Born 1840, Died 1840
The church at Odzun, built in the 6th century, still stands:
and is still used. An ancient Madonna from an ancient church:
The cemetery outside has a testament to Armenia’s ancient power:
a gift from an Indian king in the 8th century,
and modern subjugation:
the graves of those who were born and died while Armenia was still under the Ottoman empire
just before the modern age was born.
Many of the graves speak of tougher times, of children who died in the same year they were born.
The village of Odzun now seems a typical Armenian farming community, hay and dung piled high, men still moving firewood by donkey, and metal baths outside houses:
though I never worked out whether these were actually for bathing. Nearby the Horomayri Monastery, a ruin on the edge of the plateau, facing mountains:
Edge of a plateau really means at the edge:
But I left depressed that such an ancient, mountain-facing house of prayer could be so surrounded by rubbish:
(events 01 Dec 2012)
Alien Heartbeat 
5 Responses to “Born 1840, Died 1840”
That’s quite a view – from the looks of the masonry, the builders must have been pretty good. Is it maintained by the locals at all, or completely abandoned?
(apologies for delay – 3 days traveling)
Looks completely abandoned. However may be not a bad thing. Two I saw being renovated were being renovated poorly, with a loss of character. Best was one with two resident old ladies, one prim, one insane, who kept the church and surrounds spotless. This place needs a couple of old ladies.
Oh it’s beautiful – but shame about the rubbish 😦
Yes; I think part of the problem is that civil society, with civil responsibility, hasn’t yet fully established itself after the collapse of the soviet union. This is a bit surprising given that the Armenian people have a strong sense of history and culture, but unsurprising given that it seems to be run by oligarchs with bodyguards
Yeah that’s actually a good way to assess the situation. I hope something is done to protect such monuments better. I mean Armenia is full of them and has so much rich history to preserve