This weekend my husband and I had the unique opportunity to get away from work and spend the weekend together in a beautiful place. Though I have been to Armenia three times before, I had never been in Armenia in the Fall. Fall is my favorite season and I was really looking forward to seeing the colors change in this beautiful country. Finally, I got my wish when my husband announced that we would go away for the weekend to celebrate both of our birthdays. We went to a touristic town in the mountains called "Jermuk" which is famous because it is the source of hot mineral water which is sold all over Armenia. The town is full of health spas and people go there for vacations or to heal after health problems and operations. The water is supposed to be very healing but the taste was very strange for me so I drank very little. The town was full of old Russian Soviet style sanatoriums. There were lakes and forests and the air had a very good fresh smell. One day we took a day trip to a beautiful monastery which I had dreamed of visiting for a long time. It is called "Tatev Monastery".
This is some info about the monastery from Wikipedia:
The Tatev Monastery (Armenian: Տաթևի վանք) is a 9th-century monastery located on a large basalt plateau near the Tatev village in Syunik Province in southeastern Armenia. The monastic ensemble stands on the edge of a deep gorge of the Vorotan River. Tatev is known as the bishopric seat of Syunik and played a significant role in the history of the region as a center of economic, political, spiritual and cultural activity.
In the 14th and 15th centuries Tatev Monastery hosted one of the most important Armenian medieval universities, the University of Tatev, which contributed to the advancement of science, religion and philosophy, reproduction of books and development of miniature painting. Scholars of the Tatev University contributed to the preservation of Armenian culture and creed during one of its most turbulent periods in its history.
The monastery is the "best-known site" in Syunik.[1] Wings of Tatev, a cableway from Tatev to Halidzor village was opened in October 2010.[2][3] It was included in the Guinness World Records as world's "longest non-stop double track cable car."
Here are some pictures from the weekend...
