Sep 14, 2019 - Yerevan, Armenia

Armenia today is a country only one tenth of its original size with a very sad history, wedged as it once was between three great empires: Russia, Persia and Ottoman Turkey. Even today its border with Azerbaijan to the east is closed and Armenia is in dispute over issues to complex to go into here. We crossed into the country from Georgia in the north east and it was not long before we encountered our first 10th/13th century Armenian Apostolic Church monastery perched on an inaccessible rock deep into a wild ravine surrounded by copper...

Aug 16, 2018 - Dilijan

Dilijan was set among hills in a wooded alpine area and would be very pretty in winter snow. Without the white fluffy stuff it was a bit drab and colourless. Our hotel was called the Casanova Inn and would be popular with skiers. The nearby Haghartsin monastery complex was very interesting but not so the town of Ijevan. We decided to pay a visit while in the area but found it cluttered with people wandering the streets just like cows we had often encountered on open roads. It was amazing that they had no sense of the danger they placed...

Aug 15, 2018 - Yerevan

The roads for our onward journey to Armenia's capital, Yerevan, did not improve and haphazard roadwork simply made things worse. Driving into a dust storm momentarily blinded our vision which really added to the fun. We headed for any available cafe' for a break. We found one in a leafy park and settled down for a good caffeine hit. It didn't happen. The so-called cappuccino was from a sachet and it was gross. At least the setting was nice. Because we were running a little early for our hotel check-in we headed off to explore the Roman...

Aug 15, 2018 - Lake Sevan

On the way to our next stop we headed for Lake Sevan close to the Azerbaijan border and were impressed with the sheer size of it. Fishing was a mainstay for the locals and it was amusing to see many of them standing along the roadside with arms open wide signifying the size of their catch that was for sale. They were quite competitive and probably exaggerated quite a bit. The landscape in this area was covered in thick forest unlike the dry almost baron nature of the country's western side near Turkey.

Aug 13, 2018 - Gyumri

The road to Armenia was a shocker and for 70 kms we bounced between one pot-hole to another as well as avoiding on coming traffic doing the same thing. As the ancient cave dwellings at Vardzia were almost on our way to Gyumri, our next over-nighter, we made the slight detour to give them the once over. Once again they were impressive but not nearly as exciting as our border crossing into Armenia a few kilometres further on . For over an hour everyone and his dog checked our papers and car and were quite abrupt about it. As the passenger...

May 23, 2016 - Visit to Mt Aragac area, near Yerevan, Armenia

Monday 23rd May 2016 Yerevan to Mt Aragac and return Left after breakfast on the bus and headed north west towards Mt Aragac. After we had checked out a memorial to the Armenian alphabet, we set off on a walk to a monastery and fortress high in the mountains. The walk was very pretty with lots of flowers by the track. The going was easy at first then we walked down a steep path to a river and crossed by means of a metal bridge which appeared to be made from metal doors laid flat on a frame. We then walked up a steep path to the monastery...

May 22, 2016 - Visit to Lake Sevan, Armenia

Sunday 22nd May 2016 Yerevan to Lake Sevan and return Today we set off to visit more historic sites near Yerevan and also Lake Sevan. There was very little traffic in the city as it was Sunday. First we drove to Geghard Monastery in the hills just outside Yerevan. It was first built in the 4th century AD, then rebuilt in the 920’s, over 1100 years ago. It was carved out of solid rock from the top down, quite an amazing place. There were many people visiting today as it was Sunday. We spoke to a number of locals and had many photos taken...

May 21, 2016 - Yerevan to Goris, Armenia

Friday 20th May 2016 Yerevan to Goris, Armenia An early start today – left at 8:30am. After viewing Mt Ararat from our window again, had breakfast and took our bags downstairs. About 40km from the city we stopped for a photo opportunity in front of the mountain, considered holy by the Armenians. High up on the side of the mountain was the place where it was said that Noah’s Ark came to rest after the great flood. In the 1600’s, a holy man found a piece of wood up there that has been dated at 7000BC, so who knows? We then visited the Khor...

May 19, 2016 - In Yerevan, Armenia

Thursday 19 May 2016 In Yerevan, Armenia Today we spent seeing various sights around Yerevan which is an ancient city. This year it is celebrating its 2797th birthday. The Armenian culture is one of the oldest in the world and because of where they are situated in the world, they have suffered many invasions over the centuries. They were the first country to accept Christianity as their official state religion and these days over 95% of Armenians are Eastern Orthodox Christians. When we woke up in the morning, we looked out of our hotel...

May 18, 2016 - Akhaltsikhe, Georgia to Yerevan, Armenia

Wednesday 18 May 2016 Akhaltsikhe, Georgia to Yerevan, Armenia We left after breakfast today and headed towards the south of Georgia. The first place we visited was the Khertvisi Fortress situated high above the junction of two rivers. The fortress was originally built in ancient times and was visited by Alexander the Great’s army in the 4th century BC, but the fortress that we saw today dated from the 10th – 14th century. It was a steep climb with a great view and was obviously built there so that the people had ample warning of enemies...

Jul 26, 2015 - Urutes Camp

We were completely out of Internet range while we were at the youth camp at lake Sevan, so consequently...no blog entries. Now, it seems impossible to write about this camp in the time we have back in Yerevan. We arrived as camp was getting started and jumped into a leadership meeting. The pastor told us each of us would be assigned to one of the four Jokarts (troups) of kids. He wanted us to interact with them and share the love of Christ in every way we could. They suggested a few places to put up our tent and when we chose one, the...

Jul 19, 2015 - Golgotha Church in Yerevan

Sunday. We are staying at a guesthouse on the property of Golgotha Church. Golgotha is a small but very committed and passionate Armenian evangelical church. Last time I was here, I taught a Chrisitan education class here at the church for church leaders from Baptist and evangelical churches around the area. The church is involved in lots of great ministry. So, you would think they would be hesitant to ask some American to preach on Sunday. Hm. So, I decided to preach a character study on John Mark...the disciple who abandoned Paul and...