It ended with a loud dance

One more monastery and a Greek temple ended the tour. The Geghard one was a very interesting monastery built right into the cliff. It comprised of many chambers, a vestry, a mountain spring cave chamber and the Proshians’ sepulchre. This cave chamber was the most interesting. In the center, there are two lions with a chain around the necks and between them there is an eagle with a lamb in its claws. This is the coat-of-arms of the Proshian Princes. The rocks were pitch black and the only light was from the open dome, so the entire chamber was eerie and gave one a mysterious but at the same time quiet feeling. The domes were sculptured but not colored like the ones in the Stans, but the sunlight streaming down from the opening made them looked heavenly. Very beautiful monastery. My favorite so far in Armenia. The Garni Temple was reconstructed and made to look ancient as it was. Seen too many of these so I wasnt too impressed nor interested. We lunched right next to the temple and watched the women make lavash bread which tasted absolutely heavenly, crispy and satisfying. We returned to the capital for an early dinner and then it's time for an Armenian traditional dance show at the spectacular Opera House. The music was very Armenian, with women playing the traditional Kanon,a table-like stringed instrument that sat on the lap and with a pick on the index finger, men playing the ancient Middle Eastern Oud, like a guitar with its head bent backwards, and lots of drums and woodwinds. The dancers did all the numbers that lasted a full hour and half without breaks. The costumes were eye catching. The music was loud and I throughly mesmerized by it. A very nice way to end the trip. Loved Armenia!

See Geghard photos