Our Trip
Day 5 - May 2
In the morning the sun was shining brightly. We travelled to Geghard Monastery which had been founded in the 4th century and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since the year 2000. The monastery is surrounded by an impressive landscape of high rocks which itself is well worth seeing!
The monastery
Some of the famous Armenian Khachkars (cross stones)
Wish trees - you attach a piece of cloth onto a tree and say or think a wish
Afterwards we went to the Temple of Garni. During our visit there was a musician inside the temple playing the Duduk, a traditional Armenian flute.
The temple
Duduk music in the temple
We took our lunch break in the town of Garni in a very lovely little garden restaurant. There we were not just spoiled with a tasty meal, but were also shown how the typical Armenian Lavash bread was made.
In the garden restaurant
It was so cozy :)
The bread is formed on the stone, then stuck to the oven wall ...
... and is soon ready to be eaten
After lunch we returned to Yerevan to visit the Genocide Memorial. During World War I more than one million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire were systematically deported and killed. The photos shown in the museum are very similar to those in Holocaust museums and the similarities of both genocides are obvious. There is one difference however: while the Germans admitted their guilt regarding the Holocaust, the Turkish state still denies that a genocide took place on their soil. At best they regard the many dead Armenians as "collateral damage" of the war, even though the many photos and eye witness reports prove them wrong.
The memorial
The "eternal flame" inside
Our group commemorates the victims
Four examples of advocates for the Armenians
At the Wall of Silence: Names of towns in the Ottoman Empire
where Armenians had lived and got killed (six examples)
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Diyarbakir, Erzurum, Musa Ler, Malatia, Samsun, Trabzon
In the afternoon we were taken to the city again for a walk on the art and flea market.
We had dinner in a restaurant close to the Genocide memorial.
Commercial break ;)
This advertisement for a telephone net followed us around Yerevan (and even outside)!
Photos by us
©2009 Hermann-Peter Steinmüller & Dr. Barbara Strohmenger
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