Relief in Karabakh - Part 2 Gandzasar

The officer in the ministry of foreign affairs strongly recommended to drive to Vank to see something of the country. There is a bus from Stepanakert directly to Vank. It was a bit underpowered with the nice side effect that the ride took quite long. The bus also did not take the direct route so that one could see some of the small country.

To enjoy the following images I recommend to listen to Thievery Corporation - So Com Voce.

It was a pleasure to see that in the villages I have seen the government is investing money to build and renovate schools, roads etc.
My experience is that one can quickly estimate if a country has a proper government or not by traveling through the villages. In many countries with a strong ruler the capital and the big cities looks nice but there is almost no invest in the countryside. In democratic but corrupt governments often also the big cities look not well. As I stated in previous posts I was very disappointed about the Armenian government. Therefore I was surprised to see that Artsakh demonstrates how it could be in Armenia. Yes, Artsakh benefits from money from Armenians abroad and from their copper and gold mines. But in my opinion every country has resources, the question is how they are invested. Either they vanish by corruption, are used to build senseless palaces and punctual infrastructure or they are invested all over the country, most importantly in education.

The village of Vank might be an exceptional village because a rich businessman sponsored a lot. He built a hotel in form of a ship and also sponsored the school building.

The hotel built by the businessman in Vank. I ate there and the employees
told me that it is hard for them because there are not enough tourists.
They expected much more because of the Gandzasar monastery

The painted roofs are from renovated buildings.

    

The school.

The school even has a swimming pool.

An interesting idea for a fence.

The monastery high above Vank.

The main attraction is the Gandzasar monastery above the village. I can recommend to walk up there to enjoy the beautiful landscape.

There was an attempt to built a tourism center in the valley.
The work was stopped in 2015 when I was there.
 

There is a street up the hill and also a footway. I took the street and then the path through the cemetery. I haven't seen such a cemetery on a steep hillside in the height far from the living houses.

Fro the top the cemetery looks less spectacular.

The monastery complex.

The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. It is the seat of the bishop of Artsakh.

The living houses of the monks.

Entrance of the cathedral. As usual in Armenian churches,
it is dark inside. Therefore...

I gave up after several attempts to get nice pictures from the interior.
 

The cathedral from another perspective.

I noticed the special carving and indeed it is something special.