Armenia – Syunik, Vayots Dzor (Kapan) December 3, 2019
After only about 8 hours in Nagorno, I left Shushi to return to southern Armenia. Although I thought I had climbed as high as I could, the road continued to climb through dense fog. This road was full of potholes. When I swerved to miss one, I hit the high shoulder of the highway and bent the rim of the right front wheel. It started to leak and the low tire pressure light came on. None of the gas stations had a pump and as the pressure wasn’t decreasing, I continued to Goris in southern Armenia. I luckily stopped at a service station with a tire shop. After removing the wheel, he discovered the bent rim, took a sledgehammer to it and fixed it – all for less than €4.
I reentered southern Armenia from Nagorno at about 6 pm. It was necessary to turn the vehicle registration form into customs to prove that I had left the republic.
Swinging Bridge, Khndzoresk. In the NM “Pedestrian Bridges” series, I returned here from Goris in the morning. This suspension bridge connects old Khndzoresk with new Khndzoresk, a truly unique Armenian village. Built by the villagers with their own hands, and horses, without modern machinery, it spans 160 meters across the most rugged, yet scenic gorge one could imagine.
In Old Khndzoresk, people lived in caves in the cliffs of this rocky canyon since the 13th century. It wasn’t until the mid-twentieth century that Soviet officials declared the caves uncivilized and forced the villagers to relocate themselves. Many villagers relocated to the new Khndzoresk or moved elsewhere. They have quite spacious rooms (cavities) often with adjoining rooms and often had ovens (tonir) for baking lavash. Many dwellings had porches that jutted out from the cliffside. Some estimates suggest that the population grew to 15,000 people living on this steep gorge. Many of these dwellings were carved out over and around each other. A complex system of ropes and ladders was required for people to reach one another within the community. At its height, the village had two churches and three schools. Old Khndzoresk existed in this form until the twentieth century.
Now, thanks to the suspension bridge that the community built, tourists and locals alike can access this amazing historical treasure. Descend 400 stairs before reaching the bridge.
GORIS
It snowed about 1cm overnight, my first snowfall in the morning in 11 months. But it was warm and melted on the city roads quickly.
Goris Old Town. A NM “sight”, is primarily two long streets lined with stone buildings. The style is unusual with the cement surrounding each stone projecting out past the stone. A herd of several hundred sheep being herded through the center of town stopped all traffic.
Contemporary Art Museum. With the grandiose name “National Center of Aesthetics After Henrik Igityan”, this is more modern Armenian art, much painted in bright, almost garish colours. Free
I didn’t go south to Tatev, Kapan, Baghaberd fortress, Arevik NP and Shikahogh State Reserve. All were a long way south on mountain roads. I could not go past them as the border is with Iran so would have had to return the same way. And I then bypassed all the following in order. Over a high plateau, the roads were mostly hard-packed snow and quite slippery. They had been plowed and gravelled (two guys with shovels in the back of a truck). Big trucks tractioned out on the hills and one was skewered ¾ of the way across the road. The temperature hovered around -3°C. Thankfully I had relatively new 4-season tires and AWD but it was a long drive at speeds between 55-65 for about 100 kilometers.
I soon hit the top of the pass (with a huge monument) and rapidly descended over several switchbacks to no snow, clear roads and temperatures around +3°C. I bypassed Jermuk (33 km each way).
The MONASTERY of NORAVANK and the UPPER AMAGHOU VALLEY
A tentative WHS (25/08/1995), drove 7.7 km off the highway through a spectacular rocky gorge on a narrow road. The last 650m climbs up to the monastery.
St. Stepanos Nakhav’ka Church. The main church was built for Prince Liparit Orbelian between 1216-21. The central dome and two-story annexes were destroyed in the 1840 earthquake but have now been rebuilt.
The gavit was built as a sepulchre for the Orbelian dynasty and monastery monks, was rebuilt in 1261 and again in 1321 after an earthquake. The interior is lined with magnificent khachkars (stone crosses).
Two carvings grace the front of the gavit.
Lower Sculpture is a seated Madonna and Child set against a richly carved backdrop of letters interwoven with floral designs, leaves vines and flowers. Two central saints gaze upon the Madonna.
Upper Sculpture in the upper window is a unique combination of God the Father in human form as a bearded man flanked by the Blessed Virgin, Christ, Adam, and John the Evangelist above the prone figure of the prophet Daniel. God cradles the head of Adam in his left hand as Adam receives a breath of life from the Holy Spirit (represented as a dove). Done by Momik these sculptures fill their tympanums with figures and inscriptions.
St Karapet Church. The first church you come to is unusually two-story. Descend into the bottom, a dark, vaulted space with a lovely portal with the Virgin Mary and two angels. Then climb up the precariously narrow stairs (one on each side) to the magnificent top with its high, reconstructed dome supported by 12 pillars, three of which are original. A small square cross, it has an elevated altar and lovely stalactite arches over the niches and an eagle and angel carvings on the dome of the apse.
This small 9th-century church was in ruins and the oldest part of the complex. Because it was very small, it was only able to fit a handful of monks at any given time suggesting it was only for the clergy. Of the old gravestones around the church, one is dedicated to Sargis “Here rests Sargid. Like a victorious lion in battle, a son of Palka. May he be remembered in my prayers”.
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