Armenia May 12

Some observations regarding Georgia vs Armenia.

They are both small Christian countries that were historically very much larger.  Both are surrounded by Moslem countries.  Armenia and Georgia were both under communist rule from 1921.  Over 600,000 Georgians and Armenians fought for the Red Army in WWII; over half died.  After 70 years of communist rule, both lacked capitalist talent or knowledge to switch to a market economy as compared to, say, China or Poland.  The dislocations they shared after "the collapse of the Soviet Union" are hard for us to contemplate: no pensions, salaries, jobs, electricity, heat -- almost no government. (And Armenia had an earthquake that took its nuclear reactor, half its power, offline).  The countryside largely emptied into the capitals or emigrated.  Both have received a large number of refugees in recent years.

Georgia is more inclusive, with a large Azeri community and several smaller minorities. There had been large numbers of Abkhazians and Ossetians. (They seceded after the collapse, with Russian help. The republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia are recognized only by Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Cuba.)  Georgia claims, perhaps rightly, that there is no "documented" history of a significant ethnic discrimination.  Armenia is 98%+ Armenian. Azerbaijan and Armenia did complementary, post-Soviet ethnic cleansings.  Our local guide in Armenia assured us, repeatedly, "there are no Moslems in Armenia."  Armenia has had a diaspora for over a century; Georgia's is much smaller and lacks billionaires that make large investments.



It is the Armenian Apostolic Church. It is so designated as the first to bring Christianity to Armenia were Saints Bartholomew and Thaddeus, two of the apostles, the followers of Christ. In the late 3rd century, Saint Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned for 13 years by the king for evangelizing. He was released when the king was sick and Saint Gregory's payers healed them. The king therefore declared Christianity the state religion in 301 and Gregory became the first head if the church, the Catholicos. To enforce the state religion, all pagan temples were destroyed and churches built on them. In addition, to make the new religion more palatable, some pagan ritual was incorporated. This included animal sacrifice which is still practiced today.


The Armenian church is not decorated.  (There are exceptions.)  It has few paintings.    It is, rather characterized by its architecture.   "There are two distinctive features of Armenian church architecture. The first is the use of double-intersecting arches to span the interior space, eliminating the need for the supporting columns familiar in other types of churches. In early Armenian churches, these arches were stone... The second feature is the pyramidal dome, supported by a drum, which is supported in turn by intersecting arches."  (http://www.armenianchurch-ed.net/armenian-heritage/architecture/).  Armenian monasteries get their grandeur from their sites-in mountains, caves, isolated, magnificent.

The major decorative item is the khatchkar, the stone cross.  It is a bas relief of a "blooming" cross.  No two should be alike.  Even if they are together as part of a decorative scheme, they will be different in detail.  The cross can be carved on a structure, such as a church wall, or free-standing. The free-standing khatchkar is still a bas relief, but is a free-standing slab.  The khatchkars are also used as tombstones and monuments.

Another  "decorative" item in the churches is inscriptions.  Written on the walls are inscriptions telling who built the church when , who renovated it when, who funded the renovations.  These include recent donations.  We are told that even if it is 500 years, theses people are still remembered in the prayers.  Also people scratch khatchkars into church wall in thanksgiving or prayer.

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We are staying at the Yerevan Marriott, which is in a renovated Soviet era building.  We have a very plush room and a great breakfast buffet and outrageous laundry costs.

After Gocha lectured on ancient colonization of the Caucasus, we proceeded to the Armenian Genocide Memorial.

    The removal of 2 million Armenians from their homeland in NE Turkey was accompanied by an estimated 1 to 1.5 million deaths.  The entire episode lasted decades, but the most massive deaths occurred in 1915.  The term "genocide" means an intentional program of extermination and it was first used in the context of the Armenian genocide.  Turkey denies the characterization (but admits to massacre) and refers to wartime conditions when Russia was fomenting an Armenian rebellion.  It is a crime in Turkey to use the term "genocide."  The last journalist to make the assertion in Turkey was assassinated.  Obsessive efforts to keep the memory of genocide alive is to a considerable extent a defining character of Armenia today.

      Next we visit the large, local market.  The pickled vegetable booth:

Fruit:

Remnants of the Soviet era include old Lada cars (sort of like the American cars they keep going in Cuba) and very big buildings.  

After lunch, we go to the Monastery complex at Geghard.   It is located at the end of a dramatic gorge.   

Our last stop was the Hellenistic Temple, which was downstream a few kilometers at Garni.  

An inscription states that it was erected in 77 AD.

 It stood fairly intact until the 17th century.  The base was fastened with lead-lined iron pins.   After guns were introduced into the area, the local residents chipped the stone away to scavenge the lead for bullets.   

At the next big earthquake, the structure fell down.   In 1962, the Temple was restored.  It is beautifully proportioned, as one would expect.  The use of basalt (marble supply somewhat limited) and it's situation at the edge of a cliff render the setting inspiring.  The experience was a bit marred, however, by the broadcast of duduk music and some questionable restoration choices (a barrel vault?).

We had dinner by ourselves at the Ararat restaurant.  Grape leaves, blini, excellent local wine and brandy.