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.”
From: A. Papazian