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Khachkars, or memorial stone-crosses, are a uniquely Armenian art form dating to the 9th century at the commencement of the Armenian Renaissance. Typical examples include a cross set against a very intricate floral or tree of life pattern. They can be seen at cemeteries, incorporated into walls or facades of religious buildings, and on pedestals or even in piles at churches and monasteries. They are made from the very abundant Armenian volcanic stone and, as far as I can tell, in the same manner they have been for the last one thousand years or more. A stone mason, or varpet, carving a khachkar in Yerevan, Armenia.
A small medieval chapel overlooks Debed Canyon and Sanahin (below and just out of frame to right). To the left, some few hundred meters deep in the canyon, sits the large and interesting industrial town of Alaverdi. It was once a major supplier of copper to the USSR but is now in steep economic decline. The Debed Canyon, viewed from the Trans-Caucasian Trail just above Sanahin, Armenia.
Mrs. Orca following friends we met on trail down toward the Rilska River Valley far below. Notice the large glacial lake in the perfect hanging valley on the other side, I believe Smradlivo Lake, or Stinky Lake (2298m), Five Mountains Trail (E4), Rila Mountains, Bulgaria.
Mercantour.
I met the young woman at a lake at around 2200 m altitude, and the ibex too. We started the descent all together, the ibex in front, us behind. The ibex sometimes stopped, we always joined it, then it left again. This lasted almost 1 hour. Then it stopped in a meadow, sat down like a dog, and let us pass while saying goodbye. A great moment....
Alcatraz takes its name from the archaic Spanish word for the large seabirds ("alcatraces"--typically denoting pelicans, cormorants or gannets) that 18th century Spanish explorers found there in large numbers. In fact, the location had long been a site at which indigenous people harvested eggs. When the US took over after the Mexican war (1846-48) it became a military installation and then a military prison. It was a federal prison from 1934-1963, but closed because it is a very expensive and impractical site to run a prison (the island has no fresh water, the facilities are constantly battered and eroded by the elements, and it is hardly a practical commute for its employees). After the prison was decommissioned, the island became a popular national park and has even been recolonized by nesting seabirds. Strangely, I have never been there, I suppose because I grew up in the Bay Area and it seemed like such a tourist thing to do. Alcatraz island and the Golden Gate Bridge (1937), as seen from the Larkspur Ferry, on San Francisco Bay, California.
Hagphat was at the height of its importance as an Armenian religious and intellectual center when the absurdly rapid Mongol Expansion of the 13th century overran Central Asia, East Asia, the Middle East and (briefly) Eastern Europe. Kayan Fortress was built in 1233 by the Hagphat monastery as a defense and refuge against the coming onslaught. It towers above Debed Canyon and has steep cliffs on three sides, but it fell to the Mongols just eight years later and was never rebuilt.
It can be reached as part of a footpath that connects Sanahin and Hagphat and also passes the ruins of one or two old chapels and some hermitage caves, all of which are contemporaneous with the monasteries. When we visited we found nothing much to look at except the ruins of a chapel (with grass growing on its roof, above) and an extensive system of walls. We were also quite surprised to see many workers employed at clearing away trees among the ruins and attempting to make the site more accessible, I presume using UNESCO funds. Workers were similarly employed on trail and at the caves, so it appears there is a project underway to develop the trail for more tourism, something that seems unlikely to succeed to me, given the fact that almost everyone who visits the monasteries appears to do so as part of a day trip via tour bus from Yerevan or Tbilsi. Kayan Fortress, in the Debed Canyon between Sanahin and Hagphat, Armenia.
After the conquests of Alexander Armenia became a part of the Hellenistic world. Upon his death in 323 BC his empire was divided among his generals, with Armenia and much of the Near East going to Seleucus. In time these Hellenistic kingdoms gave way to better organized powers, particularly Rome and Parthia, who collided wherever their empires met, including Armenia.
In 63 AD the two powers worked out a strange compromise whereby it was agreed that a member of the Parthian royal family would rule Armenia, but he would have travel to Rome and abase himself to receive his crown from the Roman Emperor. So it was that in 66 AD the Parthian Prince Tiridates I traveled to Rome and was crowned King of Armenia by none other than the infamous Nero.
An inscription found near the Garni Temple strongly suggests it was built in 77 AD by this same Tiridates I and dedicated to the sun god Mihr/Mithra. Today it is the sole surviving pagan or classical building in Armenia. In 301 Armenia became the world's first Christian country and essentially all pagan architecture was destroyed, but the Garni Temple alone survived, probably because it was incorporated into a royal complex.
The temple stood for sixteen centuries before it was toppled by an earthquake in 1679. It lay in ruins for three more centuries, but was reassembled in 1969-75 with the approval of a new overlord, the Soviet Union (it is the only Hellenistic building in the former Soviet world). Note the plain replacement pieces--very distinct from the original--that were used to bring the temple back to life.
Mrs. Orca at the Garni Temple, Armenia.
Ode To Enchanted Light
by Pablo Neruda
Under the trees light
has dropped from the top of the sky,
light
like a green
latticework of branches,
shining
on every leaf,
drifting down like clean
white sand.
A cicada sends
its sawing song
high into the empty air.
The world is
a glass overflowing
with water.
The endpoint of our hike in Bulgaria. I believe the cluster of flowers are Anthyllis aurea, a Balkan endemic with a long history of medicinal uses. On our final day we saw many small groups on the mountain picking various teas and medicinal herbs, a practice which is common everywhere in Bulgaria. Strictly speaking I do not believe this is legal at this particular location, though it is customary, and I doubt there is much if any harm in it. Gotsev Vhrah (2212m) and Anthyllis aurea, Slavyanka Mountains, Five Mountains Trail (E4), Bulgaria.