Holiday in the Caucasus (14): more Armenia
It was a very long day (almost 12 hours) and very hot (up to 34C), but it was much more interesting than yesterday. If only our guide could talk less and plan more.
We commenced the day by driving south to the Noratus Cemetery. Located at a height of around 2,000 metres (some 6,500 feet), this location has around 900 khachkars which are outdoor steles carved from stone by craftsmen in Armenia. Dating back as far as the 10th century, the central motif is a cross but, over time, khachkars have become more ornate and symbolic.
We then drove through the Selim Pass in glorious weather with stunning scenery. Eventually we came to a special caravanserai. This used to be on the Black Sea Silk Route and it was built into the side of a hill and totally unrestored. One of our group, Stephen, spotted me sitting on a rock with the mountainside behind me, decided that this would make a good photograph, and started a succession of shots of various members of the group.
Lunch was in a small village called Areni where a family had converted their home into a small restaurant for tourist groups. The food was delicious and the service friendly.
It was about 24 hours since we had seen a monastery – but this absence was soon corrected. Nearby was the Noravank Monastery. Founded in 1205 and sensitively renovated in the 1990s, this is regarded as one of the most spectacular sites in the country. We had great weather for our viewing of this impressive collection of buildings set among stunning red cliffs.
We had to travel further – westwards – to visit our second monastery of the day: the Khor Virap Monastery overlooking Mount Ararat which is actually in today’s Turkey. We looked carefully, but there was no sign of Noah and his Ark.
We had set off at 8.30 am and it was 8.15 pm before we rolled up to our next (and last) hotel: the Tufenkian in the capital Yerevan.