A traveller's reflection: Caucasus 2018: 08 Stepanakert, Nagorno Karabakh

"Life is like an elevator. On your way up, sometimes you have to stop and let some people off..."

(Tatik U Papik Monument in Stephanakert)

Day 08: 22 April 2018 (Sunday)
Route: Shushi/ Stepanakert/ Yerevan
Hotel: Erebuni Hotel Yerevan, Armenia

Shushi is a great place to go and has a lot of traditional Armenian homes and churches. Shushi contains many Armenian cultural monuments, while the surrounding territories include also many ancient Armenian village. The city is walled and has many historical churches and also has a few mosques, which are no longer operating. Shushi was the zone of one of the most famous battles during the Karabakh war.

(A unique water dispenser in the hotel)

(Shushi Hotel in Shusha)

(A beautiful view from the hotel)

Today we boarded a different van, as aged as the previous, and visited some attractions around Shushi area. The Shushi fortress walls, inaccessible for those times, served reliable support and storage of weapons, were built of limestone. The walls of 7- 8 m high were strengthened with semicircle towers. A number of caves in South of the fortress played fundamental role in the defensive system of Shushi.

(The remaining fortress around Shushi)

(A memorial in Shushi)

(Abandoned houses, aftermath of a war)

We visited two old mosques of Sushi. Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque and Ashaghi Govhar Agha Mosque. Both mosques are considered symbols of Shushi and masterpieces of Eastern architecture. The difference between the Ashaghi Govhar Agha with Yukhari Govhar Agha is that the minarets of the former mosque are located in the corners of the rear facade unlike the Yukhari Govhar Agha mosque where the minarets are on the front facade. After the fall of Sushi under Armenian control in 1992, both mosques stopped functioning and are in semi-destroyed state.

(The minarets of Ashaghi Govhar Agha Mosque)

(Semi-destroyed state, after the war)

(The outer facade of Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque)

(The two minarets are still standing)

(Spacious prayer hall)

(The upper prayer hall for the muslimat)

(View from the upper level)

(What was once a madrasah)

Ghazanchetsots Cathedral was a facade of white limestone. The architect, Simon Ter-Hakobyan, wanted the church to look like Echmiadzin Cathedral. At the west entrance is a freestanding three-story bell tower. It used to have large statues of angels blowing trumpets at each corner of the bell tower's second story. The cathedral had been used for many different things since it was built. After the Shushi Massacres of 1920 it was no longer used as a church during the Soviet period and during the Nagorno-Karabakh War. Azerbaijani forces used it to store weapons and ammunition. When Shushi was captured by Armenian forces in 1992, the church was repaired and renovated. It is now the main cathedral and headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic Church's Diocese of Artsakh.

(The Ghazanchetsots Cathedral with mountain backdrop)

(The cathedral spacious compound)

(The main cathedral of Artsakh)

On the way to Stepanakert we stopped at T-72 Tank Memorial Karabakh War. It is approximately 20 km north of Stepanakert near the town of Askeran lies a site crucial in the history of the region and the formation of present-day Karabakh, a memorial in the form of a Soviet-made T-72 battle tank.

(T-72 Tank Memorial)

(A reminder of the Karabakh War)

(An up-close view of the tank)

(The hilly road from Shushi to Stepanakert)

Stepanakert or Xankəndi is the capital and the largest city of the de facto Republic of Artsakh. The Republic has limited international recognition. It is de jure part of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In Stepanakert we visited several major attractions.

(A brochure of karabakh)

(The Hotel Armenia in town)

(Waiting for our visa to re-enter Armenia)

When we arrived in Stepanakert we went direct to the Office of Foreign Affairs to arrange for our visa to cross back into Armenia this afternoon. We had to wait till 1.00 pm before the visa could be processed. Each visa cost Dram 3000.

(The Renaissance Square)

(The NKR Presidential Palace)

(A panoramic view of Stepanakert)

(The NKR National Assembly in Stepanakert)

While waiting we visited the Renaissance Square, the main square of Stepanakert, where most of the republican governmental buildings are situated, including the President Palace, The Parliament and the building of the Government of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. It is named in the honor of country revival after the Independence. The Soviet-era name it Lenin's Square after communist idol - Vladimir Lenin. The National Assembly is the highest legislative and representative body of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, Artsakh.

We visited the local market to look for local fruits and souvenirs.

(Stepanakert Market Place)

(Shuka, the delicious local herb bread)

(Waiting in line for my Shuka)

(Varieties of dried nuts and herbs)

(Varieties of local vegetables)

(Buying t-shirts and magnets for souvenirs)

Driving out of Stepanakert, we stopped to visit Tatik U Papik Monument or ‘We Are Our Mountains’, a large monument north of Stepanakert. The sculpture, completed in 1967, is widely regarded as a symbol of the Armenian heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh. The monument is made from volcanic tufa and depicts an old man and woman hewn from rock, representing the mountain people of Karabakh. It is also known as tatik-papik in Armenian, which translates as ‘Grandma and Grandpa’. The sculpture is prominent in Artsakh's coat of arms.

(The description of the monument)

(Tatik U Papik Monument)

(A fresh water fountain)

(Relaxing cool weather)

(Create your own commemorative coins)

On the way to the Nagorno Karabakh/Armenian border we detoured to Gandzasar Monastery, an Armenian monastery situated in the Mardakert district. Gandzasar means Treasure Mountain in Armenian. The monastery holds relics believed to belong to St. John the Baptist and his father St Zechariah. Gandzasar is now the seat of the Archbishop of Artsakh appointed by the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

( The Gandzasar Monastery)

(The Monastery complex)

(The entrance to the church)

(The Armenian Apostolic Church)

(The beautiful Monastery compound)

(A viewpoint of the surroundings)

(Cemetery lot around the monastery)

The van was unfortunately in trouble. We were informed that it would not be able to bring us across to Yerevan because of overheating problem. The van need to be replaced before we headed to the border.

(The monastery complex against the mountain range)

(Enjoying fresh air while waiting for the van to be fixed)

(The driver trying his best to fix the over-heated engine)

(Cool water fountain to quench the thirst)

(Long and winding downhill road)

While waiting for another replacement van, we had lunch in Van Goh Restaurant near the Zoo. We were quite disappointed when the vegetarian pizza we ordered had chicken meat in it. We made do with sharing potato chips, fish and salad among us. We performed our prayers in one of the rooms in the restaurant.

(The zoo next to Van Goh Restaurant)

(Pizza is the specialty in the Italian restaurant)

(The Van Goh Restaurant shaped as a boat)

(Beautiful internal decoration)

Border crossing was swift and hassle-free. The route taken was different from the one we came. We still had to drive through the snow covered mountain range of Sotk Pass to get into Armenia. The view was fantastic from the highest point of the mountain ranges.

(A small border crossing point)

(One of the many wild canines guarding the border)

About 160 km from Yerevan, near the Lake Savan district, vehicles were stopped by a barricade made by the protestors. All vehicles were not able to pass the main road to Yerevan. It was made worst when the protestors burned old tyres in the middle of the road to prevent vehicles from passing through.

(Driving into the mountain range)

(snow-capped mountains bordering NKR and Armenia)

(The winding mountainous road)

(A short ciggie break on the summit)

After communicating with the local travel agent in Yerevan, we were advised not to make a detour as there may be blockades elsewhere. The group decided to have a light dinner and kept warm at a nearby restaurant. Everyone was hoping the road to be cleared soon. We watched life telecast updates on the situations of the riots in Yerevan. After more than an hour we tried our luck by driving towards the barricade and negotiated our way through. We were allowed to pass as the van had a tourist signage on.