Day 87: Garni & Geghard Monastery

Today we booked a 5 hour tour to Garni. The first stop was Charents' Arch which centers on Ararat mountain, a sacred symbol to Armenian culture and history. We moved onto Geghard Monastery, which was built in 4th century and the main chapel in 1215. They carved the monastery into a naturally forming cave and a spring was used for blessings. Our next stop was a Lavash baking master class which is a traditional bread cooked in a ground pit against a clay wall. Then we hit Garni Temple, a Roman Temple and Bath House from 1st/2nd century. Our final stop was the Symphony of Stones which is a gorge where you can see where very hot lava met cold water and formed basalt columns.

Our tour was mixed English and Russian, and there were only two other English speakers: Ana from Armenia and Enda from Ireland. Ana continued to show us around Yerevan to a local artisan market, the Manuscript Museum, the Cacades, and her favorite donut shop. We decided to go to dinner together and then got drinks at the Beatles Pub which played System of a Down (me and Ana were belting out jams). It was 2am and Ana was trying to motivate the troops to go to a rave that lasts until 5am. Luckily Enda had a flight in 3 hours so we were saved. Amazing night out and major thanks to Enda and Ana for their kindness.

Restaurants:
Grand Candy Donuts
Tavern Yerevan

Food:
Lavish Bread
Sea Buckthorn Tea
Donuts
Fruit Leather
Armenian smoked meats
Pickled Vegetable
Kovsakan Salad
Stuffed Eggplant
Beef Tzhvzhik
Khinkali

Spots:
Charents Arch
Geghard Monastery
Garni Temple
Symphony of Stones
Matenadaran
Cascades
Cafesjian Center for the ArtsRead more