Before I continue, I want to apologize for any grammatical errors. Or anything that may have sounded confusing or scattered. Most of these posts are typed on Non-English key boards (whose keys are very sticky) and are written in the middle of the night in a last minute attempt to summarize our past week in order to get it posted for reading.

Day 3 Armenia:

We wake up the next day early, well earlier than before, and get ready to start our first tourist stop. The Monastery of Geghard was built back in like 1215 over a sacred spring and it was built into the mountainside and used to house the spear that had pierced Jesus's side, which was supposedly brought over by the Apostle Jude but is now held in a local museum. (I'm skeptical of the authenticity of that claim, especially since Armenian's like their folk tales) Since we were going on Sunday we were hoping to get the the Monastery on time to attend the church service, which we read up on and is very intricate and beautiful. Except for at the end they sacrafice an animal and boil it and feed it, that part is not so beautiful, but none the less we wanted to see it and take part. Since Armenia was the first declared Christian nation Jef and I had done some reading up on how their practices and beliefs may differ from America's. And it definitely differs and makes me think about and rethink about the way things are practised in western America and how boxed in many of us truly are.
So we call a taxi to head up that way and our taxi driver of course speaks to no English but is adorable and helpful all the same. Once we leave the city of Yerevan we get a taste of what Armenia and it's people are really about. There are rolling green hills, with Mount Ararat in the distance gorgeous as ever. There are random heard of sheep and cows everywhere, including in the roads. Well in Armenia their roads are barely even roads it's basically all broken up pavement with humongous pot holes. So we're swerving our way up into the hills I swear at a deadly speed, and no cars have seat belts, until we arrive at the Temple of Garni (an ancient Greek temple). So we have the same dialogue with the taxi driver over and over: Us "Ummm we want to go to Geghard, not Garni..NO Garni, NO Garni...Geghard" Taxi Driver, "YES Garni, you...blah blah blah (motions with his hands for us to get out and walk around)...Garni, YES" So we finally do what he says and buy tickets to the Temple of Garni and walk around it thinking that if we do so then he will be satisfied and take us where we need to go. The Temple of Garni truly was wonderful and was made to be perfect geometrically.
After walking around Garni we got back in the taxi and asked, "Geghard?" and he yells back "Geghard!" and so we all smile and were on our way. After driving by some flag dancers playing flutes and wearing masks we arrive at the Monastery of Geghard. It is placed right in the centre of all these mountains and rock faces next to a river. On the way up there are local villagers who had come and set up tables with their local goods. All the locals and old people of Armenia are incredibly adorable, all small and hunched and tan. There is to much about Geghard to really type but it is so intricately built with so much symbolism involved and it still houses clergy men and women over the summer. There are so many rooms just filled with carvings and the sacred fountain is still flowing inside where you can take drinks to heal yourself...we passed though (it looked kinda milky and was covered in children). Our taxi driver joined us on our excursion and basically became our tour guide. We all lit candles once inside for our prayers and then joined the service..which was GORGEOUS!
It is filled with old paintings and artifacts with carvings everywhere. All the clergy men were decked out in robes and the choir consisted of 5 women but sounded like four times that with how amazing the acoustics were in this room. People were coming in and out to say a prayer and none were dressed up so that was a good thing. Unfortunately the incense they were burning, which I guess burns bacteria, started to make my stomach hurt so we left after that and didn't stay for the sacrafice. We did buy some really huge and legit fruit roll ups from one of the local vendors though :)
We then headed back into town, thanked our cab driver and once again met up with David and one of our Armenian friends Shushan (Susan). We took the local subway (which we had no clue existed) got plenty more over exaggerated stares and laughs along the way, and went to some local sweet shops and cafes. Then climbed up to the top of this giant monument called The Cascade, which attaches the lower part of the city to the upper to watch the sunrise over the city and over the mountain of Ararat. We had dinner then said our goodbyes and Jef and I arrived back at our hostel to see our adorable little front desk man trying to hold his eyes open and laughing awkwardly at I don't know what. Then we slept basically.