The Soviets weren’t big on religion so they shut down the monasteries and seminaries so a lot of them fell into disrepair (plus earthquakes, pillage, war etc) so its only this generation that they’re producing new monks to restock them. But the church is extremely important in Armenia so one day the churches will flourish again – but in a heavy, monolithic unadorned way. Its never going to flourish into anything beautiful or shiny.

There was a beautiful 11^thC working monastery on a mountain top that was particularly cool. The architecture is so weird. There’s no real Roman or European influence. A lot of it looks more like Indian or Cambodian temples. Which I guess is the Persian/Eastern influence here? I’m guessing.

I can’t use my favorite C Word in a post about a church, but that is what the switchback mountain road was like to try to get up here, in a bus with no air con. On roads not meant for a bus.