Special Issue
the proliferation of Christianity) and
Etchmiadzin Cathedral, which is the official residence of the Catholicos of All
Armenians. As the legend goes, it is the
place where Jesus Christ descended from
heaven, while the name of the city is the
Armenian for “descended the only-begotten son”. The cathedral is a holy place
where they store such relics as a fragment
of Noah’s Arc, a fragment of the crown of
thorns, and the spear that pierced Jesus
Christ. The city’s unspoken architectural
rule is that all new buildings cannot be
higher than the cross on top of Etchmiadzin Cathedral, one of the world’s oldest
Christian churches…
The tour of the history and culture
museum of Zvartnots was quite impressive. The programme provided for visits
to the churches of Noravank and Garni,
Tegher Monastery and also prominent
churches of Geghard and Saint Mesrop Mashtots in the village of Oshakan,
whether relics of the enlightener and the
inventor of the Armenian alphabet rest in
an underground vault.
We came across so many picturesque
views on our way, which would melt a
heart of stone!
The steep cliffs of the Garni Gorge and
the vast windy expanse of Lake Sevan will
always stay in our memory. Of course, we
could not avoid trying local beverages –
Siarhei Plytkevich (Belarus)
Armenian cognacs at Proshyan Brandy
Factory and the amazing Armenian cuisine – everywhere.
At the village of Areni, which is known
for its winemaking traditions, we happened to visit a real wine festival. What
a truly festive event it was! We tried wine
made from pomegranates, raspberries and
quince, young grape wine and aged wine,
apricot brandy, cornel vodka and mulberry
vodka.
We discovered a lot of curious information about khachkars (Armenian
cross-stones) – an exclusively Armenian phenomenon and a major artistic
symbol of the nation. Curious as it may
seem, each and every khachkar is different! There is no common algorithm and
all cross-stones have their own character. While visiting a carpet factory in
Megerian, we learnt that khachkars can
also be made of wool and silk. There
they create amazing carpets inspired by
khachkars.
We tried to learn some Armenian,
whic