I took a tour from Yervan. I visited; Lake Sevan, Sevan Monastery (dating from the 9th century), Haghartsin Monastery (10th – 13th centuries) and Goshavanq Monastery, (12th – 13th centuries).

It was a real treat. Lake Sevan is beautiful. The water was crystal clear. There were plenty of people selling fish on the roadside. My guide tells me that trout can be fished in the lake, (though AI is telling me that the trout population is endangered). The monastries were nice; quite small, and enough of the original building left to feel that one was really connecting to the past. Armenia has an amazing history. For a lot of its history it was subject to invasions from Persia (5th century BC to 5th century AD, approximately) and from Arab dynasties (especially 7th and 8th centuries AD). Monasteries were built on high and remote places in an attempt to preserve them from the attackers.

What I didn’t realise until recently is that Armenia is part of the Oriental Orthodox tradition, which is separate from the Eastern Orthodox. The Oriental Orthodox church dates to a 6th century split. (Over a subtle theological dispute about whether Christ was two persons in one, human and divine, or one person combining human and divine in one; I remember stuggling to see the difference when I came across this in my theology course at Oxford). The confession includes the Ethiopian and Egyptian Coptic churches. The Eastern Orthodox tradition, of course, resulted from a split in the 11th century. According to my guide, the Oriental tradition is more cheerful than the Eastern Orthodox.

Talking of my guide. I was lucky enough to have Artak as my guide. This is the tour I went on.