Day 2: 3 Provinces in 1 day: Kotayk, Tavush, Gegharkunik
Kotayk Province, Tsaghkadzor & Tavush Province, Dilijan & Gegharkunik Province, Sevan
Day 2 Route
Since today’s schedule was a bit compact, we all woke up early to have breakfast consisting of Armenian homemade jam, organic butter, and traditional Armenian Matnakash (type of a bread meaning “finger draw”). After finishing our breakfasts, we set off.
First visit of the day was the Kecharis Monastery complex in Kotayk province in the North of Yerevan. The monastery is situated right by the ski resort town of Tsaghadzor. One-hour drive brought us there, one of the most significant monasteries of Armenia. In the middle ages, this monastery was a religious and cultural center in Armenia and the country’s most exceptional medieval scientists and politicians lived and worked in Kecharis.
The construction of the complex was spread over two centuries, from 11AD to 13 AD. As a whole, it hosts four churches, two chapels and a gavit. Gavit serves as an entrance to the monastery attached to the west of a church in medieval Armenian monastery. The churches present in the complex are Saint Grigor (11th century), Surp Nshan (11th century), Surp Harutyun (13th century) and Katoghike (13th century). During the 1927 Armenian earthquake, the churches were crucially damaged, only to be rebuilt in 2000. Akin to the other monastery complexes, you may also come across with various khachkars and tombstones within the complex.
Kecharis General View
Kecharis Interior Lecterns
Kecharis Interior Dome
Kecharis Monastery Square
Here in this link, you may watch the Monastery online.
After having enjoyed the monastery and the traditional Armenian cuisine during our lunch break, we moved on to another complex named Tufenkian Old Dilijan.
Parking the car, we walked down the timber stairs through little shops built in stone. Restoration works in this historical district of Dilijan started in 2004. The purpose of the project was to enlighten the Armenian daily life of 19th century and to show the world the modernized version of the Sharambeyan Street. The street offers to visitors specialized workshops selling hand-made jewelry accessories, wooden ornaments, paintings, silk or cashmere clothing, rugs & carpets, ceramics and local souvenirs.
After popping in every single workshop, I decided to buy for my mother a very stylish and functional jewelry case made of timber. The artists name was Kirkor. It was a great honor to meet such a craftsman who struggles to preserve the Armenian artwork for the next generations.
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By the way, I strongly urge you to have a look at this casework about the Tufenkian Heritage Hotels. It shows a great respect to James Tufenkian, an Armenian diaspora member and the founder of these top quality chain boutique hotels.
“... Armenia is my ancient homeland and I am proud to share it with you. It was my vision to create Tufenkian Heritage Hotels in order to provide you with a taste of our rich culture.”
James Tufenkian, Founder, Tufenkian Heritage Hotels
Tufenkian Old Dilijan Complex
The Tufenkian Old Dilijan complex contains a restaurant of a good example of Armenian kitchen. All the various types of dishes we ordered were rich in quality as they were fresh and organic. We tried most of the signature dishes of Haykanoush Restaurant. Dolma rolled in raspberry leaves garnished with fresh raspberries was the best of all with an unforgettably delicious taste.
Haykanoush Restaurant
Haykanoush Restaurant
Filling our stomachs with joy and satisfaction, we got in the car to explore Lake Parz. Halfwaythrough; however, we changed our mind because of the awful village road. It would take us at least 1,5 hours to drive only to have a traumatic road experience. Therefore, I hope I will see this beauty of nature during my next visit to Dilijan. Pretty close to the lake, Dilijan National Park has also been noted down in my next to-do list in Armenia.
After this slight change of plans, we continued to our next destination of Sevan Lake and Sevanavank, driving through one province to another all day long.
Sevanavank is in Gegharkunik province and from Dilijan (Tavush province) it takes about half an hour drive to get there. When we got to the monastery complex, we parked our car as the road ended there. We climbed up the stone stairs and reached to the top of the hill to the Sevanavank monastery complex. I felt like a conqueror once reaching the peak. I had a great overlook of the lake and meanwhile the grey clouds were slowly moving over the sky.
Sevanavank
The complex on the peak consists of two rough-hewn churches named Surp Arakelots (Holy Apostles) and Surp Astvatzatsin (Holy Mother of God). The daughter of Ashtots I, Princess Mariam in 874, founded the Monastery. The most significant fact of the monastery is that it hosts rare green khachkars and an altar that is one of the finest in Armenia.
Today’s sightseeing tour was over. I found a local restaurant while waiting for my friends to have a cup of Surj (coffee in Armenian). It was quite strong as expected from traditional Armenian coffee. We drove off the territory and reached our hostel an hour later.
Being an epicure, I always search for good local tastes. Having a quick check on the Internet, I found a restaurant serving Assyrian Cuisine. The place was called Anteb (Ayntab). All of the dishes I’ve ordered were marvelous. The menu of this cozy and quite small-sized restaurant was mostly close to the Turkish kitchen. This visit was not going to be my first and the last for sure. As you see in the pictures, I tried to stop by for quality food whenever I had the chance. Compared to the other restaurants I have been in Armenia, this one remained on top of my list.
To glance the menu, follow the link ANTEB RESTAURANT
Anteb
Restaurant
After having my dinner, I decided to have a walkabout in the city center to burn the delicious dishes I had had. When you wander around the center you realize the amazing architectural tissue of the buildings. Majority of the facades were designed and dressed with natural stone.
All the buildings had something different from another. While similar in style, they had precise perpendicularity. So, I can say the city center has been well drawn by delicate architects and has been constructed by talented hands. Naturally, street and avenue names are inherited from significant figures of Armenian history to show them gratitude. Mesrop Mashtots (inventor of the Armenian Alphabet), Sayat Nova (musician, poet and ashik), Hovhannes Tumanyan (writer, public activist, national poet) and Khachatur Abovian (novelist, national public figure, teacher, poet) were among them.
City Center Map
Finishing my short walk, I headed to my hostel for a rest. Who knows where I would end up tomorrow?