Jan 28 Last Weekend Adventure - Areni, Noravank

This tour also visited Khor Virap, so clarification on how Armenia became Christian. At the time (300 AD), the Parthians were pagans and the Romans were anti-Christians. So become Christian helped Armenia distance itself from both empires. Also, the need for Bibles led to the development of the Armenian alphabet.

HIN ARENI WINE FACTORY

I learned that you should store wine bottles horizontally, so that the cork touches the wine and doesn't dry out.

Located in Vayots Dzor, a region known for wine making. We sampled three wines: white, rose, and red (all dry). The white and rose are fermented in metal vats while the red is a mixture of wine fermented in oak barrels and in metal vats. In the tour, we also saw a grape press from Italy; an important thing is that it doesn't crush the bitter seeds. The wine bottler is also from Italy. Because most of the process is mechanized, there are only 4-5 workers at the small wine factory. Among those workers, one is the Armenian winemaker and another is the French winemaker.

These wine barrels are later sold to producers of higher-alcohol liquors and spirits.

• White - very light, uses Voskehent grapes
• Rose - slightly more funk than the white since it uses the skins from red Areni grapes, a bit sweeter too
• Red - from the Areni grape, can feel the wood on the tongue (a little tannic maybe?), a little higher alcohol than the other two

Overall, the wines are have a few prominent notes. Generally, I look for something a bit more complex. However, keep in mind that I had yet to adjust to the high altitude and my nose was congested and ears were also stuffy. 

Spread of food was overall mediocre compared to what I've had. Beet salad is slightly different style than what I've had (in a good way), accents the sweetness. Dessert was a light cake with a tad of jam. Once again, the Armenian coffee is not too bitter - not sure if it's because I didn't get to the bottom of the cup / it was brewed in a large batch.

Also, it was interesting for me to watch the Filipino on the tour chomp on scallions. Prior to coming to Armenia, I didn't know people who munched on herbs. But now I know Armenians and Filipinos who do.

Furthermore, along the road of the factory, home producers of wine and pickles sold their products. There were little shacks next to the stand where they could keep warm and pop out if a potential buyer walked by.

The pickles in the Coke bottles really give it an Armenian feel

Dried out grapes on the side of the road

NORAVANK GORGE & MONASTERY

As we drove through the Noravank Gorge, huge rocks towered around us. The iron mixed into the rocks added splashes of red, and I could imagine little creatures living in the crevices of the rock faces. This reminded me of a painting in the Aslamazyan Sisters Gallery. The natural features were awe-inspiring - do I need to visit the Grand Canyon when I've seen this?? Only half-kidding.

There was a little bit to explore at this monastery. Particularly, I enjoyed climbing behind the monastery wall and peering at the tour guide giving his schpeel to the Russian-speaking group. It was amazing how quiet the surroundings were when the guide paused for a breath.

Going down to the monastery refrigerator (aka underground pit)

The Indonesian guy Rayhan who took photos for me kept saying to me, "you're such an adventurous lady!" Imagine if he met Melissa...

Like many medieval monasteries, this monastery was a meeting place for intellectuals. However, this church is special in a few ways. First, it has two floors. In addition, there are graves on the floor of the entrance in accordance to the saying that if you lower yourself, God will raise you up. So when we step on the graves, we are lowering them and God is raising them. Above all, there is actually a depiction of God on the church. Only an architect as prominent as Momik could get away with that.

God himself

I could just stand there, taking in the cliffs. But alas, I was called back to the tour bus - the last to return.

ARENI CAVE

This cave dates back 6000 years and is believed to be a ritualistic site, since archeologists found the skulls of young girls, along with wine and musical instruments. It is also where the world's oldest leather shoe was found.

Besides that, the cave is sometimes called Birds' Cave since there are nightingales that have made nests on the rocks of the cave.

At the end of the tour, Rayhan gave me 1000 Indonesian rupiah to remember him by. I was rather surprised but then I learned that 1000 Indonesian rupiah is 26 drams which is $0.05. So then it made more sense...

BACK TO THE APARTMENT

When I returned to the apartment, I had some delicious leftovers and opened the bottle of raspberry wine I purchased from Machar 44. It tasted basically like raspberry juice with a bit of fizz from the alcohol. Pretty good for a drink, but the flavors are too simple for wine in my opinion.