Hovhannavank and Saghmosvank are two monasteries on the dramatic Kasagh River Canyon. They are about 5 kms apart, and in fact you can see one from the other (if you know where to look)
Hovhannavank Monastery
Hovhannavank is a medieval monastery located in the village of Ohanavan in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia. The monastery stands on the edge of the Kasagh River canyon, and adjacent to the village of Ohanavan.
The oldest part of the monastery is the single nave basilica of St. Karapet (i.e. Holy Forerunner, John the Baptist) that was founded at the beginning of the fourth century by St. Gregory the Enlightener, who baptized Armenia into the world’s first Christian nation. The wooden roof of the early church was replaced in 554 AD with a thatch cover, and the basilica itself underwent profound renovation between 1652 and 1734.
Hovhannavank belongs to the category of “Gandzasar-style” ecclesiastical edifices that were built approximately at the same time in different parts of Armenia, and were endowed with similar compositional and decorative characteristics. Those include umbrella-shaped dome, cruciform floor plan, narthex (often with stalactite-ornamented ceiling), and high-relief of a large cross on one of the church’s walls.
In 1918, the dome and the southern wall were destroyed by a powerful earthquake; both were reconstructed in the 1990s.
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Saghmosvank Monastery
The Saghmosvank ( lit. "monastery of the Psalms") is a 13th-century Armenian monastic complex located in the village of Saghmosavan in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia. Like the Hovhannavank monastery which is five kilometres south, Saghmosvank is situated atop the precipitous gorge carved by the Kasagh river.
Their silhouettes dominate the adjacent villages and rise sharp against the background of the mountains crowned by Mount Aragats. The main structures of the monasteries erected by Prince Vache Vachutyan—the Church of Zion in Saghmosvank (1215) and the Church of Karapet in Hovhannavank (1216-1221)—belong to the same type of cross-winged domed structure with two-floor annexes in all the corners of the building. Subcupola space predominates in the interiors of both churches, which is reflected in the exterior shapes of these structures.
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Soviet era flats
Most cities in the former Soviet Union are blighted by numbers of 'pile them high sell them cheap' flats (well give them away). They were all built over fifty years ago, with a life expectancy of fifty years. It must be hell living in one!
To honor the Soviet Union, Yerevan attempted to build an apartment complex spelling the acronym USSR in Cyrillic (ie. CCCP) so it would be visible from above when flying into the city from Moscow. The USSR collapsed before they finished the last two letters. Thousands of people still live in the USSR apartment complex. The 16-story buildings no longer have working elevators.
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The Last Supper
We had the "last supper" at a restaurant just off Republic Square called Sherep Restaurant. There was live group playing, which made it impossible to hear what anyone was saying! Not really my sort of restaurant. Nellie, the owner of the ground tour operator, made a little speech.
Last supper because the following day was the last on the tour, and many of us were leaving in the middle of the night - as is the wont in Armenia, virtually all flights in and out are in the middle of the night
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