Day Trips

Every spring, there are a few days when winter returns – it gets cold or even snowy – and then spring is here for good. In Armenia, those days are called “old woman’s goats.” April started out with showers, but warm, so I thought I would start taking day trips. The days I chose were rainy and even snowy, so I think I will stay in Yerevan this weekend, but I am glad I finally did some sightseeing out of town!

First was Etchmiadzin, the Holy See of the Armenian Apostolic Church. We went on Sunday so that we could hear the singing in the Mother Church. Etchmiadzin was founded on the spot where St. Gregory the Illuminator saw a beam of light come down to earth. The main church is built on the site of a former pagan shrine with fire altar (as Lonely Planet put it, left in situ in case the whole Christianity thing turned out to be a fad – but no longer accessible to visitors). The complex also includes the palace of the Catholicos, the patriarch of all Armenians (we saw him at the service), a monument built when Pope John Paul II visited in 2001, and a seminary. There are beautiful khachkars (cross-stones) assembled from around the country. The museum inside the church contains many treasures – vestments worn by the clergy, ancient and precious crosses, relics of some of the apostles, and, most impressive, a fragment of Noah’s Ark and the point of the lance used to pierce the side of Christ during the crucifixion. There are some other notable churches in the area; we went to one, St. Gayane, but were too wet, cold and hungry to walk to the others. Still, it was a great visit!

On to Garni temple, a Hellenic temple dedicated to Helios, the Greek god of the sun. After the Christian conversion, all other pagan temples in the country were destroyed, but this became the summer house of Armenian royalty. The temple was built with magic numbers – the number of steps and columns as well as the dimensions all had meaning. Next to the temple – which was reconstructed – are the ruins of a church destroyed by an earthquake, the ruins of the summer palace, and the ruins of a Roman bathhouse with a mosaic. The setting is dramatic as well – there’s a wall with an entry gate, and on the other three sides there’s a steep drop to a gorge below.

Geghard Monastery is named for the holy lance that pierced Christ’s side; the lance itself used to be here until it was moved to Etchmiadzin. It’s located in a scenic canyon, and most of its chapels were hewn out of the rock. There are crosses carved into and cross-stones carved out of the rock – centuries old. When they were carving one of the chapels, they hit a spring – legend has it that if you splash some of this holy water on your body it will keep your skin youthful (but, as the guide pointed out – and Tug McGraw would have rephrased – you gotta believe). Above the church complex, caves contain monastic cells. The proportions and acoustics of one of the churches in particular are amazing, considering that it was carved from the rock around it. As with other Armenian churches, there is little adornment, because that would distract you from concentrating on God, and everyone stands for mass (though now there are seats for the old and infirm).

All three of these destinations were fascinating and have whet my appetite for more of Armenia! And also for finally downloading my pictures so that I can share some with you! I've gone back and added some; more to come....