What to see in Armenia, part 1.
Hey guys,
As I promised in my previous blog post, I am going to share with you some of the places that I visited in Armenia. I will divide this blog post into two parts.
Armenia is a small country, most people can't even locate it on the map. It used to be much bigger but it lost a lot of its territories after different wars and invasions. Nevertheless, it has a lot to offer to a tourist: beautiful landscapes, delicious food and a lot of historical sites.
Before my trip, I made a list of places that I wanted to visit in Armenia. And I have seen everything I wanted to, except for Tatev monastery. It was a little too far from where I was staying. But next time I go, I will make sure to visit it, too. I would also love to visit Western Armenia which is now the eastern part of Turkey. My ancestors were Anatolian Armenians and hopefully, someday I will get to visit those lands.
1. Etchmiadzin.
On the first day of my trip, my relatives took me to Etchmiadzin. It's a religious center of Armenia. There are six churches there but I visited only two of them. I visited Etchmiadzin Cathedral and St. Hripsime Church. Saint Hripsime Church is my favorite. It was built in the 7th century and it is one of the oldest churches in Armenia. I was lucky to see a baptismal service there. The church is kind of ascetic, it doesn't have all the frescos and paintings like the Etchmiadzin Cathedral has. But it is less touristic and I enjoyed the atmosphere in the church.
In Etchmiazin Cathedral Museum you can see a lot of Christian relics and gifts to the church. I think one of the most interesting items in the exhibition was the Holy Lance, the spear which supposedly pierced Jesus Christ. The museum is pretty small but worth visiting.
Well, this is all for now. In my next post, I will talk about Gehard Monastery, Hor Virap monastery, Tsaghkadzor health resort, Lake Sevan, Matenadaran and making Lavash (Armenian bread).
As I promised in my previous blog post, I am going to share with you some of the places that I visited in Armenia. I will divide this blog post into two parts.
Armenia is a small country, most people can't even locate it on the map. It used to be much bigger but it lost a lot of its territories after different wars and invasions. Nevertheless, it has a lot to offer to a tourist: beautiful landscapes, delicious food and a lot of historical sites.
Before my trip, I made a list of places that I wanted to visit in Armenia. And I have seen everything I wanted to, except for Tatev monastery. It was a little too far from where I was staying. But next time I go, I will make sure to visit it, too. I would also love to visit Western Armenia which is now the eastern part of Turkey. My ancestors were Anatolian Armenians and hopefully, someday I will get to visit those lands.
1. Etchmiadzin.
On the first day of my trip, my relatives took me to Etchmiadzin. It's a religious center of Armenia. There are six churches there but I visited only two of them. I visited Etchmiadzin Cathedral and St. Hripsime Church. Saint Hripsime Church is my favorite. It was built in the 7th century and it is one of the oldest churches in Armenia. I was lucky to see a baptismal service there. The church is kind of ascetic, it doesn't have all the frescos and paintings like the Etchmiadzin Cathedral has. But it is less touristic and I enjoyed the atmosphere in the church.
In Etchmiazin Cathedral Museum you can see a lot of Christian relics and gifts to the church. I think one of the most interesting items in the exhibition was the Holy Lance, the spear which supposedly pierced Jesus Christ. The museum is pretty small but worth visiting.
2. Zvartnots Cathedral.
It was built in the 7th century by the order of Catholicos Nerses the Builder. It was built at the time when Armenia was under the control of Byzantine. It was dedicated to St. Gregory the Illuminator. Supposedly, that's where St. Gregory and king Trdat III had a meeting. No one really knows why Zvartnots collapsed. The excavations of Zvartnots started in the beginning of the 20th century. If you like history, you would definitely like this place. I also came across an ancient cuneiform there. It was King Rusa II (Urartian King, 680-650 BC) cuneiform inscription commemorating construction of a canal.
3. The Temple of Garni.
It was probably the most picturesque place that I have seen in Armenia. We were also lucky to explore this site before all the tourists arrived. It's a Hellinistic Temple built in the first century AD dedicated to sun god Mihr. It's the only pagan temple that was preserved and the only symbol of pre-Christian Armenia. The temple collapsed in the 17th century during an earthquake and it was reconstructed during the Soviet times. The view from the temple is breathtaking! It's definitely worth visiting.
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