Enter the secret world of Haghpat in the Caucasus Mountains

Measure the "God's forgotten back garden" Caucasus with your footsteps🚞37th stop▪️44th country🇦🇲𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐚☆Armenia▶️Although Armenia is small, it is not short of world cultural heritage. First, we arrived at the Alaverdi area, which is a 4-hour drive from the capital Yerevan. There is a group of ancient buildings built from the 10th to the 13th century, namely the "Monasteries of Haghpat"🏆 World Cultural Heritage; officially starting the check-in World Heritage tour in Armenia, the "Country of Monasteries" (Armenia has more than 4,000 monasteries)! The Haghpat Monastery is a Byzantine Christian church, around which Caucasian wooden monasteries were built. This ingenious combination of two different types of temples is the most outstanding example of Armenian religious art between the 10th and 13th centuries. Many cross tablets can still be seen in the monastery. These are commemorative stone tablets engraved with a cross in Armenian culture, often with stylized decorative patterns such as pomegranates and holy icons. There are tombstones all over the ground here. According to local customs, people should walk over the tombstones to show respect to the deceased. Outside the monastery arches are the beautiful Caucasus Mountains. There are actually quite a few cross monuments placed in this archway, and some people call it the Cross Monument Memorial Hall. "Church of Saint Nishan" is the main church of the Haghpat Monastery. During the three centuries of expansion of the monastery, more than 20 churches, chapels, cemeteries, bell towers, libraries, etc. in different styles were built one after another. This group of buildings is asymmetrical relative to the central axis, and therefore has a staggered aesthetic effect as a whole. The entire building complex is asymmetrical relative to the central axis, which makes the buildings look staggered. The overall building complex is compact and harmonious, and each new building fully considers its position and style in the whole. The church complex stands quietly on the hillside, contrasting with the distant mountains. The Haghpat complex is noteworthy not only because it is a bold innovation in religious and especially civil architecture, but also because it is a typical example of town architecture that reflects the high level of Armenian architectural skills. The harmony and compactness of their asymmetrical layout are stunning. They had an immeasurable and profound influence on the development of medieval Armenian architecture. ps The weather in Armenia in May is amazing. It is said that Armenia has had heavy rain for a week. When we arrived at the scenic spot, the mountain road was also covered with dark clouds and heavy rain. As a result, it was sunny when we started to play, and it continued to rain heavily when we had lunch after the tour. 🤫