The room had been quite cold when I hit the sack last night. In quick time, though, it warmed up enough to present me with a comfortable night of rest. The guesthouse looked new and was fitted out with fancy lights and air-conditioning instead of gas-based heating. One of the lows of the guesthouse was the poor Wi-Fi connectivity. Whether it is a problem in Tatev or not, I am not sure. Even mobile data connection inside the guesthouse was poor.
The next issue was water supply. The force of water in the taps was very poor and the hot water supply was erratic. Either you got water that would chill your bones or water that could scald and scar you for life. The guesthouse didn't have a bucket and mug which I could have used to mix the water. Then the creative mind got to work.
The garbage bin was brand new. I cleaned and used that in place of a bucket. Next up, I boiled water in the kettle and mixed it with cold water from the bathroom tap. Now, for the mug. Guess what? I used a coffee cup! "Don't complain of the darkness, light a candle". The makeshift arrangement worked well, and I was ready for breakfast.
The guesthouse has a large courtyard and place for people to dine in the backdrop of mountains, inhaling clean air. However, with snow in the courtyard, even though it hadn't snowed last night, I preferred to dine in the small, closed room. The kitchen was managed by the guesthouse owner's mother. She laid on the table a double egg omelette, sausages, Armenian bread, sauteed potatoes, apricot and cherry jam, local cheese and herbal tea. When I had got through most of it, she gave me a strong cup of black coffee and a piece of cake. "Mogambo Khush Hua"!
It was time to take the long road back to Yerevan. I had nearly 280 km to do today with four stopovers for sightseeing. First on the day's itinerary was the Noravank Monastery, 150 km away. As I was leaving Tatev, I saw children walking on ankle high snow, on their way to school. Young and bright faces; sparks that lit up the day.
The first part of the drive was over winding ghat roads. Last evening, in the cable car, I heard about the Devils Bridge and was eager to get a glimpse of it while leaving Tatev. I stopped where the Yandex Navi App pointed to its location. I got down a few flights of stone steps with guardrails to hold on as it was slippery in some places. There were puddles and tanks of minerals after with fungi formed like lotus leaves by the side of the steps leading down to the gorge. I got a flavour of the artistry of nature; hollowed out rock, different hues made by mineral springs, gushing water and stalactites.
I was retracing the road I had travelled on the previous day. The dual carriageway, winding around mountains was quite an experience. The hairpin bends didn't have guardrails. The weather was excellent, though. It was bright and sunny. I had to stop and clean the windshield for better visibility.
In a little over two hours, I climbed the steep road to the Noravank Monastery. There were many tourists at that hour. The irresistibly picturesque setting compliments the 13th century structure. Red and greenish brown cliffs surround the monastery, due to which Noravank Monastery is sometimes called the “Red Monastery”. In the past, along with Tatev Monastery, this had been an important center for education and culture.
The construction of Noravank Monastery has a poignant story attached to it. It is said that Momik, a reputed architect, had fallen in love with the daughter of the Prince of Syunik. The prince ordered Momik to build a monastery in 3 months to win his daughter in marriage. Momik took up the challenge and started construction of the monastery.
He cut stones from cliffs and managed to stick to the deadline. A few days before the monastery was to be handed over, a servant of the prince pushed Momik to his death from the rooftop of the monastery, as ordered by the prince. Thus, the last stone of the monastery became the gravestone of Momik, the architect.
The monastery has three elements, two churches and a chapel. The Holy Mother of God church, built by Momik, is unique in that it has two floors. The lower one was the burial ground of the Orbelian family and the upper floor was the memorial Temple. The present day St. John the Baptist church is a newer version of the one that was flattened in the 14th century by an earthquake.
To this day, the whole of Noravank maintains a reputation of being a special and significant piece of Armenian architecture, as well as a staple of its strong Christian history. I sought the blessing of a priest who explained that Armenian church has five sister churches of which the Malabar church is one.
The Arena 1 cave visit was a complete flop, in the sense that only a few meters of the cave is open to the public. The cave was accidentally discovered by an Armenian student and archaeologist in 2008, when the earliest known shoe was discovered. Later exploration brought up the earlier known winery, a straw skirt belonging to the 4 century BC and a humanoid brain.
The visit to the cave didn't take up much time. I took more time in a store near the ticket counter. Exquisite carvings of limestone and wood and woven yarn. The work of a young artist couple, the productions are masterpieces. Had it not been for the baggage weight restrictions I would have loosened my purse strings a bit.
The Khor Virap Monastery is about 80 km from the Arena cave. The road was adequate and the drive was smooth. A fair distance away from the monastery the Ararat Mountains come into view. The Little Ararat and Greater Ararat are dormant volcanoes in Turkey. The latter is the highest peak in Turkey at 5127 meters; it was first scaled in 1829.
Mount Ararat is traditionally considered as the resting place of Noah's Ark and hence, holds biblical significance. The mountain is sacred to Armenians and is the principal national symbol of the country. The best views of the twin mountains are had from the vantage position of the Khor Virap Monastery.
Legend has it that the ancient city of Artashat, the capital of Armenia, was located where Khor Virap Monastery now stands. Under where the church stands today was a prison pit with snakes, scorpions and other poisonous insects. The pit was meant for prisoners and stank of rotting flesh.
The king at the time, Tridat, a servant of pagan gods, imprisoned Gregory the Illuminator, the patron saint of Armenia, in the pit for preaching Christian sermons for 13 years. Gregory was released after the king's sister saw an angel in her dream seeking his release as a solution to the King's madness.
After his release Gregory prayed beside the king and restored him to normalcy. From that day on Tridat became an ardent supporter of Christianity and declared it as the state religion. This happened in 301 AD and in the exact place where the prison pit had been located and the Khor Virap monastery was built. Thus, this place has great significance to Christians in Armenia.
After a tour of the historically significant and goosebumps raising monastery, it was time to get closer to Yerevan. The Erebuni fortress is an 8th century BC fortified settlement in the outskirts of Yerevan. In fact, the name Yerevan is reportedly derived from the name Erebuni. Yandex Navi App failed to get me to the fortress, and I landed up in a godforsaken neighborhood.
I switched to Google Maps and reached what looked like the entrance to the fortress by taking a steep, winding road. A guy in military uniform spoke to me in chaste Armenian! What he wanted to convey, I had no clue of, and he was frustrated by my English! After a few minutes of meaningless exchange, I took it that I would not be able to enter the fortress unless I had a ticket, which I had to obtain from someplace else. As I did not have the time left for it, as the complex closed at 4.30 on, I skipped the tour inside the fortified structure.
On the way to the accommodation, I had booked in Yerevan for the last two nights in Armenia I drove into a car wash, hoping to get the car cleaned before handing it back to the rental company. The guys told me that it would take another hour as they did not have power supply then. I drove out hoping to get the car washed the next day.
Through busy Friday evening traffic, I inched my way to what was meant to be the address of the accommodation I had booked in Yerevan for two nights. There was no place to park, and I sought temporary refuge in a private residential complex. I walked to the address and found it to be a massage parlour with girls of different ages and sizes waiting for 'clients'. The madam of the massage spa told me that there isn't any "cozy apartment" there for stay. That was that.
I decided to go to the Hotel Tigran Mets, where I had stayed on my arrival into Yerevan. They gave me a deluxe suite as that was the only one available. Pricey, but very nice. I got all the luggage into the room as I had to pack for the return to India in a couple of days. Thereafter, I took a walk to locate the Armenian market, from where I intended to buy dried fruits, for which Armenia is famous for.
The city wore a festive look and was vibrant. Perhaps, a combination of the start of the weekend and the receding winter weather. The evening was very pleasant and the Republic Square looked radiant and rich. I made my way through busy pedestrian traffic to the Lavash restaurant that was recommended for traditional Armenian food. I had a portion of pumpkin soup and a traditional BBQ chicken with lavash. The excellent visit to Armenia was coming to an end.
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