Moving on to Armenia

The trip from the Georgian border was rather long and arduous.  We arrived at the border with a crowd of tourists and locals going to Armenia.  The line through immigration was painfully slow.  After this, the drive was beautiful but the roads are extremely bumpy and narrow.  This is the only road from Armenia to Georgia, and then to Russia.  Armenia is truly isolated as well as landlocked.

Typical views from the bus window.

We stopped at Haghbat Monastery, high up in the mountains.  The views were spectacular.  This monastery was founded in the 10th century.  How this was built, in such a remote area so long ago is a mystery to me. The isolation appeals to me.  I wonder how I would do as a monk? 

The monastery has many rooms , as it was the literary, artistic and educational center of the area.

There are a few frescoes inside the church, but otherwise it is very simply decorated inside and out.  The reason for this is that the Armenian Apostolic Church believes that one enters the church to pray to God, and to focus on the spiritual. The glitz is eliminated to encourage complete devotion

How in the world was this place built in the 10th century?

The drive continued to be teeth rattlingly jarring.  However, one of our WC stops happened to be in a village where there was a bakery.  Watching the bread, as well as the local travelers was a welcome diversion.

After this long day's journey we finally arrived in Yerevan, Armenia - the largest city in the country.