Breakfast just after 7 am. then off to Tatev monastery. We stopped near a tower where we had a view of the monastery across the valley. The coach would take us all the way down and back up the other side. The view was impressive looking down into the gorge. Below us was a bird of prey circling around catching thermals before it flew off down the valley.
We continued on to the monastery. There was an interesting earthquake tower which was said to shake a warning 5 minutes before the earthquake struck. The monastery was situated on a flat hilltop and surrounded on three sides by sheer cliffs. The cathedral was almost impregnable. The Royal families of Armenia archived their manuscripts and documents here for safekeeping.
Claire gave us some time off and said those who wanted to walk down the road could, and the bus would pick them up in 15 minutes. Off Steve went, the bus picked up several people on the way down, Meg and Ken had not seen him. Steve made it to the bottom of the hairpin road and was in the process of buying a beer from the odd bar when the bus caught up with him. Hot and sweaty no one wanted him next to them on the bus.
On the way down, Steve saw several Armenians, and they were communicating across the valley, with each other with loud shouts. The acoustics of the valley allowed this method of communication.
Goris
The Goris visit was for lunch. The lunch was provided by a family in their house. There was no running water and our hands were washed by girls with water from a jug. The group sat and ate at three tables, laden with all kinds of food. Steve’s downfall at lunch was the mulberry vodka which on hindsight he may have had too much of. In his defence, he says, he was preparing himself for the long four-hour trip back to Yerevan. And anyway any problems were caused by the large amount of fruit juice consumed as afflicted some others the next day.
Everyone had a good time at lunch.
On the drive home the group stopped at a small monastery where one guy was imprisoned (287-301AD) in a pit and fed, legend had it, by bread left by a young widow every day in a crack in his prison. He was the Kings brother. He was freed when the King was ill. The King’s wife dreamt that the Kings brother was still alive and only he could cure the King, which he did with 77 days of prayer.
Steve went down into the pit, the atmosphere was almost unbreathable with all the incense candle burning. Rosemary nearly kidnapped a Siamese cat, who’s owner took exception at seeing her cat being handled.
On the journey back to Yerevan and the hotel Erebouni they passed Mt Ararat on the way. The hotel was built for the Soviet party members and foreign trade unionists. New furniture in the room and a hot water heater. Made the room very hot. The hotel used to be part of the Sputnik Group, not Intourist.
