International touristic portal reveals Karabakh's attraction

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 cafés 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.”