Good morning, good afternoon and good evening readers,

Today we visited the Saghmosavank Monastery and the Armenian Alphabet Monument in Artashavan. It was so nice to get out of the city and see some of the incredible countryside views that Armenia has to offer. Tatev’s family invited us out for the day and our other friend Anna joined us too. I feel so lucky to be experiencing their generosity. The air smelt good, the views were good and the picnic was GOOD. Whilst sitting down at our picnic, two stray dogs were hanging around begging for food. I feel like those devilish hounds were my spirit animal.

Saghmosavank Monastery is a thirteenth century monastery in a village just outside Yerevan. The church is still active and when we arrived they were performing a service. The atmosphere in religious houses always stuns me. It is so calm and clear with a strong sense of devotion. The singing from the service was beautiful and I felt like I was in the middle of the movie “The Hunchback of Notredam”. Here are some piccys.

Right outside the church was this view of the gorge which was INCREDIBLE. I had that common urge to hurl myself off of the side of it, but that would be one heck of a view on the way down!

Next stop was the Armenian Alphabet Monument. Tatev asked me to find the letter that represents my name. I knew which one it was, but i’ll be damned if I could find it. She pointed it out to me… it was right in front of us. Apparently the letters look different when they are typed. CLASSIC.

I am already trying to plan our next excursion out of the city. Something about the countryside makes me feel like all the purpose I need in life is right out there, in the rocks of the Gorge.

In gratitude and kindness,
C x