Cavorting in the Caucasus: Matenadaran

Finally, my blog series pertaining to my travels in Armenia and Georgia are coming to an end. The last thing I saw in Armenia was the Matenadaran. This is a museum that was very unique and extraordinary. It contained the oldest books and manuscripts that I have seen, in a very good preserved manner. It also is located in a very prime location in Yerevan. It is on a hill, overlooking the city.

Cavorting in the Caucasus: Downtown Yerevan

Contrasting the capital cities of both Armenia and Georgia seems to be the favorite topic of conversation between travelers that pass through the region. When I was in both Yerevan and Tbilisi, I have heard travelers remarking how different downtown Tbilisi was from downtown Yerevan. They said that Tbilisi looked more pretty, more European, and so forth. I agree that it looks more European, but the fact that Yerevan was just a totally different beast made it more attractive for me, in my opinion.

Cavorting in the Caucasus: Getting Stuck at the Armenia-Georgia Border

I should say that in this trip involved the border in which I had the most difficulty in crossing. Yes, this is for me, the Georgian border. I had a little bit of a hard time entering the Georgian border, and I figured it merited its own entry, even though I already alluded to this incident in my summary post. In short, I was stuck in the Armenia-Georgia border, having exited Armenia, but haven't entered Georgia yet, and for 2 hours, I didn't know whether I would have to go back to Armenia or be able to proceed to Georgia.

Cavorting in the Caucasus: Sevanavank

The last place I visited before I crossed the border to go to Georgia was the monastic complex of Sevanavank, found on the peninsula facing Lake Sevan. I went here together with three other travelers as we all hired a taxi for the day. Some people told me that Lake Sevan is a nice place to visit, but unfortunately, I wasn't too impressed.

Cavorting in the Caucasus: Garni Temple

One of the essential things one should see in Armenia is the Garni Temple. This is a pagan temple located in Kotayk Province, about 32 kilometers away from Yerevan. Together with the Geghard Monastery, a group of other friends and I visited this by sharing a taxi for the day.

Cavorting in the Caucasus: Geghard Monastery

On my third day in Armenia (and last before I headed to Georgia), I went and visited the Geghard Monastery. This was one of the sights that we went that day. There was supposed to be a tour that I was joining, however, we couldn't find a 5th person, as 5 was the minimum number of people needed for the tour to run. So what we did was that the remaining four people (me and 3 friends) just asked the hostel to get a taxi for us, which we hired, and we were driven to the same places that the tour would have stopped. After all, these sights were essential ones if one were to visit Armenia, so we figured we couldn't let it pass.

Cavorting in the Caucasus: Mount Aragats

I don't know. I felt like I had to go and hike (if not summit) the tallest mountain in Armenia. After all, there is a day trip that does exactly like that, so why shouldn't I join? I saw this place together with Amberd Fortress. It was rather remote, and sure enough, I would not want to think what would happen if our bus broke down.

Cavorting in the Caucasus: Amberd Fortress

Amberd Fortress is located on the slopes of Mount Aragats; when we visited the mountain, we also passed by this fortress ruins, and hiked around it. It is a little out of the way, but the spectacular locations of the things worth seeing in Armenia never fail to amaze me, and this one is no exception.

Cavorting in the Caucasus: The Armenian Alphabet

Earlier, I mentioned that one of the biggest challenges I have had during my trip to Armenia and Georgia was that I couldn't read the alphabets. It didn't matter to me whether I spoke the local language or not, for me, what was more important was whether I could read the signs or not. And since I couldn't, I really felt like I was blind. Nevertheless, the Armenian and Georgian alphabets were very graphically unique, and therefore I was very interested.

Cavorting in the Caucasus: Noravank

The last thing I saw during the long day where I joined a tour of holy Armenian sites was this monastery complex located on a spectacular canyon location. Noravank Monastery is located about 120 kilometers south of Yerevan, and very close to the border with Azerbaijan (more specifically, with the border with Azerbaijan's exclave, Nakhchivan). This monastery complex has been around since the 13th century, and therefore again, is very impressive and loaded with history.

Cavorting in the Caucasus: Khor Virap

Mount Ararat is the symbol of Yerevan and Armenia as a whole. It features on so many products from Armenia. Unfortunately, the sad thing is that Mount Ararat is actually in Turkish territory right now. That is quite ironic and sad, in my opinion. Hence, all Armenians can do is look westwards in order to gaze at the lovely and huge mountain that has become their national symbol.

Cavorting in the Caucasus: Mother Cathedral of Holy Echmiadzin

Armenia is known for its holy sites. And because of that, I didn't miss the opportunity to visit the holy sites in Echmiadzin, which is the town that acts as the "Vatican" for the Armenian Apostolic Church. And the biggest church in this town is the Mother Cathedral of Holy Echmiadzin. Think of this as St. Peter's Basilica for Roman Catholicism.

Cavorting in the Caucasus: Saint Gayane Church in Echmiadzin

After visiting Saint Hripsime Church, we proceeded to another church, which is the Saint Gayane Church. This structure was built in the 7th century. Its design has remained faithful to the original, even though there were some renovations and repair work that has been done. And yes, things are old here. It never fails to amaze me to see these buildings still standing even though several centuries have already passed since their construction.

Cavorting in the Caucasus: Armenian Hospitality

They say that Armenian hospitality is legendary. Well, I have to say, that it is true. I encountered so many people, both travelers and locals alike, and I am very much impressed by how open and hospitable people are in the Caucasus. For me, this whole experience started when I was still not in Armenia. In fact, I witnessed Armenian hospitality when I was still in Austria, when I was waiting for my flight to Yerevan in Vienna Airport.

Cavorting in the Caucasus: Saint Hripsime Church in Echmiadzin

The first thing I saw while I was in Yerevan was Echmiadzin. This is the holiest city of Armenia, acting as the headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic Church. As I joined a tour that focused on the religion in Armenia, I saw plenty of holy sites during my first day of sight-seeing. This church was the first thing I bumped into.

Cavorting in the Caucasus

I started writing this article in Yerevan, Armenia. It is my last full day here, and tonight I am flying back to Berlin after 16 days of being on the road. My trip started in August 7, when I flew from Berlin to Yerevan via Vienna. And as my trip is about to end, I am wrapping up the things that have happened for the past 2 weeks in this overview post.

When Suddenly You Don't Know how to Read

I am writing this article in Georgia; I am in Kazbegi, near the Russian border, and I have 7 more days to go before I fly back to Berlin. This 16-day vacation has been the best, and most challenging, trip so far. I just booked a round-trip ticket to Yerevan and arrived here with no concrete plans whatsoever. Anyway, I am not done yet with this trip, so I won't talk about my itinerary yet, but there is one thing I want to write about today, and that is about the fact that I cannot read anything in these two countries, Armenia and Georgia. And that is tough.