Still plugging along...
Hi everyone!
It's Monday here in Yerevan and I've already been and gone Vayots Dzor. But, I guess I should catch you up on Sunday first. Sunday I went to Etchmiadzin with the D.C. group. We stopped at St. Hripsime first (a 7th century church!) and happened to see the liturgy begin. After visiting St. Hripsime we continued on to Holy Etchmiadzin where we saw the bulk of the liturgy. The rest of the group toured around the campus a bit after seeing some of the liturgy while I stayed inside. Etchmiadzin is the center of the Armenian Church, kind of like Vatican City is for Catholics. The choir and the clergy there do the liturgy really beautifully - the singing and chanting are fantastic.
The group didn't want to stay the whole time and we had to be on our way, so we left soon after the sermon and Hayr Mer. We then went to St. Gayaneh just up the street where we saw hokihankisd (the requiem service at the end of liturgy) conclude. So, I saw the Badarak almost beginning to end in 3 different churches. It was pretty neat.
After Gayaneh we ate lunch in Etchmiadzin at an NGO called "Mer Doon" (Our House). It's a house that houses up to 14 girls who are too old to stay in the orphanage, yet have great potential to succeed and have no place to live. So they stay here and get an education, forming a family unit with the other girls and teachers/mothers that live there. It's a pretty interesting place. We were there quite a long time, though, so I didn't make it back to Yerevan in time to meet Karen at 4pm. It's so difficult to meet people in a big city like this when you don't have a cell phone - it's been really nice to not be tied to a phone, but in instances like that it would have been so much easier to have one. As you might imagine, we missed each other and I couldn't find her the rest of the evening. Oh well. I did enjoy a walk in town and then sitting at the Opera drawing and people watching.
Today I went south to the Ararat and Vayots Dzor regions. My driver, Hamlet, is a really nice and funny guy, and we had a fun time teaching Armenian/English to the other. It's a beautiful day in Armenia, luckily, so I think I got some really great photos of the mountains and of the churches we visited.
First we went to Khor Virab, the church on the site of where St. Gregory was in the pit. Mt. Ararat was perfectly visible today, unlike the last time I was there, so it was pretty spectacular. It's pretty unbelievable that the mountain is that close, yet not in Armenia. I feel it's somewhat symbolic of the Western Armenia we've lost - always remembering it yet never getting to it.
After Khor Virab we drove about an hour through the mountains (the switchbacks and drop offs are a little nervewracking...) to Areni. I saw the little Areni church on the side of the mountain several times last year but never went to it, so I was really excited to see it. Hamlet had never been there either, so we asked several digins (ladies) how to get there. I must say, the little Areni church might be one of my new favorite places in Armenia. The view is beautiful and the church is really nice. It sits in a very old graveyard, so the environs are really interesting. It's dome looks like a miniature version of the one on St. John's at home.
After Areni we drove back through the village and went a little further down the road to Noravank. The road to Noravank is pretty impressive - the gorges and mountains you drive through are absolutely mammoth. Noravank is another one of my favorite places, and today with the beautiful weather and quiet atmosphere (not too many tourists yet!), it was really great. Der Sahag, the priest of Noravank, was also there so it was nice to see him. I don't really know him, but it was a familiar face nonetheless.
After Noravank we tried calling Armine (the lady in charge of Habitat in Yeghegnadzor who was in charge of our team last summer), but she didn't pick up the phone at home or her cell phone. So, unfortunately we couldn't go visit because we didn't know where she was. I suppose she's in Aghavnadzor somewhere with Habitat, but I don't know where the site is (if it's even there), so it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Oh well. I'm not sure if she realizes we're not coming to stay tonight - I tried to call her several times this week but she never answered. Hopefully she got my email. I'll miss seeing her this trip, but oh well.
Tonight I'm off to Jazzve cafe with the Habitat group. It'll be nice to finally catch up with Karen since we missed each other this weekend. She'll be coming to stay in the apartment as of Wednesday, which should be really fun. The next few days should be lowkey - I'm sticking around Yerevan to gather information, draw at Soorb Katoghike, and perhaps go to Etchmiadzin to see the architectural department there and talk to them about my project.
I hope you're all doing well! Keep in touch!
It's Monday here in Yerevan and I've already been and gone Vayots Dzor. But, I guess I should catch you up on Sunday first. Sunday I went to Etchmiadzin with the D.C. group. We stopped at St. Hripsime first (a 7th century church!) and happened to see the liturgy begin. After visiting St. Hripsime we continued on to Holy Etchmiadzin where we saw the bulk of the liturgy. The rest of the group toured around the campus a bit after seeing some of the liturgy while I stayed inside. Etchmiadzin is the center of the Armenian Church, kind of like Vatican City is for Catholics. The choir and the clergy there do the liturgy really beautifully - the singing and chanting are fantastic.
The group didn't want to stay the whole time and we had to be on our way, so we left soon after the sermon and Hayr Mer. We then went to St. Gayaneh just up the street where we saw hokihankisd (the requiem service at the end of liturgy) conclude. So, I saw the Badarak almost beginning to end in 3 different churches. It was pretty neat.
After Gayaneh we ate lunch in Etchmiadzin at an NGO called "Mer Doon" (Our House). It's a house that houses up to 14 girls who are too old to stay in the orphanage, yet have great potential to succeed and have no place to live. So they stay here and get an education, forming a family unit with the other girls and teachers/mothers that live there. It's a pretty interesting place. We were there quite a long time, though, so I didn't make it back to Yerevan in time to meet Karen at 4pm. It's so difficult to meet people in a big city like this when you don't have a cell phone - it's been really nice to not be tied to a phone, but in instances like that it would have been so much easier to have one. As you might imagine, we missed each other and I couldn't find her the rest of the evening. Oh well. I did enjoy a walk in town and then sitting at the Opera drawing and people watching.
Today I went south to the Ararat and Vayots Dzor regions. My driver, Hamlet, is a really nice and funny guy, and we had a fun time teaching Armenian/English to the other. It's a beautiful day in Armenia, luckily, so I think I got some really great photos of the mountains and of the churches we visited.
First we went to Khor Virab, the church on the site of where St. Gregory was in the pit. Mt. Ararat was perfectly visible today, unlike the last time I was there, so it was pretty spectacular. It's pretty unbelievable that the mountain is that close, yet not in Armenia. I feel it's somewhat symbolic of the Western Armenia we've lost - always remembering it yet never getting to it.
After Khor Virab we drove about an hour through the mountains (the switchbacks and drop offs are a little nervewracking...) to Areni. I saw the little Areni church on the side of the mountain several times last year but never went to it, so I was really excited to see it. Hamlet had never been there either, so we asked several digins (ladies) how to get there. I must say, the little Areni church might be one of my new favorite places in Armenia. The view is beautiful and the church is really nice. It sits in a very old graveyard, so the environs are really interesting. It's dome looks like a miniature version of the one on St. John's at home.
After Areni we drove back through the village and went a little further down the road to Noravank. The road to Noravank is pretty impressive - the gorges and mountains you drive through are absolutely mammoth. Noravank is another one of my favorite places, and today with the beautiful weather and quiet atmosphere (not too many tourists yet!), it was really great. Der Sahag, the priest of Noravank, was also there so it was nice to see him. I don't really know him, but it was a familiar face nonetheless.
After Noravank we tried calling Armine (the lady in charge of Habitat in Yeghegnadzor who was in charge of our team last summer), but she didn't pick up the phone at home or her cell phone. So, unfortunately we couldn't go visit because we didn't know where she was. I suppose she's in Aghavnadzor somewhere with Habitat, but I don't know where the site is (if it's even there), so it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Oh well. I'm not sure if she realizes we're not coming to stay tonight - I tried to call her several times this week but she never answered. Hopefully she got my email. I'll miss seeing her this trip, but oh well.
Tonight I'm off to Jazzve cafe with the Habitat group. It'll be nice to finally catch up with Karen since we missed each other this weekend. She'll be coming to stay in the apartment as of Wednesday, which should be really fun. The next few days should be lowkey - I'm sticking around Yerevan to gather information, draw at Soorb Katoghike, and perhaps go to Etchmiadzin to see the architectural department there and talk to them about my project.
I hope you're all doing well! Keep in touch!