8/20: Day Tour Discovering Armenia's Cultural Heritage: Monasteries & Khachkars

Statues and monuments in Yerevan en route to our first of three day trips discovering Armenia with Envoy Hostel:

Don't think I'll likely ever see an Iraqi license plate again!

On the way to Lake Sevan in eastern Armenia, our tour guide, Angela, said these semi-constructed buildings were left by the Soviets who were going to build a town there but no gas or water services were ever brought to the area so they and so many other have remained empty.

The border of Lake Sevan, a large, high-altitude lake known for its beaches, was the setting for the 9th century Sevanavank Monastery and its two stone churches. The Monastery was previously located on the only island in Lake Sevan until partial draining of the lake during the Soviet era to irrigate the farms caused a narrow, artificial peninsula to form. 

We found out that churches in Armenia are either rectangular or cross shaped, the latter because they are more earthquake resistant which is critical as the country is in an earthquake zone and has had many devastating quakes. 

Only baptisms are celebrated at the first church, John the Baptist Church. Angela pointed out that Armenian churches are generally very simple and have no icons or paintings except for an image of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus so worshippers can have a closer connection with God.

The curtain is always open in front of the altar, which always faces east, in Armenian churches except for the 40 days preceding Easter. 

As we climbed, huffing and puffing further up the hill because of the altitude and chilly air, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the main church and therefore where Sunday services are held, came into view. We had to stoop to enter as people normally bow before entering Armenian churches and, Angela added, because Armenians are so short!

The energetic and informative Angela led us from the gavit or nave to a small chapel on the right below where we saw another image of Mary.

Angela told us more about the basalt-carved khachkars that were present both inside and outside both churches. Originally gravestones, they are now part of the decoration and focal points of worship but no two are ever alike although they normally have stone crosses in the center. Most have symbols of a sun or wheel of eternity. 

Heaven was represented at the top of this khachkar and hell at the bottom. It also had a carving a Jesus which was rare as only 10 or 11 in the whole country do. Note his almond-shaped eyes as these were carved during the Mongol invasions of Armenia.

The same Armenian alphabet that was developed in the 5th century is still used today but, because the writings on some of the stone carvings also included a numeric system, only scholars could read them.

Thin, yellow candles are customarily lit by Armenian churchgoers when entering their churches.

View of the two churches overlooking Lake Sevan:

A few minutes' drive further was the 9th century Hayravank Monastery on the southwest shores of Lake Sevan.

As we neared the Noratus cross-stone or khachkhar field, Angela stated that years ago locals, fearing an Ottoman invasion, covered the upright stones with sheets to make the approaching army believe the stones were really an army of people. Their ruse worked as the Turks left! 

The 900 standing cross stones all face west because the people believed the second coming of Christ will come from that direction. Each one is different and each tells a story about how people lived and died.

When at home, I love to knit so I couldn't resist taking the photo of this woman standing and knitting and selling her items, all activities almost simultaneously!

This 9th century khachkar was considered to be the oldest and biggest one in the field as it belonged to the village founder.

The middle stone, dating from the 13th century, had been sent to the Louvre in Paris to represent the art of Armenia for one year. However, Armenia didn't get it back for much longer. When they finally did, it became known as the 'traveling stone.'

This was called the wedding stone and depicted the bride and groom who were sadly killed on their wedding day during a Mongolian invasion.

The farmer's stone tells of a farmer who came back from the fields one evening and finds his wife had a BBQ dinner prepared for him. Sounds fine, right?! Well, in Armenia, only men cook BBQ (and no other meals by the way), so the farmer knew his wife had a lover who had cooked the BBQ dinner! The farmer killed his wife, her lover and then committed suicide.

Depiction of the BBQ:

This was the only building in the field of khackhars - perhaps it was a chapel?

Angela told us that people with aches and pains came to the karapet stone. They poured water into a hole at the very top, then touched the water to their achy parts. The final step was to smash a bottle against the stone which explained why there was so much glass around that particular khachkar.

You could imagine how an approaching army would think they would be facing strong resistance when this line of stones was covered with sheets to represent a wall of people.

Our tour included a scrumptious lunch of Armenian specialties prepared and served in a home in the village of Noratus. There was so much food and drink one would have thought there were twice the number of people in our group! There were two different eggplant dishes, meat and boiled potatoes, a rice-looking wheat and mushroom dish to die for (right, Yasemin?!), organic tomatoes and cucumbers, a salad, a corn dish, breads, a delicious array of fresh Armenian fruit, tea and coffee and candies to round out the meal! Needless to say, Steven and I didn't feel hungry for the rest of the day. 

These final shots from the Noratus stone field remind me of the special time we had wandering among the largest collection of  uniquely Armenian khachkars that have so appropriately been honored by UNESCO.

Photos from the van en route to Geghard Monastery two hours away:

We weren't sure we'd get to the monastery when a rock slide caused traffic in both directions to come to a standstill until the damage was cleared up.

We'd already noticed that wherever a flock of tourists congregate in Armenia,  you can bet on souvenir sellers being right there too. Of course, it is the same the world over. These edible souvenirs looked good but we still weren't hungry for some reason!

Geghard Monastery, carved out of a rock face and founded in the 4th century, was named after the holy lance that pierced Christ's side during the Crucifixion. Angela mentioned there are three in the world: one in the Vatican, one in Vienna and one that had been here since the 1st century. 

Old Armenian homes had holes in the roof to allow for smoke to leave from the cooking fires. As the church was so dark, it had a hole in its dome to allow light in. The windows were so small as the church was used as a fortress to prevent the enemy from entering. 

As services normally last for up to 2.5 hours, benches are provided for older people or those who can't stand that long, according to Angela. The chapel was built from the top down as was the case  with the churches in the Ethiopian city of Lalibela we visited on an earlier trip.

Above one of the doors was a coat of arms of the family of the Zakarian prince who built the church; the lion symbolized royal might and the eagle is Armenia's national animal.

This narrow passageway led to another chapel, again with an image of the Virgin Mary.

That led to the spring room where people would collect what they considered to be 'holy water' that drained directly into a channel on the floor.

Across from the spring was the chapel's former book depository.

In the 'music hall, monks learned to sing from someone they of course believed to be male standing behind a curtain strung between these two pillars. The 'male teacher' was actually female. When Angela asked if anyone in our group wanted to sing in the acoustic chamber, Yasemin, a young woman from Istanbul traveling by herself, volunteered. Everyone's mouths were agape when she finished as she had the voice of an angel!

It seemed that everywhere we turned were more opportunities to marvel at more stunning carvings and chapels in the large religious complex. The very simple 12th-13th century monastery carved into the side of a mountain was one of the most fascinating and beautiful monuments we had seen so far in Armenia. 

Angela said our wishes would come true if the stones we threw landed in the niches near the church. When she said we only had three chances, however, it felt like we were at a carnival or county fair!

I regret to say I wasn't successful! 

Pagan sacrifices still take place in this area outside the church. Nowadays, after a rooster is turned around seven times and then killed at home, a meal is shared with seven families.

A few feet away were strips of cloth tied on trees as people believed they needed to do that to make their wishes or prayers come true.

Our final stop was Garni Temple, the only Greek-style temple in the former USSR, that was built in the 1st century by Armenia's King Trdat I and dedicated to the heathen sun god Mitra. Garni is one of the oldest surviving pagan buildings and was later converted to a place of worship for Christians. 

Angela pointed out that the temple has 24 pillars to equal the number of hours in a day. There are 9 tall steps to the entrance as 3x3 equals 9 and 3 was a magic number. Both the temple and the adjacent church were largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1679; the temple was rebuilt in the 1970s by the Soviets. It was only after the excavation that more temple stones were found. They now lined the path to the temple!

Next to the temple are the ruins of a Roman-era bathhouse where, on the changing room floor, was a mosaic built by unhappy Greek laborers. As they couldn't convey their displeasure with the king and queen, they wrote in the mosaic, "We labor but we get nothing!"

In the ruins of the church was a vishap or carved dragon stone with cuneiform inscriptions that indicated Yerevan was founded in 782 BC, which was 29 years older than Rome. As a result, Yerevan and Armenia will celebrate its 2800th anniversary on September 29th!

Now understanding the importance of these stones leading to or away from the temple, we had a deeper appreciation of them.

By the time we returned to Yerevan, it had been more than an 11 hour day, in part due to the delay caused by the rock slide. Both Steven and I commented on how much we had enjoyed ourselves learning about some of the culture and history of Armenia while with a very good tour guide and an interesting group of fellow travelers. 

Next post: The Matenadaran Book Depository, an outstanding folk art collection and more sights in Yerevan.

Posted on August 23rd, 2018, from Yerevan, Armenia.

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