Armenia  27th June 

Monastery - Graveyard - Caravanserai - Short Walk - Winery - Bed

Typical Armenian Hospitality or Guide Advantage

Hike to the medieval fortress of King Smbat, standing on the elevation of about 1950 m, you will continue to Takhats Kar Monastery on the elevation of 2080 m. On your way to Yerevan visit Areni wine market where you’ll have a chance to taste one of famous wines in Armenia. Head to Yerevan. Hiking – 12 km / Ascent| descent – 680 m 

The program for the day looked harmless enough, but by the end of the day we were absolutely knackered!

Just a few kilometers from our lovely hotel on Lake Sevan (and now that the sun was shining, we were really sad to leave!) was a small ancient monastery (Hayravank, dating to 9th-12th centuries) where we made a short stop. A few km further and a graveyard, and a much longer stop. Renate had read about the site and Mher obliged with an unscheduled stop. There are many very early graves and headstones (Khachkars) at the Noratus cemetery dating from the 10th Century. Many have pictures carved onto the stones and they even know the names of three of the craftsmen from 1550-1600. Amazing place.

A fairly long drive was interrupted by another unscheduled coffee stop at Orbelian´s Caravanserai, built along the Vardenyats Mountain Pass (also known as the Selim Mountain Pass) in 1332, when this route was part of one of several branches of the famous Silk Road. It is the best maintained caranvaserai, where both trader´s and their animals could overnight in safety.

Just as we were leaving a monster truck arrived with the number plate of a neighbouring town - to Stuttgart. A German couple and 5 year old daughter have been travelling throughout the region since February, and won´t return until October! Now that is the way to do it (but not for me!!).

On to Yehegis village. Parked car and began the walk described in our guide. Smbataberd or Smbats´s Fortress a small speck on the skyline as seen from the road side. Possibly dating as far back as the 5th, most of it dates to the 9th and 10th centuries. After two hours of gentle but continuous serpentine trekking and a short break within the fortress, Renate and I decided to skip the monastery which would have extended our walk by another 1-2 hours.

Another unscheduled stop a few kilometers later for a vain attempt to gain access to a cave where the oldest shoe ever found was discovered at the Areni caves - size 37, stuffed with straw and 6000 years old. We had arrived 20 minutes after closing! It was now 7:20 p.m. already. Areni winery was around the corner and we stopped to meet Anushavan, a climbing companion of Mher´s, at he and his father´s vineyard and Renate tasted two more delicious wines. The winery is relatively new but the Grigoryan family has put a lot of effort into making it a very elegant, but still rustic, place to stop by. After coffee (for me) we drove to Yerevan and our hotel. We arrived at 11:30. I was desperate for a beer and thankfully our hotel had a very friendly barkeeper!

This blog is already longer than average but I have to include two further unplanned (well, not in the guide´s original program). At the foot of the mountain (Yeghenis village, 1950 m) we met a local, Harutiun, who Mher has known for some years and he invited us into his garden. If we had not had his hospitality (cheese, bread, sausage, cucumber, tomato) we would have starved to death on that day. He was a leader of the local forest ranger and using Mher as interpreter we spent a pleasant half hour there. Renate was obliged to drink three small glasses of local schnaps out of respect for our host. I had a small, but welcome, beer. Five meters later, another of Mher´s village contacts invited us in to coffee. Another 20 minute stopover, and a welcome cup of Armenian style coffee.

And throughout the day, magnificent scenery. An ever-changing backdrop that our pictures can´t really capture.