Jun 17, 2013 - Mountain scenery and fortress

This morning we slept late and missed breakfast which was not too bad considering the day we were to spend. We started off to the north east of Yerevan. As mentioned Yerevan sits in a valley between Mout Ararat (now in Turkey but an important symbol for the Armeniians, and Mount Aragat which is a larger chain of mountains faing the Turkish border some 70 kms away. This fortress was one of eight and the only one remaing but would have faced simliar on the slopes of Mt. Ararat. We climbed to 1600 mts where we stopped to the the sculpted...

Jun 15, 2013 - City Tour

Our hotel is very nice, large rooms and friendly staff and situated about 10 mins. out of town up on the slopes of the hills. We started the day with a group meeting and introduction in a conference room where everything echoed around so we were little wiser at the end. The minibus was at the door and we made our way to the city centre and it's principal monuments. First stop was the Manuscript Library containing hundreds of thousands of manuscripts and we learned how the Armenian language became a written language with letter also being...

Jun 14, 2013 - flight to Yerevan

Safely arrived in Yerevan after a rather long trip –so early to bed. We had 5 hours in Moscow to connect the flight made slightly better by finding a Costa Coffee ($22 for two cappuccinos and two croissants – but very welcome at 3 am our time). The flight from London was wonderfully empty so we were able to stretch out and had more space than the business class. Flying over Moscow was interesting from one perspective – they have very fine brightly colour roofs, red, different greens, turquoises, blues and so on – all crammed in between what...

Jan 18, 2013 - Heading Home

It's 3 a.m. in Yerevan. Somehow it wasn't hard getting up at 2:15 to shower and dress. Now I'm waiting for Keith to pick me up. He should be here in about 15 minutes. Decided to try to make one last brief entry into this log before beginning the journey home. It is hard to describe what I'm feeling and thinking about this trip. Like always, it is the people who befriended me that are the most important part. These people see themselves as belonging to a long line in a very ancient culture. Even those who leave seem to feel tied to the...

Jan 17, 2013 - Christian Ed Class

Ugh! I know, it has taken me forever to get more written on this blog. This may be the briefest travel blog ever. So since Monday I get up, do a little exercize in the room. I make coffee and eat a little breakfast. Then, I spend an hour or so going over the stuff I'm teaching for the day. I usually change the powerpoint presentations some, try to take some of the English words that they can't read anyway out of them. I go downstairs, get set up and begin teaching. We have a morning break...in the room. We have lunch...in the room. We have...

Jan 13, 2013 - Around Yerevan

Unbelievable. I'm in my fourth day in Armenia and have written nothing about the adventure. Will try to fix that now. My flight arrived into Yerevan a little early. My hosts here, Keith and Wendy, had recommended I buy a visa on-line before coming. I couldn't believe how quickly I cleared customs and was in the airport. I had never met Keith before, so I didn't know who I was looking for. He assumed it would take me about thirty minutes to get out and I would have thought it would take at least that, but I was already in the airport when...

Jun 16, 2012 - Sunday means churches!

This was a rather long day in 36 degrees of heat. It started with a drive out of Yerevan to a former capital where we found the ruins of an ancient church and monastery. Then we drove to their sacred Armenia cathedral and monastery dating back to ancient times. Armenians are a very religious (Christian) nation and hold these places dear to them. We arrived there for the mass and for the possible entrance of the Archbishop 'if he was at home'. He was, but Jean and I totally missed him. The church was crowded and I got just the top of the...

Oct 18, 2011 - Yerevan

Tonight we head to Istanbul. We will leave at 11:55 PM and get to Istanbul at 12:05 AM, for a two hour flight (time change), take a taxi to the hotel, take a nap until time for the hotel breakfast, and start exploring. Sarah, Shawn, Anna and Will were there this past weekend, Sarah and Shawn ran the Asia to Europe Marathon and spent three days exploring the city and a have a list of must see for us. In the evening we will join our tour for an orientation meeting. We will explore Istanbul with the group for 2 more days then will head out to...

Oct 16, 2011 - Gyumri

We enjoyed a trip to the frontier city of Gyumri-Armenia’s second-largest. It sits on the border with Turkey where The Russian Army border patrol is stationed. Gyumri is in an earthquake zone and suffered a very devastating one in 1988. We also enjoyed visiting Echmiadzin, the seat of the Armenian Church and QSI, (Quality Schools International) where our grandchildren attend school. Time is flying by and soon we will be on our way to Turkey. Monday was Columbus Day so the people that work at the Embassy had the day off, so and outing was...

Oct 11, 2011 - Garni, Geghard and Khor-Virap

All temples, shrines and statues were destroyed after Armenia adopted Christianity in 301 AD. It is believed these had rivaled those in Rome and Athens. The lone exception is the Garni Temple. It was built in 77 AD. It is situated on a rocky, triangular cape. On two sides it is protected by a deep and beautiful gorge and on the third by a wall made of huge stone blocks. The site has been fortified from about 2000 BC. Shawn took the four kids and us out there Saturday. It is about 35 miles east of Yerevan on the Azat River. The canyon...

Sep 29, 2011 - Yerevan

The Republic of Armenia, covering an area 11,484 sq mi about the size of Maryland, is located in southwestern Asia, east of Turkey The terrain is mostly mountainous, with fast flowing rivers and a few forests. Weather and terrain are similar to the south part of Idaho. It has a population of 3,238,000 (2008 est.) and is the second most densely populated of the former Soviet Republics. Yerevan, the capital, has a population of 1,107,800. Armenin’s Per Capita income ranks 139th in the world. In 301 AD, Armenia became the first nation to...

Nov 1, 2010 - Amberd Fortress

On most likely our last journey out of the city we headed north to the slops of Mt Aragats to Amberd Fortress Mt Aragats is not as picturesque as Mt Araeat but at 13,435 ft it is still an impressive mountain. The south slope where Amberd is located is rolling grass lands with deep gorges. The complex of Amberd derives its great historical importance from its uniqueness, being one of the best and the largest examples of Armenian fortress construction. The site incorporates a rich variety of buildings (church, chapel, baths, walls, gates,...