Unlike the rural scenery we had seen before we arrived, Yerevan was a well developed modern city. Trendy cafes and restaurants are all over, and people seem well groomed and pleasant. I would say Yerevan is indeed a "Cafe Rich" city.
There appeared to be many places of interest, but we had only two short days. We visited a few places, including Yerevan Cascade, a giant stairway made of limestone and Cafesjian Center of Arts
the Matenadaran museum. See the likes of Abovyan Street, the Republic Square and The last stop is the Yerevanian food market, also the best place to sample some fresh Armenian fruits and sweets.
Mother Cathedral Complex includes two seminaries, Mother Cathedral, a library plus a printing press
At the gate, there was a stone gate where the statues of Gregory the Illuminator and King Trdad III are holding the Cross. The Mother Cathedral was under renovation and we could not enter it.
Cathedral of Zbartnots or the angels was built around 650 AD and excavated in 1901. This was the place where Gregory the Illuminator saw Jesus Christ in dream and also King Trdad accepted Jesus Christ as his savior and the Lord, leading to Armenia becoming the first nation adopting Christianity as the state religion. It was the historic place indeed.
From here, we could have seen the Mt. Ararat if it was a clear day.
Mt. Ararat appears in the bible. The Noah's Ark landed on this mountain and the new humanity began with eight people. Currently, it is in the far east side of Turkey. Technically, it was part of the land that Armenians lost to Turkey after the series of the Genocide against Armenians.
To the Armenians, Mt. Ararat belongs to Armenia. "Ar" means "Create." "Rat" means "life." So Ararat means "Created life." Armen means "Created men." Armenia has Mr. Aragats with four peaks of approximately 4,000 meters high. Armenia has a legend story about Ararat and Aragat. Interesting.
From Yerevan, we could see Mt, Ararat, but vaguely and remotely. Nonetheless, I was excited about the fact that I was able to see Mt. Ararat where Noah's Ark is believed to have landed after the great flood.
Armenian Genocide Museum was a solemn place where Armenian painful and tragic story is kept. Not to forget, but to remember, whispering "Never again."
From the time of the Ottoman Empire, the Turks have tried to remove all Armenians for their faith from the land. The genocide has taken place in several phases, killing Armenian men through soldiers, then elites, and relocating Armenian civilians on foot to concentration camps in the Syrian border areas, and culminating with the fire at Syrmana currently Izmir with Armenians living in the city. It is estimated that 1.5 million Armenians have fallen in one form or another over the 8 year period from 1915 to 1923.
Particularly, women and children were abused through slave trades and child soldiers. Turkification was rampant. The women slave trade story was published in a book, titled "Auction of the Souls" and it was produced as a movie also in the name of "Ravished Armenian." The depicted reality was disgusting and mind-boggling.
I have learned more about the sorrow that Armenians had to endure and overcome and the fighting spirit that may have made Armenians look uptight.
We visited other places of interest in Yerevan, such as Yerevan Cascade...
and Cafesjian Center for the Arts right below the Yerevan Cascade, where many sculptures are placed along with fountains and flowers.
Since they are together, photos are showing them together.
Here we took another group photo.
Also, we visited the Opera House...
and the Republic Square...we passed by with the photos borrowed from Google.
and a local craft market.
For the last night of the tour, we had a farewell dinner at a traditional Armenian restaurant.
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| Nancy (75) from Dallas, Texas and Megan, Tour Leader |
We watched Armenian traditional dance performance that was carried out with strong tension and expression of the agony that they have endured for a long time.
We said farewell to people until we may bump into each other somewhere in the world.
This trip to the Caucasus Region was a memorable one to cherish for a long time. - Jeffrey
