May 29, 2010
Today we woke up at 8:30. First we went to Yeraploor, the cemetary of fallen heroes. At 951 meters it is compared to the Parthenon in Greece. It was built in the 1990s and is the resting place of many heroes including General Antranig and Sosse Maireeg. There were six girls that died and the youngest was a 14 year old boy.
The Armenians would use hunting rifles while the Azeris were using AK 47s. One fighter named Monte Melkonian wanted to be buried there so he could see Mt. Ararat. 1919 soldiers were buried there while 520 are unaccounted for. The Azeris claim there are no prisoners.
Next to the cemetery there was a chapel named St. Vartanantz. The heroes wanted newborn children to be baptized there.
Next we went to Dzeedzernagapert which is the hill of the swallows. We went to the museum and saw lots of pictures and facts to prove there was a Genocide. The pictures were very sad.
Then we went to the eternal flame and put flowers and prayed. Then the parents put flowers and we all prayed together. We started talking about what the flame makes you think. My answer was, “the Armenians are going to live forever”.
Later in the day we went to a market called Vernisage. we walked around, bought lots of things and had free time until dinner.
By Daron Hamparian