Armenian Map

 

Mid-East Map          Caucasus Map

latest picture: July 7, 2013

• click a picture to see details

001  Armenia is known for its many

monasteries. 15 miles from the north-

easterly border post of Bagratashen

lies the Akhtale Monastary from the

13th century, situated at the edge

of the same named village .....

002  ..... it is mainly appreciated for

its fine frescoes. The almost surreal

power of the coloring is characteristic

of typical Byzantine art while the

themes are more Armenian

003  The setting on a high plateau

and the peace surrounding the fortress

church of Akhtale make it an ideal

spot for a relaxed picnic

004  After Akhtale we drive through

green forested hills to the next

“sacred building” .....

005  ..... the Haghpat Monastery,

situated on a lofty plateau only 8 miles

further on. It is praised as pearl of a

monastery and was given UNESCO

World Heritage status .....

006  ..... in its bright stone walls there

are niches with beautiful reliefs of Smbat II

Bagratuni, King of Armenia, and his junior

brother Gurgen I, King of Lori. A similar

relief is in the Sanahin Monastery (pic # 20)

007  The northwestern corner of the

Haghpat Monastery: Right „tower“

St. Astvatsatsin Church; left ”tower“

St. N'shan Church

008  Gallery and academy of the

Haghpat Monastery. The cross stone

on the plinth is called ”Amenaprkitch

Khachkar” dating from 1273

009  A swallow peeks curiously from its

earthy nest, built on a vaulted ceiling of an

archway of the Haghpat Monastery.

Ruins are a heaven for birds

A modest church altar and intricately elaborated cross stones are part

of the spacious area of the Haghpat Monastery hidden behind thick walls

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013  The first rays of the sun reach the

Haghpat Monastery with its wonderful

free standing belfry (right on the picture)

014  The dining hall in the service

building along the northern wall

015  Stone inscriptions in Armenian

016  Emil is swapping tips with Maya

and Wilfried from Germany. We

camped together on a little meadow

with view to the Haghpat Monastery

017  A still working factory from the

Soviet era on the opposite side of the

Debed Valley ejects stinking smoke

into the sky. Today most of them are out

of business and are just rusting away

018  Further down the "Monastery

Road" dense mountain forests dominate

the landscape of the Lori province

019  High over the Debed Valley, flanked

with age-old huge trees lies the moss

covered Sanahin Monastery with its

century old gravestones. It is also a

UNESCO World Heritage site .....

020  ..... the relief of Smbat II Bagratuni,

King of Armenia, and his junior brother

Gurgen I, King of Lori that is cut into the

dark walls spread a sense of vitality. A

similar relief is in the Haghpat

Monastery (pic #6) .....

021  ..... in the overgrown cemetery

there are fenced-in family tombs with

pictures of the deceased

022  Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium)

like we remember it from back home,

with the exemption that here it reaches

an enormous size

023  The Debed River is meandering

picturesquely through the narrow valley.

The road that follows the river bed is the

main artery linking the capitals of Yerewan

in Armenia with Tbilisi in Georgia .....

024  ..... near the stony riverbed we

find a quiet spot for our lunch break

025  Between Vanadzor and Dilijan a

fertile valley with vegetable cultivations

is spreading near Lemontovo. Special

looking are the deep corrugated iron

roofs of the farmers houses .....

026  ..... a white wagtail (Motacilla

alba) observes the world from

its perspective .....

027  ..... the neatly divided vegetable

fields and the straight farming village

of Margahovit contribute to the

peacefulness of the rural scene

028  4 miles east of Dilijan a good tarmac

road leads to the forested Dilijan Nature

Reserve. After another 3 miles up it stands

in front of us: The Haghartsin Monastery

what means "Dance of the Eagles" .....

029  ..... the monastery has three churches:

For Gregory the Illuminator, for the Virgin

Mary and the chapel of St. Stepanos.....

030  .....it is hidden away in a lovely

forest valley and was built in the 12th century

by two princes of the Bagratuni Kingdom

031  Close to the Haghartsin Monastery -

in an overgrown forest area - are lovely

medieval carved cross stones

032  Delicate white bells are one of the

many flowers that bloom around the

region of the Haghartsin Monastery .....

033  ..... a pair of clover (Trifolium)

flowers glows from the lush green

034  A cute gingerbread-style house in

Dilijan. “Alpine” Dilijan is also called

"Switzerland of Armenia". Here was also the

main link between Armenia and Azerbaijan

before the start of the 1988 war

035  No, also here corncobs don’t grow

on trees! They are stuck on branches to

draw the attention to the next street

vendor of hot corncobs

036  Red papaver or oriental poppy

(Papaver orientale) is widespread and

attracts us in its intensive luminosity

again and again to make a picture

On the old Sevan Pass road (6’936 ft.) from Dilijan to Lake Sevan the explosion of spring hits us with full power.

Wonderful carpets of flowers in white, red, lilac, yellow, pink and blue glow from all sides – the variety of colors, species

and combinations are endless. Each time we think it cannot get more beautiful, there is another accumulation. It is a party

for our senses. And we have all this beauty to ourselves, as people prefer the faster, 7’054 ft. long tunnel

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We enjoy not only the endless seeming flower carpets but also the uniqueness

of each delicate blossom that we discover on the Sevan Pass on the way to Lake Sevan

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The height of nearly 7’000 ft. of the Sevan Pass on the 22 miles long road from Dilijan to

Lake Sevan is almost a paradise for the growth of alpine flowers. We just cannot stop taking pictures!

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046  Across the carpets of meadows

looms Lake Sevan. It lies on an altitude of

6’234 ft. above sea level and covers 363

sq.mi., and is therefore the biggest lake in

the Caucasus region. The fresh water lake

supports a fish population including the

"Ishkhan" (Salmo ischchan), the prince trout

047  The Sevan Monastery

“Sevanavank” is situated 4 miles

before the same-named village and

offers a commanding view over the

same-named lake .....

048  ..... exquisitely chiseled

ornaments decorate one of the

ancient stone walls

049  The marshland of the Sevan National

Park does not attract the mass tourism that

overruns the Sevan Lake during the ten

weeks’ summer holidays

050  On a promontory 18 miles south

of Sevan stands the 1100 years old

Hayravank Monastery directly on the

lakeshore, built of tuff stones that

cover the landscape in this region .....

051  ..... richly decorated "Khachkars"

– cross stones from medieval times

– line the stairs to the Hayravank

Monastery

052  A lovely contrast: Tuff stones

covered with rust-red lichens and the

deep blue of Lake Sevan at the

Hayravank Monastery

053  Our wild but romantic night spot with

lake view between tuff stones near the

Hayravank Monastery where thunder and

lightening kept us awake until after midnight

054  Happy horse to be able to roam

around freely in such a lovely place

055  Snow patches still cover parts of

the 11’800 ft. high Azhdahak mountains

west of Lake Sevan, which is situated

itself already on an altitude of 6’234 ft.

056  This is not an isolated case: An

unfinished building including crane from the

Soviet time at Lake Sevan's shore. It should

have become a hotel, but the money supply

was cut off due to the war with Azerbaijan

and it is left now to its destiny

057  Globe thistles (Echinops

sphaerocephalus) that look especially

lovely against a dark rock

058  A bit southwest of the Hayravank

tuff monastery lies the village of Noratus,

famous for its ancient headstones, called

"Khachkars", which are characteristic

of medieval Christian Armenian art

059  The cemetery on the east side

of the village is studded with over

800 headstones and graves, which

were carved between the

9th and 17th century .....

060  ..... and show all kind of

wonderfully elaborated motifs

Besides the hundreds of cross stones there are also grave stones with fine details at Noratus dating from the 1st and 2nd century:

061  Crosses with different engravings

062  A herdsman on a horse

and a musician on a chariot

063  A woman in front of a water jar (?)

064  Recalls the Canadian tundra on the

way to Inuvik in the Northwest Territories:

Landscape south of Martuni at the north side

of our ascent to the 7’907 ft. high Selim Pass

065  On the 7’907 ft. high Selim Pass is

the old Selim Caravanserai where in earlier

times caravans stopped on their “Silk Road”

trade route over the Geghama Ridge .....

066  ..... the interior of the Caravanserai

067  A nicely paved road with many

switchbacks leads from the Selim Pass

down to the Arpa river valley. With

each mile it gets warmer

068  Halfway between Selim Pass and

Arpa Valley we make a side trip from

Shatin to the Yeghegis Valley which is

famous for its concentration of churches.

Here the Zorats Church dating from

1303 near the village of Yeghegis

069  The Yeghegis Valley surprises

with a beautiful mountain scenery and

apricot and walnut plantations

070  Discovering a shining beetle on a

flower is always an enjoyable moment

071  Close to Yeghegis village hides an

800 year old overgrown Jewish cemetery

behind a metal door on the south side of

the river. Where the Jewish community

arrived from and why it disappeared

again remains still a mystery .....

072  ..... the tombstones with Hebrew

inscriptions show biblical verses and

names of the deceased. The oldest dates

from 1266 and the newest from 1346

073  Up the mountain from the village

of Hermon sits the Arates Monastery with

three churches from the 7th and 13th century.

There is not much left of the beauty except

the lovely mountain setting .....

074  ..... the wall with inscriptions is

one of the only pieces that survived

075  Liliana prepares breakfast. We

camped on an overgrown track below

the monastery ruins of Arates at an

altitude of 5’900 ft

Continuation to the next Armenian page: Armenia Part 2 – July 19 to 22, 2013, from Nagorno-Karabakh to Georgia Part 2b

 

The "Greater"-Middle East trip 2012/13:

Sharjah/Dubai/1st Traveler's Festival/Emirates National Auto Museum - UAE with car Nov. 2012 to Jan. 2013 - part 1

Western UAE - Liwa - United Arab Emirates  with car in January 2013 - part 2

Oman 2013 - Part 1 - February 2013: Musandam Peninsula

Oman 2013 - Part 2 - February 2013: Sohar - Muscat - Rustaq - Nizwa

Oman 2013 - Part 3 - March 2013: Sur - East Coast - Island of Masirah - Dhofar

Oman 2013 - Part 4 - March 2013: Salalah & Surroundings (Dhofar) - Nizwa

Oman 2013 - Part 5 - March 2013: Western Hajar Mountains

Al Ain, Eastcoast & Ras al Khaima - United Arab Emirates with our car in April 2013 - part 3

Iran - Part 1: Ferry Port Bandar Abbas-Shiraz-Persepolis-Pasargad (between Persepolis and Yazd) – May 2013

Iran - Part 2: Pasargad (excl.)-Yazd-Esfahan – May 2013

Iran - Part 3: Esfahan (excl.)-Chelgerd-Hamadan-Sanandaj-Orumiyeh-Turkey Border – May 2013

Turkey: Iran Border-Esendere-Hakkari-Van-Doğubayazıt-Kars-Ardahan-Hopa-Georgia Border – May/June 2013

Georgia - Part 1: Turkey Border-Ajaria-Gori-Tbilisi-Kakheti-Azerbaijan Border – June 2013

Azerbaijan: Georgia Border-Balakən-Şəki-Lahıç-Baku-Xınalıq-Quba-Laza-Baku-Gəncə-Georgia Border – June 2013

Georgia - Part 2a: Azerbaijan Border-Tbilisi-Armenia Border – June/July 2013

Nagorno-Karabakh: Armenia-Stepanakert-Gandzasar-Martakert-Tigranakert-Tnjri-Shoushi-Armenia – July

Armenia - Part 2: Nagorno-Karabakh-Goris-Tatev-Noravank-Khor Virap-Echmiadzin-Yerewan-Geghard-Gyumri-Georgia Border – July 2013

Georgia - Part 2b: Armenia Border-Ninotsminda-Tbilisi-Mtskheta-Kazbegi-Kutaisi-Zugdidi – July 2013

Georgia - Part 3a: Zugdidi-Swaneti-Zugdidi-Abkhazia Border – July/August 2013

Abkhazia: Georgia-Sukhumi-Tsebelda-Novyy Aton-Lake Ritsa-Gagra-Pitsunda-Georgia – August 2013

Georgia - Part 3b: Abkhazia Border-Poti-Ferry to Ilyichevsk/Ukraine – August 2013