Geghart

Part two of our excursion was Geghart- a very special 13th century monastery. Before I even start talking about Geghart itself I have to comment on the weather. The place is high up in the mountains so it was completely covered in snow...I had never seen set snow before, I was like a kid in a candy store- or like Diana in a candy store. We played with snowballs-I know I sound a little obsessed but it was so cool!!

Back to the monastery. According to our guide Mikhael, Geghart means spear in Armenian. The monastery is named as such because the spear with which Christ was killed was kept here for a long time (I didn't know that Christ was killed with a spear but there you go). The architecture of Geghart is very interesting because half of the monastery is carved into the mountain. It's amazing to think that so many years ago people were ingenious enough to be able to carve a monastery into solid rock. Because of its idiosyncratic construction, Geghart also has amazing acoustics in one of its inner chambers. People actually come there to record music because  the room can make even the most horrible singer sound good.

I had been to Geghart in 2005 and for four years the taste of Gegharti gata has stayed with me. Just like the sujukh and fruit rolls ups at Garni, Geghart is famous for its gata. Now the entire way there all I did was talk about this gata. I think everyone though I was a little crazy. But the gata was amazing!!! It was hot and sweet and perfect. I'm not even a particularly big fan of gata, but this was it! A perfect reward for traipsing through all that slush and snow up to the monastery.

Our day ended with lunch at the house of a local family. It was a house/restaurant with good food and good service.

(Images from top: the exterior of Geghart, Melody going up the path-poor girls toes were frozen solid, look at all the snow!!, one of the inner chambers of Geghart, rooms carved into the rock, a single flame, Armen and Zara singing in the acoustics room, our group outside, Ani and I, Armen and Sevan strolling through the grounds, the gata I keep going on and on about, our lunch room/house, nardi- the great armenian pastime, warming up frozen shoes and feet).