Whisky based within Yerevan, we took the opportunity to wander the streets of the city and its sites and museums. Much of the city was designed in the 19th century (after various earthquakes) and some of that vision is till being completed. As such you will see new buildings of old style/design, following the old plan set out earlier.
We visited the temple at Zvartnots (see below), which was the first example of a round cathedral. Zvartnots was built in the 7th century and was a multi storied domed construction. By the 11th century it had collapsed. How it collapsed is still debated, though most argue for one of two theories: an earthquake or attacks arising from repeated Arab raids.
Above you will see pictures of a traditional Caravanserai from the 9th century Silk Road. We stopped at this site on our way to Yerevan. This one has not been restored at all yet, but shows the internal 3 “halls” of the structure. Animals would be kept in the middle, while eating and sleeping would happen in the outside edge two halls. This kept those Silk Road caravans protected from wolves, bears, thieves and the weather.
Seeing the ongoing links to the Silk Road is fascinating and shows how tenacious these traders really were. In the current day, the Chinese government run a program called the Belt and Road initiative, which lends money to countries for programs like road upgrades and other infrastructure. There are various views as to the positives of this program, many countries suggest that it is a initiative to make countries that need assistance in large debt to China and thus a bad program, due to interest on these debts. It shows the importance of ongoing overseas aid programs (ie assistance without debt), as it develops good and trustworthy relationships, with vulnerable areas of the world.
