The First Day
The first place on our list to visit was Sasounsti Tavet on his horse holding his sword. From the bottom, water was pouring out of a hole. The water landed in a square made out of bricks. His statue was really big and it was amazing.
Today we went to the Erepuni Fortress made in 1968. We learned many things such as what they used to make items out of. They used beams to make roofs and they used pomegranate and grapes as ornaments and wall paintings.
We also learned 2 facts about Yerevan. The first fact was that Yerevan means victory. The second fact is that Yerevan is 29 years older than Rome. That was shocking.
There are many other facts we learned. There was a bottle with 3 bull heads. That represents the 2nd supreme god. But why do you think they put three heads if it’s the second supreme god. Did you know that they used a cup shaped like a trumpet for special ceremonies or to pour things such as wine. Also we learned when a noble man died and his bones turned into dust they would put the dust in a bottle. Isn’t that amazing?
The next place we visited is called Erepuni pert made in 782 B.C. by king Arkishty. This pert was made of doof rock. Doof rock was the lightest rock. How do you think the pert still stands up? After the Erepuni pert we went to Vernisagh. It was nice there. There were many things to buy. It was nice and we all liked it..Vernisagh has dolls, garden tools, necklaces, braclets, pots, cloth, paintings, etc. It was so hard to pick what to get. It was also hard to find where they sell each product.
Nicole and Stephanie
May 22, 2008
Today, we visited the temple of Garni, the Monastery of Geghard, Lake Sevan and the English Learning Center in Sevan.
The temple of Garni was built in the 1st century BC by King Tiridate I. It was dedicated to the God of the Sun Mihr. The steps to the temple were very steep. The temple was destroyed by an earthquake in 1639 but rebuilt. Next to it were the royal baths which are decorated with a gorgeous mosaic floor.
We passed by a few villages to get to Geghard, the only church built in the rocks. Geghard means spear. We went inside this amazing church, and learned lots of interesting things. This church was built by an architect named Galtsag in the 13th century. We also got to drink from a stream that flows from the rocks, whose water is believed to have healing powers. In one of the upper rooms of the church, we sang “Giligia” and “Hayr Mer”. It had amazing acoustics. We lit candles, as well.
We had quite a long trip to get to Lake Sevan. It is made up of two parts, Big Sevan (Metz Sevan) and Small Sevan (Pokr Sevan). It is the smallest of the three historical Armenian lakes. Twenty-eight rivers flow into it, and one river out of it. Its deepest end is 99 meters. We got to visit one of the two churches next to it, and light candles, too.
The visit to the English Learning Center in Sevan was tons of fun and laughs. We played a few games with the children, such as charades and musical chairs. At the beginning, they recited and sang individually, then we did the same for them. We also danced together. At the end, we exchanged gifts, and ate delicious fruits and snacks they had prepared for us!
Dinner out at “Mer Kyough” in Yerevan was very entertaining. The restaurant had an Armenian musical ensemble, with traditional instruments, such as dhol, kanon, ood, and the singer had a terrific voice. We sang “Kedashen” and “Mayis Kusanoot” accompanied by the ensemble.
Serena Hajjar
May 23, 2008
Today was an amazing day! We visited the statue of Alexander Tamanyan, Alexander Tamanyan was a jardarabed (someone that draws places and people build it) which drew Yerevan’s outline. The statue was him leaning on a table, looking at the map he drew. Next to the statue of Alexander Tamanyan, there was an overview of the map he drew.
The next thing we did was visit the school in Yerevan. The name of the school was Ananya Shiragatsi. At the school we got to visit all of the 5th grade classes. We went to their English class, a class about churches and the history about Armenians, the interesting thing was that the kids that the Armenians kids that live in Boston know the same thinks the the kids in Armenia know. In another class we watched a movie about the western Armenia. The thing we all loved about going to that school is that we made friends with the kids, and after they showed us their dance we got up and danced an Armenian dance for them too. (kochari and kertsie) After that we got to eat lunch with them everyone wanted to sit next to all of us. We also got hand made cell phone cases.
The next cool thing we did was go to Karin to visit Armenia Tree Project Education Center. There we met more Armenian kids, and when we walked in we saw that there were people video taping us. The kids there showed us a little play about trees and plants, and how to recycle and protect the environment and importance of planting trees. We each got hand sowed bracelets from the kids, they were red, blue, orange. After all of the kids left we got to plant trees wall we were being video taped, it was the 15th anniversary. There was a little pot filled with soil. We dug a little hole in it with our finger, and then we put two seeds in it and covered it. After we did that we dumped a cup filled with water.
The last thing we did was go to a restaurant in the hotel. It was an Italian restaurant. The food was really good, we had chicken and pasta.
GOODBYE! Be good.
Oooooooooo I missed something we went to the singing waters.
Bad news the Turk soccer team beat the Armenian soccer team, and one more thing the Turk soccer team was staying in our hotel.
Meghri Dervartanian and
Nina Vosbigian
May 24, 2008
Today May 24, 2008 we went to Karabakh. On our journey there we stopped at Khor Virap, where Krikor Loosavorich was imprisoned for thirteen years by the Armenian’s pegen king, Drtad. but because of Krikor Loosavorich we turned Christian.
When you’re going down the stairs to the pit, it’s pretty scary because the stairs shake and it’s so steep. But when you’re actually down there it’s really cool because you’ve learned so much about Krikor Loosavorich and finally you’re going to Khor Virap to see where he was for THIRTEEN YEARS!!! THAT’S SUCH A LONG TIME!!!
Next we went to Noravank. Noravank is a church that architect Momeik carved God’s face. Noravank is the only church in Armenia that is three stories. The ground level is a graveyard for a couple important people. The second level is a church. The last level is a bell tower. Here’s a picture of Noravank.
After Noravank we stopped at an observatory. 7,500 years ago the Armenians were using huge rocks to look at the stars. It was really interesting seeing the rocks that our ancestors used to study the stars.
Yay! Finally after a LONG day we are actually going to Artsakh. On our way there all the kids were talking, laughing, screaming, and having fun together. We all were very happy to be HOME with each other! I was looking out side of my window and I saw the mountains, and I said, “Digin Ardemis I’ve never seen this much mountains!” and then she replied, “Hold on, wait until we go to Artsakh it’s much more mountainous there.” And it was. It was beautiful!
Finally we got to the hotel. We had dinner and we got out luggage from the bus and we headed upstairs.
Kristina Kazazian
May 24, 2008
Today May 24, 2008 we went to Karabakh. On our journey there we stopped at Khor Virap, where Krikor Loosavorich was imprisoned for thirteen years by the Armenian’s pegen king, Drtad. but because of Krikor Loosavorich we turned Christian.
When you’re going down the stairs to the pit, it’s pretty scary because the stairs shake and it’s so steep. But when you’re actually down there it’s really cool because you’ve learned so much about Krikor Loosavorich and finally you’re going to Khor Virap to see where he was for THIRTEEN YEARS!!! THAT’S SUCH A LONG TIME!!!
Next we went to Noravank. Noravank is a church that architect Momeik carved God’s face. Noravank is the only church in Armenia that is three stories. The ground level is a graveyard for a couple important people. The second level is a church. The last level is a bell tower. Here’s a picture of Noravank.
After Noravank we stopped at an observatory. 7,500 years ago the Armenians were using huge rocks to look at the stars. It was really interesting seeing the rocks that our ancestors used to study the stars.
Yay! Finally after a LONG day we are actually going to Artsakh. On our way there all the kids were talking, laughing, screaming, and having fun together. We all were very happy to be HOME with each other! I was looking out side of my window and I saw the mountains, and I said, “Digin Ardemis I’ve never seen this much mountains!” and then she replied, “Hold on, wait until we go to Artsakh it’s much more mountainous there.” And it was. It was beautiful!
Finally we got to the hotel. We had dinner and we got out luggage from the bus and we headed upstairs.
Kristina Kazazian
May 25, 2008
Today is May 25. This morning we woke up and looked out of the window and saw the Sourp Amenaprgich Church. After breakfast we went to a tank that the Armenians used during the war. While we were on the tank we sang Azad Angakh Artsakh to remember all of the brave fallen heroes. It was amazing how the Artsakh soldiers captured Shushi which was bombing the lower region. The Azeri soldiers were five times the amount of the Artsakh soldiers.
After that we went to Kantzasar monastery, which was built in the 13th century. In this monastery Hovannes Mgrdich’s head was buried. This church was built in memory of Hovannes Mgrdich. The architect that built this monastery used Islamic traditional windows to prevent Muslims attacks on this monastery. During this last of war Azeris launched missals on the church and the missal did not explode because it got stuck in the wall.
Later that afternoon we went to the museum of Nigol Touman. All around this town there were farm animals. When we were walking all of a sudden a black baby goat started to chase us! Nigol Touman was born in 1867. His father was the town priest. Nigol Touman was a very intelligent person. We saw all of the tools they used and how their daily lives were. We also learned about how they survived. At the age of 41 he committed a suicide because he was sick. After, we ate lunch there.
After lunch we went to the hotel to clean up. When we finished showering we went to a restaurant in Stepanagert and we had a great time.
Nina Vosbigian
May 26, 2008
We are still in Shushi.
We woke up early had breakfast and went to the nearby church. It was empty, it had 3 benches, and pictures of the saints, then walked to the nearby school, The Shushi school.
We met the 5th grade students, we sang the national anthem, and listened to their poems. We talked to eachother, exchande gifts, and email addresses.
We went to their computer room, and played computer games, later went to their art room, they had made a minuture of the pyramids and their school and other significant simballs from all around the world, then we had a group photo, and walked back to the hotel. We took our bags and with two small vans we travel to Amaras.
The journey was relatively a long ride, the roads were fine at first but later it was unpaved, and bumpy, regardless, the scenery was still beautiful. There were lots of mulberry trees, and saw cows and a snake crossing the road.
At Amaras we visited the Monastery was built by St. Gregory The Illuminator around 310 AD, for his grand son Gregory, who was buried in a room under the alter.
We went down stairs to check it out, it was dark we used my father’s flash light and saw the monument. The room was small and had a secret passage which led to a small river, this passage was used to transport vital materials during the many encounters with the enemy – the Mongols, which destroyed the Monastery many times, and the Armenian people kept rebuilding it many times.
The Monastery had a school, it was the first Armenian school it was started by Sourp Mesrob Mashdotz, and Sourp Sahag Bartev, around 400 AD, they gathered all the kids and thought them the Armenian alphabets.
The school had stone walls and alphabets were carved in the ceiling, this helped the students to look at the alphabets and continue to memorize them while they lean back and relax when they get tired.
The Monastery was huge, it also had a hall, they performed weddings, in the front wall it was carved a picture of the bride and the groom their heads were attached and had crown on them, this symbol represent unity between the two, two bodies united with one head.
The Monastery also had a stable were they kept their horses and their mules.
We stopped at a nearby restaurant for a quick lunch and then continued our journey.
Next stop, The Museum of the Fallen Heros.
The museum had 3 rooms with walls full of pictures of all our heroes that gave their lived for our freedom, I felt very proud and honored for being an Armenian.
After a short drive we stopped by a rug factory, we saw women making rugs, they were very fast.. I bought a beautiful small rug, it has the alphabets on it. Degeen Ardemis negotiated with the seller, and we bought it for a good price.
Later we stopped by the Monument of Dadeeg Badeed, which reminded every one that Artzagh and the mother land Hayastan belong together, and they can not be separated.
It has the shape of husband and wife, and Mount Ararat and poker Masis, together it represented the unity of both lands. We had to rush back to the bus as it started to sprinkle little bit.
The scenery was beautiful even in the rain.
We returned to our hotel washed and had dinner, and we entertained the parents with plays and songs.
Went to our room about midnight, packed for tomorrow, and fell sleep right away.
Tatiana Nalbandian
May 27, 2008
Today is the 8th day of our wonderful journey at Armenia. On our way from Artsakh to Armenia we stopped some where below Shushi called Kareen Dag Keugh. The tour guide told us about this keugh. She told us that the soldiers climbed cliffs and rocks to save Shushi but their guns and ammunition were too heavy that some of the soldiers tumbled down the hill. She also told us that the soldiers tricked the Azeris by saying different plans and talking different languages into the walkie-talkies to confuse the enemy. The way from Artsakh to Yerevan had many mountains and valleys. It was beautiful. We saw many cows, goats, and donkeys.
Then we went to a tree planting place called Berzeor. There was a hole in the ground that had a pot that had a walnut tree in it. We got the soil from a pile and poured it on the plant until the whole entire hole was covered.
Our bus stopped by itself. But luckily it started back up. Then we went to a restaurant to eat lunch.
After, we went to Jermuk’s Chervej. It was such an amazing sight. The water was cold and just our luck it started to rain. But that did not stop us from moving on. We were on the bus for a few hours. When we got to the Marriott we were all so happy. This day was very exciting!Bye.
Nicole Keikian
May 28, 2008
Today we went to Sartarabad. At sartarabad a big battle was taken place in 1918. We saw two bulls next to the monument, when we were walking around we saw statues of eagles, they represented the freedom fighters that were dead and alive. Sartarabad was created in 1968. When we arrived there we pushed the guards to get near the president of Armenia Serj Sarkisian . We took pictures with him and then we got squashed wall were walking to the dance recital. When we were watching the show one of the Armenian channels came to interview us.
We also danced with the singer when we had a chance.
We took some group pictures and the parents got interviewed. After we went to go and ir lunch.
After that we went to a video place, it was really funny. We listened to a million songs and finally we each decided what we wanted. We got at least a million CD’s. After we came to the hotel and were chilling out.
We went to ” haghtanagi ikiee” and we saw the mair Hayasdan. We also saw a Russian tank and climed on it to take some pictures. The monument thet we saw was holding a sword towards Turkey.
After we were rested we went to a carnival. We went on so many rides. We went on a few rides then went to a singing concert there. We listened to a couple of songs then we headed back to the bus. We took a dark path, but luckily we found our self out of there. We went to the bus and drove back to the hotel; we got there in 15 minutes. We had a 10 minutes to have a meeting what we did. After we went to bed.
YAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Marie Bazarbashian
May 29, 2008
Today are wake-up calls was at 7:00 and at 9:00 we walked by Foreign Ministry. From there we took a subway to the oldest church in Yerevan. The subway was packed with people and there was hardly any place to stand. The subway wasn’t long at all. In one minute it was over. All of a sudden when the bus starts moving some of us fell.
Once the subway ride was over we saw the oldest church in Yerevan. It was really small but it was beautiful. Through the window was a light shinning and it came right to your face. We prayed and then took pictures of the landscape and the church.
The next place we visited was the Children’s Art Museum. There were thousands of pictures kids drew that were younger and older than us. There were sculptures, drawings, paintings, and books you could buy. These pieces of art are from kids all around the world. There were so much to look at so we could have bought a book that had all the pieces of art in the museum.
The place we visited was Mesrob Mashdots’ madenataran made in 1957 designed by Mark Krikorian. In front of the madenataran was a statue of Mesrob Mashdots and his student. We took pictures on the statue and then we went up the stairs. Up the stairs were statues of Movses Khorenatsy, Anania Shragasty, and more. Inside the museum we learned that there was a rock found in 1204 and if you broke that rock you will get punished from God. We also saw the Giant that was the biggest Armenian book that is 700 pages and weighing 20 kilos. The might that was next to it had 104 pages and it was weighing 19 g. We learned how red ink was made. It was made when you got red worms that were found in the Ararat Valley and then you dump them in red wine to make them numb. Then once you squish the worm you have the red ink.
After the madenataran we went to Grand Candy. It was awesome. Everything made out of chocolate and sweets. Upstairs was a dessert place where we ate a donut covered in powdered sugar. It was very tasty.
We went out to lunch at an Arabic or Syrian place. We had chicken, salad, French fries, hamus, and more.
Then we were on our way to Zizernagapert. The fire in the middle represents all the Armenians that died in the Armenian Genocide. We left those heroes flowers and we prayed. We took pictures of ourselves and Zizernagapert.
Then we come to the hotel to get ready to go to the Anoush Opera. The Opera was interesting and we all had a great time.
Stephanie Idanjian
May 30, 2008
Today we visited Haghpat Monestary, Sanahin Monestary, and in the Lori region; Hovannes Toumanian’s home-museum.
The Haghpat Monestary was founded in the 10th century by Queen Khosrovanoush, wife of Ashot Voghormazzin. The main church is the Soorp Nshan church, built in 976 by architect Trdat. Its entrance was built later. Soorp Nshan church has beautiful frescoes, and is cross-shaped from the inside, like a Greek cross. There are also inscriptions on the walls. In the gate of the church, there is a royal burial ground. It became the first Armenian monument to be included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The Sanahin Monestary, which faces Haghpat, was built in 927, but used to be a Pagan temple. In the 10th century, Peouzantatsi religious people founded the church. Sanahin is older than Haghpat. When Haghpat was built they called Sanahin “Sanahin” because in Armenian it means “this is older than that”. There are two doves facing each other on the entrance, which means that there is Christianity.
We also went to Hovanes Toomanyan’s house-museum. He wrote fantasy stories for children, and poems for adults. He was born in 1869, and died of cancer in 1923. He had ten kids: six of them were girls and four of them were boys. In front of his door were ten pairs of shoes, which led people to think that lots of guests came over to his house.
Lori was a really beautiful city. We went to a hotel for lunch and didn’t want to leave, we played tag outside. On our way there we saw a fox, two pigs, and a few sheep. On our way back we saw a herd of cows.
GOOD NEWS IT WAS KRISTINA A’S BIRTHDAY TODAY!
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!
WE MISS YOU GUYS HOPE YOU ARE HAVING A GOOD TIME, I KNOW WE ARE
Meghri Dervartanian
June 1, 2008
Today we went to Echmiadzin and Oshagan.
Echmiadzin was built in the 4th century, from 301-303. It was the first Armenian church. Krikor Lousavoritch had a vision of Jesus coming down from the sky, and with a golden hammer, showing where the first Armenian church would be built. He included all the details of the church, as well. “Echmiadzin” means “the place where God’s only son came down”.
In front of the Mother Cathedral, is situated the residence of the Armenian Catholicos, Garegin II. Next to the building of the residence, there is a museum called “Treasury”, where you can see very valuable rugs, carpets, garments, the Catholicos’ jewels, and attires belonging to the Catholicos. But the gems of the museum are two items…The first one is the Armenian alphabet in gold and diamonds. The second one is the magnificent cross stone (khatchkar) made of gold, diamonds, and other precious stones.
In the yard, some beautiful cross stones are scattered, which have been brought from different parts of historical Armenia. On the wall of the Mother Cathedral, there is the etched image of the Persian Shah Apas II. He wanted to destroy the church of Echmiadzin, but the Armenians learned about it in advance, and they carved the image of the invader on the wall so as to please him. When Shah Apas II saw this, he didn’t destroy the church of Echmiadzin.
Inside the Mother Cathedral, there is a museum where the “Holy Lense” is kept. One of the Roman legionaries wanted to check if Jesus was alive or not and he wounded his side by a spear which later was brought to Armenia by the apostle Thaddeus.
The Cathedral of Echmiadzin was very big and elegant. It had a lot of very detailed designs on the walls, which had some Arabic colors in it, since its walls were painted during the time of the Arab rule over Armenia. The designs were beautiful, and it was the first church we had seen to have so many intricate designs. The choir was excellent.
The Mother Cathedral was very unique because of its many “sections”, which we didn’t see in any other church. They renovate it regularly, but the Alter is the oldest part of the church. They also do church service, which means that even though the church is old, it is still in use.
Oshagan was very pretty: it was named after its fertile fields. When Noy Nahabed came down from Mt. Ararat, he saw fertile fields, full of plants and trees, and therefore named it “Oshagan”, which is made up of two words: “Osh” and “Agan”. “Osh” means “if only”, and “Agan” is the plural form of “eyes” in old Armenian. Since the fields were so fertile and beautiful, Noy meant to say *”If only other eyes could see this”.
***Oshagan is the resting place of Mesrob Mashdotz, who founded the Armenian letters in 406 A.D. Armenians were in need of an alphabet. They used Assyrian and Greek to read and write. When Mesrob Mashdotz found the Armenian alphabet, the first thing he did was translate the bible to the Armenian language, which was called *”Queen Translation”.
Kristina Ayanian