May 18, 2014
Today is Sunday May 18th. We woke up today and had a wonderful breakfast before going to Echmiadzin. Echmiadzin was built in 303 A.D. The town where Echminadzin is located is called Vagharshabad. On our way to Echminadzin we saw Mount Ararad and Arakadz, it was so beautiful. We talked a lot about the history of Echminadzin. When were at Echmiadzin there were many fountains and Khatchkars with different designs. There are 25,000 different Khachkars in Armenia and each one is unique just like each Armenian. The church has no chairs so don’t expect to sit down. Echmiadzin was very beautiful and holds the oldest bible in Armenian history and I kissed it, it was an honor to even be there. We then had lunch at Hai Miasnutuin Katch, it was a yummy meal with lavash, cheese, and potato fries.
Next we went to Oshagan and saw Mesrob Mashdots resting place but his body wasn’t there. No one knows where he is buried but they built a church in his memory. In the garden by the church we saw Khatchkars with the letters of the alphabet on each one and mine was A (in Armenian Ա). Later we went to Dzidzernagapert and we saw the eternal fire. Digin Ardemis got flowers for everyone to put the around the fire then we prayed for the 1.5 million Armenians who died in the Genocide. It was an amazing first day in Armenia!!
Ani Ourfalian