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International Touristic Portal Reveals Karabakh's Attraction

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  • International Touristic Portal Reveals Karabakh's Attraction

    INTERNATIONAL TOURISTIC PORTAL REVEALS KARABAKH'S ATTRACTION

    14:08, 10 February, 2015

    YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. International touristic portals
    Wanderlust and MSN have published an article titled "Nagorno-Karabakh:
    the Land that doesn't Exist" dedicated to the exquisite sightseeing of
    the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, which are known only to a limited number
    of foreigners. As reports "Armenpress", the author of the article Mark
    Stratton states that Nagorno-Karabakh, which perches like a jagged
    crown above northern Iran, has become a de facto eastern extension
    of Armenia. Nagorno-Karabakh could be the world's least-known wonder,
    Stratton said.

    The author states that "Stalin sowed the seeds of conflict in
    the region in 1921, pursuing a policy of divide-and-rule to combat
    ethnic opposition within the fledgling USSR. He severed predominately
    Christian Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia, and spliced it to the mainly
    Muslim Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic."

    "It was from Armenia's sun-drenched capital, Yerevan, that I made the
    330km drive east into Nagorno-Karabakh: the only access corridor. With
    me was Armenian guide, Galust Hovsepyan, whose world-weary countenance
    belied his encyclopaedic brilliance for history and art.

    In Yerevan we visited several poignant reminders of the 1988-94
    Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, such as the Mother Armenia Military Museum
    and Yerablur Cemetery, where 7,000 Armenians are buried from a conflict
    that cost 30,000 lives.

    >From Yerevan it was a magnificent day's drive through the cradle of
    Christendom to reach Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh's capital.

    Mt Ararat was also annexed in 1921 to pacify Turkey but remains highly
    auspicious to Armenians. On its foothills, at Khor Virap Monastery,
    I clambered into a coal-black zindan (pit dungeon) where St Gregory
    the Illuminator spent 13 miserable years imprisoned before emerging
    to convert Armenia to Christianity in AD 301 - making it the world's
    first Christian nation.

    It's also noteworthy that the author highlights: "There's no obvious
    wartime hangover in modern Stepanakert, a vibrantly breezy little
    capital that's been industriously reborn. A youthful population
    frequents airy boulevards of boutiques and cafes in a city putting
    down roots."

    The author also paid a visit to the Stepanakert Museum, where
    "raven-haired museum guide, Gayaneh, was keen to reaffirm the
    territory's Christian heritage, showing me khachkars, medieval memorial
    stones finely decorated by geometric patterning reminiscent of Celtic
    crosses."

    "When the war started, Gayaneh - then aged two - was evacuated to
    Yerevan. "My father was a mathematician and stayed to fight as a tank
    driver," she said. This petite young woman told me she too would
    fight for Artsakh. It reminded me of something I'd read by Russian
    dissident Andrei Sakharov: 'For Azerbaijan the issue of Karabakh is
    a matter of ambition; for the Armenians of Karabakh, it is a matter
    of life or death'," the author noted.

    "Shushi's restored 19th-century Ghazanchetsots Cathedral highlights
    an interesting dichotomy. Nagorno-Karabakh's reviving self-identity
    centres on its Christian heritage yet during Soviet times practising
    religion was forbidden so worship dwindled and churches fell into
    disrepair."

    He also visited Dadivank monastery, which "touches the very nerve-ends
    of Christianity. Dadi, a pupil of St Thaddeus (Jude the Apostle),
    is said to have travelled to Armenia two millennia ago, spreading
    the gospel. The church was originally built in the fourth century but
    rebuilt in medieval times. Its antiquated decor comprises sumptuous
    bas-reliefs featuring Jude and archaic Armenian script including a
    testament of Queen Arzou-Khatoun bemoaning her sons' martyrdom to
    Turkish invaders."

    "The object of our journey was Tigranakert, a 2,000-year-old city
    that may one day be celebrated as an ancient wonder of the world. For
    now though, a small museum hosts just a fraction of the treasures
    trickling from recent archaeological excavations. These reflect the
    power of Armenian king, Tigran the Great, whose once formidable empire
    (95-55BC) stretched from the Mediterranean to the Caspian. Marc Anthony
    and then seventh-century Arab invaders later occupied Tigranakert
    before its descent into obscurity.

    "Tigranakert is unknown because there was a Soviet prison here so
    it couldn't be excavated until after the war," explained Varham,
    an onsite archaeologist. Most of the artefacts, coins, weapons and
    tools are being catalogued in Yerevan. "The richness of these finds
    and this architecture demonstrates that several thousand years ago
    this was a major trading city between China and Arabia," he added."

    http://armenpress.am/eng/news/793475/international-touristic-portal-reveals-karabakhs-attraction.html
    http://www.wanderlust.co.uk/magazine/articles/destinations/nagorno-karabakh-the-land-that-doesnt-exist?page=all




    From: A. Papazian
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