Welcome back to our channel and dont forget to subscribe and hit the bell to be notified when we post our newest videos. We are on a long 3 week trip to Armenia and this morning we got up bright and early to visit Garni. This town has an ancient history and is known for the Hellenistic Garni temple. The area has been inhabited since the 3rd century BC. The first stop in this amazing area is the Garni Gorge, more commonly known as the symphony of the stones. These basalt columns are an amazing site and I was excited to see them up close. On our other visits to Garni temple we could see them from afar but never ventured down into the gorge. The road down to the stones has always been a bit bumpy but when we visited it was under construction and was very difficult to drive but we finally made it! This amazing natural phenomenon was a spectacular site to behold. These stones stretch about 100 meter high and were formed by the freezing of lava. Much of the country of Armenia has hints from its volcanic and turbulent past. The Azat river flows through the bottom of the gorge an made the sounds around us relaxing and added to the feelings of awe. We stayed for a bit down near the river to explore and fill our jugs of water. There is water everywhere and it bubbles out of the ground crystal clear and very cold. Very nice on a hot summer day!
Our next stop was Garni temple. This temple is the only greco roman style architectural example left in Armenia and the former soviet union. Although there is lots of mystery surrounding this building it is truly a gift that visitors are still able to walk across the beautiful grounds. The temple was most likely built in the first century AD to honor the sun god Mihr. Some argue that it was a tomb and thats the only reason it was not destroyed during the religious cleansing after Armenia adopted christianity. In 1679 an earthquake with the epicenter in the Garni gorge destroyed the temple and it was finally rebuilt between 1969 and 1975. On the grounds of the temple is also an ancient roman bathhouse and the temple was converted into a summer residence for the queen after christianity was adopted. Not only is the site open to visitors who would like to learn about it’s history but there have also been many events held such as concerts and TV events.
Lavash is a type of unleavened bread that is a staple at every meal in armenia. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language lavash is "a thin unleavened
flatbread of Armenian origin".[10] In 2014, Lavash was described by the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as "an expression of Armenian culture" The dough is traditionally
made in a pit in the ground with coals to create a type of oven called a tondir. The dough made of flour, salt, water, and sometimes yeast and sugar is rolled out to be very thin and placed on a pillow to press into the wall of the oven. Once the bread begins to bubble and finishes cooking it is stacked up waiting to be consumed. There are so many ways this versatile bread is used in Armenian meals and we probably ate it more than anything else during our time in the country. When the bread sits and cools it begins to harden and can turn into a cracker type texture but later can be rehydrated with a sprinkle of water. Traditionally th women were the ones to make this bread and it was a ritual performed at the rising of the sun. The fire was made and prayers were said before the cooking commenced. At this beautiful restaurant near garni we were able to dive into making this bread ourselves. We quickly found out how difficult it was and the women making it clearly had some type of devine advantage. It was really fun to get to be a part of this ancient tradition. Another traditional armenian bread we were able to make was called gata. This is a sweet bread that is often seen at roadside stands with elaborate designs. I know this is something ive been dreaming about eating again since our last trip in 2019 where we purchased a big one from Geghard monastery. Depending on the region the types of gata can be very different in texture and flavor. Some types of gata are closer to a laminated butter dough such as a french croissant and others are more of a yeast bread stuffed with a sugar mixture. The origins of this sweet bread are unknown but many attribute it to a bread made during the times where christians worshiped secretly inside the caves that later became Geghard monestary. When christianity became the national religion of Armenia and they were allowed to worship freely a sweetness was added to the bread to represent the sweetness of Liberty and freedom.
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