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Rising Star
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by Anush Babajanyan
8 July 2009
Ancient history and timeless beauty meet on the road to Armenia's highest mountain.
This is the second article in a series on travel and tourism in TOL's coverage area. Click here to view TOL's audio slideshow on the road to Mount Aragats.
In maps and guides on the Web, Armenia sometimes seems like a lost country. Some sites place it in Europe, others in southwestern Asia, still others to be both more specific and more vague the Caucasus. Few outsiders (beyond the widespread Armenian diaspora) know them, but this lost country has its secrets and treasures, waiting to be discovered.
There are many directions a traveler can take after landing at the airport in Yerevan. One of the most fascinating leads to Mount Aragats. This dormant volcano 40 kilometers northwest of the capital is Armenia's highest peak, rising 4,090 meters (13,419 feet) above the canyons and rivers its millennia of activity have created. A trip up its slopes is really a trip through Armenian history, from the first millennium to the Soviet era.
On the south side of Aragats, above the canyon through which the Kasagh River flows, flows two monasteries have been standing since ancient times.
The main parts of Hovhannavank, named for John the Baptist (Hovhan is the Armenian version of John, vank the word for monastery), were built in the 1200s.
But the oldest section, the basilica of St. Karapet, dates to the early fourth century. It was founded by St. Gregory the Enlightener, who is credited with bringing Christianity to Armenia in 301.
Five kilometers away, the Saghmosavank (Monastery of Palms) was built in the 13th century with a library where copies of manuscripts might have been produced.
"Rising Star"
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Anush Babajanyan is a photojournalist in Armenia and editor of TOL's Patchwork blog. Click here to see a slide show featuring more of her pictures from the slopes of Mount Aragats.