Baking ARMENIAN LAVASH + Touring Geghard Monastery & Temple of Garni | Garni, Armenia
Day 4 in Armenia started off with a bang as my amazing guide Lusine and I headed off to the village of Garni. There, I tried my hand at baking Armenian lavash and toured Geghard Monastery and the magnificent Temple of Garni! Let’s continue exploring Armenia!
Lusine: https://www.instagram.com/guin_dalera
Armenia Travel: https://www.instagram.com/armeniatravelofficial
My day began with a drive east to Geghard. I spotted Geghard Monastery as we rounded a bend. There, a woman gave me some Armenian sweet bread called gata. It’s fluffy and super sweet and tasty!
As you approach the monastery, there are vendors selling rosaries and other religious items.
Geghard Monastery is a 13th-century UNESCO World Heritage Site. “Geghard” actually means “spear.” The spear that pierced Jesus Christ’s side was kept in Geghard Monastery from the 13th to 18th centuries!
Then, we entered a cave with carvings on the walls. It leads straight into a 13th-century noble family tomb inside the mountain. It was all carved from one piece of rock! The history was carved on the walls to document it.
Then, I got to witness a beautiful performance where women sing and chant. There are columns and lots of carvings in the corners. We moved on to a church that was constructed, so it isn’t made from one stone. In the back is a holy spring. I took a drink from it. It was freezing!
I had never seen anything like this. This part of the church is carved out of the mountain. There were pillars and intricate carvings in the walls. To the left of the holy water stream room is a rock-carved church. Outside of the rock-carved church is the main church, which was built in 1215. Inside are religious paintings.
From there, we headed to the Temple of Garni. It’s a pre-Christian and pre-Hellenistic pagan temple that was dedicated to the Armenian sun god, Mihr that was built in the 1st century. It collapsed in 1679 but was rebuilt from 1969 to 1975. It reminded me of temples I’d seen in Italy.
It has 24 columns, a main hall, and an altar. Around the back, you get incredible views of the surrounding mountains. The temple was built without cement, but they used iron to unite the stones of the foundation. Futher on is a stone that a king carved in Aramaic that talks about uniting Garniani land with Ararat.
Nearby is the summer residence, which contains a beautiful, 3rd-century mosaic. It’s made from 14 types of colorful natural stones!
Next, we went to eat and learn to bake lavash at Garnitoun Restaurant. There was a woman making nonstop lavash. I sampled some with cheese and herbs and tried making some of my own. I thought I did a bad job!
From there, we entered the restaurant, which boasts unbelievable views of the Temple of Garni and the surrounding valley. I started with lavash with a crumbly cheese and herbs. It was so refreshing! I added a cucumber.
The cheese ferments underground in clay jars. It was so delicious and healthy. Next up was the eggplant stuffed with cheese. It was unbelievable. The greens with pomegranates were dark and had a nice pop. It was crunchy and refreshing!
We enjoyed some 2018 VanArdi dry white wine, which was almost like an Albariño wine from Spain and Portugal. Then, I had a phenomenal dried fruit salad with apricots, plums, pomegranate, and apple. I followed it with a fresh and runny green bean omelet.
Our main course was barbecued trout. The skin was nice and smoky and the meat itself was buttery and smoky as well. You can’t beat great food in a beautiful place with great people!
I hope you enjoyed baking Armenian lavash and visiting Geghard Monastery and the Temple of Garni with me! If you did, please give this video a thumbs up and leave me a comment below. Also, please subscribe to my YouTube channel and click the notification bell so you don’t miss any of my upcoming travel/food adventures!
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About Me:
My name is David Hoffmann. For the last decade, I have been traveling around the world in search of unique culture, food, and history! Since starting David’s Been Here in 2008, I have traveled to over 1,100 destinations in 76 countries, which I welcome you to check out on my YouTube channel, travel blog, and social media sites.
I focus a great deal on food and historical sites, as you probably have seen! I love to experience the different flavors that each destination has to offer, from casual street food to gourmet restaurant dining. I’m also passionate about learning about the local history and culture.
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