On leaving the excellent Hover hotel, we drove down into Dilijan and obtained some Armenian dram from an ATM in the town centre.
Hover Hotel, Dilijan
We then headed southwards for 40km through dense and steep forest being the Dilijan National Park, progressively climbing to an altitude of around 1900m.
Road through Dilijan National Park
We then passed through the longest tunnel in Armenia, it being 1.30km long. On exiting the tunnel, we found the surrounding landscape dramatically different with, now grassy hillsides, green valleys and few trees of any note.
Our travels following the M4 brought us now southwards to Lake Sevan.
Lake Sevan is the largest lake in the Caucasus (area 1240 square km) and is one of the largest freshwater, high altitude lakes in the world.
View of Lake Sevan rom Monastery of Sevanavank, Sevan Peninsula
Soviet irrigation schemes of the 1950s resulted in the level of the lake dropping 20m. This drop in water level uncovered forts, houses and artefacts dating back 2000 years.
Water conservation strategies in the last twenty years have seen a slow but desired rise in the level of the lake and some shoreline houses are now partly submerged.
We parked at the Sevanavank Peninsula tourist area at the western side of the northern basin of Lake Sevan.
Group in the rain, Monastery of Sevanavank, Sevan Peninsula
On climbing 245 steps, we arrived at the top of the elevated site where a pagan temple had been built in pre-Christian times. It was then replaced in 305 AD by a church; since then it has been destroyed. Two further churches were subsequently built as replacements in the 9th century and we visited both in drizzling rain. In front of Surp Astvatsatin were a number of intricately carved khachkars which are Armenian stone crosses normally used as grave headstones. These outdoor steles are carved by specialists and each has a unique design featuring a cross as the centre piece and additional motifs surrounding it.
Monastery of Sevanavank, Sevan Peninsula
Inside church, Monastery of Sevanavank, Sevan Peninsula
Khachkar iInside church, Monastery of Sevanavank, Sevan Peninsula
Panorama from top of hill, Monastery of Sevanavank, Sevan Peninsula
Jak & Corinne at top of hill, Monastery of Sevanavank, Sevan Peninsula
For a complete change of tourism diet and now as the rain had stopped, we then moved south to the Mikaelyan cheese production farm.
An enthusiastic and informative guide gave us detailed information on the farm’s present production of ten types of craft cheeses. We descended into a climate controlled cellar and observed on shelves, numerous different types of cheeses undergoing maturation. The factory produces soft and hard cheeses with the maturation process typically involving the cheese being left in prolonged contact with wines, spirits, herbs and spices.
Cheese Cellar, Mikayelyans' Family Farm, Noratus village, Armenia
Inside Cheese Cellar, Mikayelyans' Family Farm, Noratus village
We had a light degustation meal as an opportunity to taste the various cheeses. Our cheese guide offered details on the foods and wines that might best complement each cheese. To supplement our ten individual cheeses, we had fresh fruits, processed meats, nuts and crisp-breads.
Group at tasting table, Mikayelyans' Family Farm, Noratus village
Tasting platter, Mikayelyans' Family Farm, Noratus village
Our group then spent an hour or more in an ancient cemetery in the small village of Noratus quite near Lake Sevan. This graveyard is famous for its khachkars and there are over nine hundred here, several of them over a thousand years old.
The oldest date back to the 10th century and the seven hectare cemetery provides a fascinating opportunity for one to wander and view the varied sizes, shapes and inscriptions carved into these ancient tombstones.
Khachkars in Cemetry, Noratus village
Wedding Tombstone in Cemetry, Noratus village
The next part of our afternoon’s adventure required a two hour drive over the Selim Pass at 2410m into the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia.
After negotiating numerous tight hairpin ends on a dreadfully potholed road, we eventually stopped at a nondescript location. A short walk from the road took us to a caravanserai built in 1332 AD.
Selim Caravanserai, Selim Pass in Gegharkunik Province
Selim Caravanserai, Selim Pass in Gegharkunik Province
This is possibly one of the oldest caravanserais in existence that hasn’t been significantly damaged, renovated or generally altered in the past thousand years. It was built during the reign of Khan Abu Said II and is still in remarkable condition. It served as one of the many stop-over points on the ancient Silk Road.
Group at Selim Caravanserai, Selim Pass in Gegharkunik Province
Inside Selim Caravanserai, Selim Pass in Gegharkunik Province
The internal structure has a central, covered alleyway where the animals such as camels, oxen and goats would rest and feed overnight.
The side chambers provided room for the various merchants and other travellers to negotiate trade deals, cook meals and sleep.
Side chamber, Selim Caravanserai, Selim Pass in Gegharkunik Province
The view of snow capped mountains in the south towards Iran was great although affected by misty conditions.
View from Selim Caravanserai, Selim Pass in Gegharkunik Province
We then continued on further south and at Yeghegnadzor we took a side road and reached our accommodation for the night at the Arevi Hotel.
Our hotel room looks out onto a massive and steep rocky cliff-face with high mountains behind.
View from our hotel window, Arevi Hotel, Yehegnadzor
This area is a popular region for mountaineers and skiers and the manager of our hotel has positioned as decoration, large photographs of himself and mountaineering friends conquering several of the 4500-5500m peaks in this region.
This has been a most interesting day and the visit to the caravanserai was a very special treat.
We are having a fantastic opportunity to learn a little about a section of the world that has to a large extent been a mysterious and neglected part of Eurasia.