On the way to Etchmiadzin - Vagharshapat

Vagharshapat is a small town close to Yerevan. It has several churches that are UNESCO world heritage. One if them is the Etchmiadzin Cathedral, the mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Therefore it is a must-see if you are in Armenia.

Driving to Vagharshapat is easy since there are buses all the time from Yerevan. Before entering Vagharshapat one can stop and visit the ruins of the Zvartnots Cathedral
Everybody tries to get some extra money from you as tourist. For example to convince the driver to stop at the entrance of the Zvartnots site (which is an official bus stop) I had to pay the full price for the bus to its final destination. Also Zvartnots cost a lot of money. The official entry fee was quite low but as a foreigner I should pay a ten times higher extra fee. This fee was nowhere announced on the price lists at the entry. I knew that it is just a bribing attempt. I tried to negotiate but when they laughed at me after I threatened to call the police it was clear I have to pay or cannot enter. There was no explanation in English available but if I would like to pay another high special fee they would organize some - I gave up. However, walking through a ruin without background info is boring. All in all very disappointing for a world heritage site. But this is Armenia.

Way to the ruins

The first blossoms.

Inside the ruins.

 

Since Zvartnots is only 2 km away from the next world heritage site, I decided to walk. It was a boring walk because it is just a big street through a dull area.

Along the street to the center of Vagharshapat.

Monument symbolizing the right hand of Saint Gregory.

The Saint Hripsime Church is the first church when walking towards the center of Vagharshapat. It is is a good shape. The area around it is unfortunately full of waste. Also the surrounding streets were full of potholes and nobody had a smile. Therefore walking through the town was quite depressing.

The church is inside a fortified complex.

The Saint Hripsime Church.

Its cupola.

An interesting Chachkar in the backyard.



 

Behind the complex - dull and full of waste.

The residential area around the church.

The potholes make it hard to drive.
 

The old buses from Soviet times are still used. Note the gas bottles
on the roof - most cars in Armenia use autogas.

Right behind the church is a large cemetery. It is worth it to enter because the architecture of the graves is interesting. From within the cemetery I noticed this house. I was curious because of the architecture and went there. Some people worked on the entry gate of the house. I tried to take a picture of the gate because of its nice architecture while standing on the public street. They saw this and ran to me so that I had to flee without a picture. I had such a situation already in Yerevan. It seems that in Armenia some persons can make their own rules.

A gate-like building behind the house that I
was not allowed to photograph.

The mysterious house.
 

In the cemetery.

One of the newest graves.

Very cool with the cigarette in the hand. I like these kind of gravestones
because this way you can decide how people should keep you in mind.

 The next curch on the way is the Shoghakat Church. It is also part of the world heritage.

The Shoghakat Church.

The portal is crowned by a tower. Therefore the entrance is like a hall.

Inside the church

The bells in the main tower.