Noravank

The monastery of Noravank is located about two hours outside of  Yerevan, right in the middle of the mountains. If you did not know there was a monastery there, you would never think to look. It really is amazing to imagine how people built a monastery in such a difficult location hundreds of years ago.

The setting is what makes Noravank special. To get there  you drive through a beautiful mountain pass, with prehistoric caves surrounding the region. The monastery itself blends in so beautifully with the natural rock formations, it's like an outgrowth of the mountain. 

The site was also interesting because there were so many tourists there, both foreign and local. It is still so strange for me to see groups of German tourists around Armenia. I almost want to go up to them and say thank you for visiting Armenia and being interested in it. Since it was a holiday (the celebratory day of the first Armenian republic and the victory of Sardarapat), there were also lots of local Armenians visiting the monastery too, especially kids on field trips. 

(Images from top: the road to the monastery, the view of the surrounding landscape,  the monastery, the monastery up close with stairs leading to the top, the adjoining chapel, Armen climbing up the stairs, yours truly at the top, the view from the top- look at all the tourists, the candles inside, yours truly in the side chambers, Armen in the church, me in another doorway).