Saturday we went south east of Yerevan to visit the monasteries Khor Virap and Noravank.
Khor Virap monastery in the Araks River Valley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khor_Virap). The Khor Virap (meaning deep pit or "deep well") is an Armenian Apostolic Church monastery located in the Ararat plain in Armenia, near the border with Turkey. Khor Virap's notability as a monastery and pilgrimage site is attributed to the fact that Grigor Lusavorich, who later became Saint Gregory the Illuminator, was initially imprisoned here for 13 years by King Tiridates III of Armenia. Saint Gregory subsequently became the king's religious mentor, and they led the proselytizing activity in the country.
We drove up in the mountains in the southern part of Armenia
There were snow higher up in the mountains
Noravank (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noravank), maybe the most beautiful monastery in Armenia, is fantastically situated in a narrow Gorge
The priest at Noravank
Noravank ("New Monastery") is a 13th century Armenian Apostolic Church monastery, located 122 km from Yerevan in a narrow gorge made by the Amaghu river, nearby the city of Yeghegnadzor, Armenia. The gorge is known for its tall, sheer, brick-red cliffs, directly across from the monastery. The monastery is best known for its two-storey S. Astvatsatsin church, which grants access to the second floor by way of narrow stones jutting out from the face of building.
Noravank was founded in 1205 by Bishop Hovhannes, the former Abbot of Vahanavank. The monastic complex includes the church of S. Karapet, S. Grigor chapel with a vaulted hall, and the church of S. Astvatsatsin (Holy Mother of God). Ruins of various civil buildings and khachkars are found both inside and outside of the compound walls.
An old soviet militsiya motorcycle parked at the roadside
And the old militsiya man owning itWhen the Bolsheviks adopted the name ‘militia’ for their police force, they were seeking to make a symbolic break from the old, tsarist police order. The force which emerged was a ramshackle collection of revolutionary activists, opportunists, bandits-turned-nominal-lawmen and former tsarist police. Idealistic notions that they would be a radically different force from their predecessors came to naught, though, given that the Bolshevik state largely face similar challenges: an inability to deploy enough police effectively to control the countryside, a commitment to political policing over the rule of law, and as a result an implicit or reluctant acceptance of local vigilantism and mechanisms of social control. (http://inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com/2010/08/09/whats-in-a-name-russian-militia-to-be-called-police-again/)
Our driver wanted to show us a bred “factory” making the Armenian flat bread called “Lavash”
Near Noravank is the main wine district of Armenia, with a lot of roadside shops selling the home produced wine.
Our travel agency “Sati tour” had arranged a nice big Chrysler for us
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