In an Apricot shell...

We just got back from a long day church/medieval fortress/mountain hopping. We went to Saghmosavank, Amberd, and Mouth Aragats. I enjoyed climbing the remnants of the fotress and castle. We climbed the rocks and looked out on the beautifulness which was nothingness. Our mideivil ancestors chose an ideal location to build this thing. I could just imagine the lords waking up in the mornings and embracing the ambience of greenery and fresh air. We stayed there for a while [[…mainly because we are not pro rock climbers and it took a while to get up and down. ]]

So, what does Dalida miss about the States? Safely paved roads.
I defs don’t. A huge part of the Armenian experience has to do with having bubbly bus drivers who speed down rocky roads and laugh when we go through dramatic bumps causing passengers to fall out of their seats. Not only are the places we visit epiK, but so our the rides down (or up, left, and right). I should note that we cruise around the country in a nice, royal blue, Mercedes Benz bus. But anyways, our latest bus driver is quite the character. Last Sunday he drove us to Geghart church for service followed by a barbecue in a village called Garni. He definitely pulled out his homemade mulberry vodka and offered it to us. I had a sip and it was more than enough, but his generosity was much appreciated. This same bus driver also drove us to Lake Sevan and busted out a bathing suit, jumped in the lake, and dragged in several of our girls. Bus drivers in Armenia become part of your family. When we stop to eat, they come with us. When we go to a hotel, they stay in rooms with us. When we crave lavash with basterma, they find it for us. When we see this guy, we greet him with a kiss. When we leave, we say farewell with another kiss. (by the way, Armenians in Armenia do the single kiss. No idea why the double cheek kiss developed in the states, but it’s awkward if you do both here. I learned the hard way.)

But anyways, Geghart church last Sunday was beautiful. We drove about an hour uphill to get to it (bumpily, might I add), but it was worth it. I have never heard such a beautiful choir. Highlights: seeing Paris Hilton outside with her dog (she’s definitely put on some weight, poor thing), Lorena fainting in the lobby and the congregation just staring at her, and of course, the Amazing view. The church was not decorated ornately, but the divine liturgy was enchanting. It definitely glamorized the rocky and dark walls.

So while we’re on the topic of attending Sunday mass, I’d like to discuss our eventful day at Etchmiadzin. Etchmiadzin is the oldest church in the world, built almost immediately after Christianity was declared as a state religion in the fourth century. It is beautiful inside and out, decorated with byzantine-esque art and amazing Katchkars (cross stones). Naturally, I had to juxtapose this amazingness with my awkwardness.
Taties’ Six Strikes at Etchmiadzin:
- Placing my foot on a Holy Altar, causing an elderly man to silently scold me
-Hitting a man without legs in a wheelchair with my purse
-Elbowing an elderly woman in the face
-Talking to the leader of the Eastern Diocese and angering the choir director
-Going outside after angering the choir director and sitting on the tomb of a former Catholicos, prompting one of the Archbishops to tell me that I can’t sit there (woops?)
-Dropping Holy Bread on the ground
None of these were done intentionally and naturally, I felt reallyREALLYreally horrible after each strike. IRRegardless, I really enjoyed the service there. The acoustics were incredible, and even more amazing while I was sitting outside. I took about a thousand pictures and videos. While everything awed me, being there was very similar to being at Saint Peter on a Sunday. It amazes me how the Armenian Apostolic Divine Liturgy is so consistent and timeless.

After church, we had an appointment to meet with Karekin II, the Catholicos of Armenians (aka the Pope of the Armenian church). He delivered a presentation about his duties and how he reached such an honorable position. He also emphasized the importance of being passionate about our project in Gyumri which we will be leaving for on the 20th. Then, I got his autograph.

After meeting with him, we went into the room where they store the gifts that countries and individuals have made to the Armenian church. I almost committed strike seven when I almost sat on one of the thrones that Pope John Paul II gave to Karekin II on the 1700 Year anniversary of Armenian Christianity. Luckily, someone else in our group stopped me before the travesty was able to transgress. Even more incredible than the thrones were the jeweled stones that were kept in safes. In the 1970s when Armenia was still under Soviet Rule, shipments of gold were not allowed to any individual, so people who wanted to make gifts to the Catholicos had to do so in the form of jewelery. Not knowing what to do with all this jewelry, the Catholicos at the time melted it all and made these two blinged out statues of marble, diamonds, rubies, and gold. One of them displays the Armenian Alphabet and another is an Armenian Apostolic Cross. Pretty sure they are both priceless.

Aside from this amazing church hopping, we also met with the Canadian and Eastern Dioceses several days ago. We went out to lunch and discussed the different projects that we are completing out here. The Eastern Diocese spent some time at the Vanadzor Day Camp working with the children. The Canadian Diocese spent some time in a village working with the locals. We got pretty close with the Eastern Diocese and we went out with them in the evening twice. We went to this beautiful Armenian restuarant called Parvana where we enjoyed traditional Armenian food and amazing dance music. Tatoul, the famous Armenian singer, also made an appearance and Dalida and I took a picture with him. Unfortunately, their trip of the Eastern Diocese ended yesterday morning. Fortunately, I made really good friends with many of them and now I have people to hang out with when I go to DC in the Winter.

On July 9th, we went to two museums in Yerevan. In the first museum (the Matenadaran), we saw old manuscripts and in the second one, we learned about Armenian history from dynasty to genocide to Soviet Rule to the republic it is today. The museum with the manuscripts was fascinating. There were documents that dated back to the 5th century when the Armenian Alphabet was established. We saw translations of Aristotle’s writings, the first Armenian drafts of the four gospels, and a decree by Napoleon which has nothing to do with Armenian history (someone donated it to us).

Tomorrow at 8AM we leave for Artsakh, which is said to be one of the most beautiful villages. We are staying there for three days and once we get back we are going to leave for Gyumri to begin our house-building project there. I will update again once we are back!