
Another view of the Gansazar monastery.
Taken through a portal of the monastery.
Leaving Gandsazar.
“Hotel Eclectica” in Vank village, at the bottom of the hill from Gandsazar. This is their outdoor aquatic stadium, where they can host many interesting ourdoor shows and events.
Shot of “Hotel Eclectica” on the left. It is shaped like a great ship with many portholes. (The aquatic stadium is down to the right.)
If you look out at one of the hills in the upper left-center of the photo, you will see remains of a stone fortress stretching up the hill. This fortress is referrred to as both Myraberd (“head fortress”) and Zoraberd (“strong fortress”), and lies near the village of Askeran. The fortress was reinforced by Persian leader Panakh Khan in 1788-89, in order to keep out Russian forces.
Another piece of the Zoraberd fortress.
A pomegranate growing near the fortress wall.
A large section of the fortress.
Exploring the fortress walls.
View of the valley from along the fortress wall.
View of Victor through the fortress wall.
Hard-working resident of Askeran.
With Elizabeth.
Victor surveys the fortress and valley.
View of the high ground.
View of a park from an outdoor cafe in Stepanakert, the capital city of the republic of Nagorno-Karabagh.
In the center of the city square in Stepanakert sits this statue of Stepan Shahumian (1878-1918), an Armenian Bolshevik for whom the city is named.
The republic of Nagorno-Karabagh is not recognized by the international community. Nevertheless, here sits one of their national goverment buildings. You can even read the sign on the right confirming, that the building belongs to the “Government of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabagh.
Parliament building of -- you guessed it -- the republic of Nagorno-Karabagh.
Armenian Apostolic Church cathedral under construction in Stepanakert. There are no other churches in the city.
Our hotel room for our two-night stay in Stepanakert. This is the Heghnar hotel, a recently refurbished hotel on the north side of the city (11a Barseghov St). Their email address is heghnar@ktsurf.net. The rate included an Armenian-style breakfast.
Melted curling iron. The 220 converter we bought at Samsonite in the Holland Outlet Center failed us on the first try.
Shushi is another city in Nagorno-Karabagh, not far from Stepanakert. Shushi was the site of intense fighting between the ethnic Armenians occupying the region, and Azeri military forces, during the years immediately following the fall of the Soviet empire. During the conflict, Azeri forces bombed most of the city to bits, and visiting today is sobering indeed as one views the destruction (most of the city still lies in ruins today) , and contemplates the deaths on both sides of the conflict. This picture is of the Ghazanchetsots cathedral in the center of the town.
We visited Ghazanchetsots during their services on Sunday morning. Built between 1868 and 1887, the church did not operate during the Soviet period, serving instead as place to store grain, autos, and munitions.
Here are a few of the choir members in the Shushi church. The organ on the left is a tiny electronic one, used to double what the choir is singing. There is no congregational singing.
Our group ran into another tour group--a group of Armenian teenagers. We couldn't understand each others' language very well, but they loved having pictures taken with us.
View of Stepanakert from the Shushi hill.
View of the hillside along the road. Beautiful Autumn in Nagorno-Karabagh.
Two young Armenian men living in a Nagorno-Karabagh village along the road back from Stepanakert
A shop in the village, taken from the other side of the main road through town.
View of the city of Goris, back in Armenia, from a hill overlooking the town. Goris lies along the Goris River, and is perhaps the most attractive town in southern Armenia. Its houses were influenced by a German architect who had come to live here.
Another view of Goris.
On our way back from Nagorno-Karabagh we made a stop on this plateau to see Zorakar (Karahunj), a non-natural arrangement of 204 stones dating from the Bronze Age, roughly 5000 BC. It is believed to be an ancient astronomical observatory, much like Stonehenge.
Some of the stones have fallen over in the last 7000 years, but you can still see their locations.
Some of the stones have carefully cut out holes in them, the greatest evidence that the site was arranged for astronomical observation.
