Over Christmas, I visited a friend in Yerevan, Armenia. One of the benefits of this job is having friends in interesting places all over the world. The city of Yerevan was typical Soviet-style architecture, but outside the city were two amazing historical locations. The Geghard Monastery was originally established in the 4th century, and you can easily feel the history of the place. Even newer construction is still hundreds of years old. We arrived at a time when the lighting was great for taking photos, and the incense from a service was still hanging in the air when we were able to go inside the main chapel. Simply beautiful.
On the road up to Geghard is another fantastic piece of ancient history. This Greek temple is the only one I've seen that is still completely intact. This is the back side of the temple, and it was too dark to photograph the other side, but it is so well-preserved that it was possible to imagine that it could still be in use today.
Overlooking the city of Yerevan is the massive statue of Mother Armenia. The way she holds the sword is meant to make the statue resemble a cross. A bit of a poke in the eye to the Soviets from the oldest Christian country in the world.
Wow, I was looking for something in my old blog and here is yours! I won't be a stranger to it again. Cheers and good travels! Katrina
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