Spring delight

What has caught his eye, you may ask? (hint: there's a clue on his cheek)

Only the darkest, juiciest strawberries we've ever seen. 

They're a super tender, tasty, juicy variety.

I've never seen strawberries like these before, only here in Georgia for about three weeks in the spring. You could never export these fragile gems . . . they barely made it home without bursting, and we didn't give them much of a chance after that. They usher in a wonderful season of fruitful plenty that continues through to the fall: strawberries, mulberries, blueberries, cherries, apricots, plums, each passing the baton until we arrive at the apples and pears of the final harvest.

Saturday night

Just love these 3 kiddos.

Armenia, day 3

First stop of the day was to Tsitsernakaberd, the Armenian Genocide Memorial. 

The Armenian Genocide began in 1915 and claimed close to 1.5 million lives. It is acknowledged as one of the first modern genocides, and in fact the term Genocide was coined to describe the Armenian annihilation. Next year marks the one hundredth anniversary, during which time this site will be visited by hundreds of thousands of Armenians, as it is every April 24th.

"Mother Arising Out of the Ashes", added in 2002.

The roof of Sanahin Monastery reminded me of the giant turtle from the Neverending Story (a.k.a. The Ancient One) that they mistook for a mountain.

On our way back up to Georgia we visited two more monasteries. The first, Sanahin, literally translates in Armenian as "this one is older than that one", presumably referring to it's 10th Century neighbor across a massive dissected plateau.

Like most Armenian monasteries, this one featured many khachars and gravesites.

Here the girls stand on one side of the dissected plateau, you can see the other side at the foot of the mountains in the distance (we barely stomached the switchbacks necessary to take us from one to the other).

 We were surrounded by verdant and lush spring growth.

A storm was gathering which made the air thick and still, giving the impression that this is a place where time itself stands still, and indeed, there was not much evidence to the contrary. 

Haghpat Monastery

And now to the younger neighbor. How much younger? It's hard to say, but with such a bold profession you can be sure the race was neck and neck. Unlike many monasteries, these two are not isolated but located within small mountain villages. The setting is dramatic and serene. We would have liked to stay longer and look forward to a return.

The green hills beckoned and this 2-year-old knew just what to do.

Then the sun reemerged and provided a simply glorious vista, framed with masses of wildflowers. 

The Armenians visiting the church couldn't get enough of one little towheaded boy. They all wanted to take pictures with their phones--he wasn't so thrilled about it.

We attempted to gather for the requisite family shot, looking rather motley and a tad worn out.

But this guy just couldn't wait to get back on the bus. . .

Armenia, day 2 (pm)

We also went to Geghardavank or "the Monastery of the Spear" where the spear which wounded Christ at the crucifixion was housed for many centuries. It encompasses a diverse collection of churches, some dug entirely out of rock, others partial caves, some elaborately carved, others rustic and simple, all surrounded by high mountain cliffs. Of particular interest was one upper chapel, completely carved out, with the most exquisite accoustics. The only other time I've experienced such a space that became as a musical instrument was at the Roman Catholic Church of St. Anne's in Jerusalem. It was spellbinding.

Hubby visited this very spot during his LDS mission nearly 20 years ago.

Armenians are born with the gift of salesmanship. We were practically accosted on our way back to the bus. We finally relented and bought the biggest heaviest hunk of sweetbread I've ever seen. Good stuff.

And speaking of the bus, I'll take just a moment here to mention that we were on a group tour, which included the use of a tour bus. Here you can get a taste of how things went: this was taken while barreling down the road at a good clip (barely captured the shot), just before he passed the above herd of cows ON THE LEFT.

We were worried about the many hours we'd spend with the kids cooped up on the tour bus, but remarkably this little guy LOVED the bus. He never wanted to get off. He loved looking out the window and the freedom of moving from seat to seat. He talked about it all night long, both nights.

We stayed in the center of Yerevan. The buildings there have a very different architectural style than in Georgia because they use the local multi-colored stone. By contrast, much of the construction in Georgia is poured concrete. And while I'm on the subject of comparisons, I'd just add that in general Yerevan is cleaner and has more polite drivers than Tbilisi. Unexpected.

The town was all decked out for the visit of the French President, François Hollande, the following week. He actually came to Georgia also and visited our own French School, but only French passport holders were invited :(

That evening we enjoyed the music and lights display at the fountains in the center of town. A few local friends and a few ice cream cones later made it a perfect night.

Armenia, day 2 (am)

We started off with a visit to the Vernissage, a huge open air market featuring painted art, rugs, carved wood, tapestries, 

collections of coins, medallions, dining ware, 

jewelry, books, instruments, traditional Armenian souvenirs, and much much more.

We made a quick stop at the Matenaderan, the museum of ancient manuscripts. This was probably a lowpoint for the kids as far as attention span was concerned.

Outside of Yerevan we visited the Temple of Garni, the only surviving pagan temple in Armenia, and indeed the entire former Soviet Union. The temple was sacked in 1386 and destroyed by earthquake in 1679, but most of the original building blocks remained on the site until the 20th century allowing it to be rebuilt just 40 years ago.

The ancient Greek Hellenic Temple was constructed in the first century and believed to be funded by Nero.
We also had a friendly Armenian guide for the whole trip.

Of course the kids were on their best behaviour, as usual. 

The area surrounding the temple was epic, sweeping, majestic . . . impossible to really capture on film. No mystery why the ancients selected this choice location.

It was a hot breezy spring day.

Our resident florist gathered the usual,

and spring was in full bloom all around. There seems to be a special atmosphere surrounding these ancient pilgrimage destinations--something about the power of centuries of the faithful offering up prayers that consecrates a place and grants it a tangible peace.

Armenia, day 1

Taking in Lake Sevan.

Armenia (just south of Georgia and comparable in size to our former home state of Maryland) takes great pride in being the First Christian Nation. Early in the 4th Century (the traditional date is 301 AD, predating even Rome) Armenia became the first to accept Christianity on a national level.

I was introduced to Armenia in 1999 when I studied abroad in Jerusalem--in the Old City there is a Jewish quarter, a Muslim quarter, a Christian quarter, and an Armenian quarter. The unique Armenian Apostolic Church and deeply religious cultural history were immediately fascinating and meaningful to me. I went on to marry a man who had spent 9 months of his LDS mission in Armenia, so together we had a special bond with Armenia. It was almost ironic, then, that we landed just next door in a country that treats Armenians with disdain...

In any case, after a year and a half in nearby Georgia, we approached our trip to Armenia with great anticipation.

On the first day we visited Sevanavank, a monastery which originated in the 9th Century and was built on an island in Lake Sevan. Under Stalin, the lake was artificially drained for irrigation and hydroelectricity, which significantly lowered the water level. This transformed the island into what is now a peninsula and, although perhaps less scenic than it once was, it is now much more accessible.

The church of Surp Arakelots ("Holy Apostles") and, less visible to the right, Surp Astvatsatsin ("Holy Mother of God")

Khachkars--Armenian Cross Stones--characteristic of medieval Christian Armenian art.

Lit candles in the churches are the worshipper's expression of Godly adoration.

The girls relished the injunction to cover their heads with scarves inside the chapels, and the little guy relished the rocks.

The hillside was covered with exotic blooms,

and full of possibility.

Much of the stone at the monastery is igneous rock from magma deposited centuries earlier by now dormant volcanoes.

It was a grey windy day, which contributed to the dramatic scenery, as a massive storm blew in. The flora on this 'island' was beautifully unique, it was almost like being on the surface of another planet. It lent an other-worldly, mysterious, and sacred feeling that satisfied it's ancient reputation.