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. . .