Day 6 - Etchmiadzin, St. Hripsime, Lake Sevan and a reunion

Today we started out with a trip up to Etchmiadzin, which is where the first Christian church was built in 301 A.D.  It is known as the "Armenian Vatican."   We toured the grounds and saw as much as we could.  The alter and front rows of the church were under renovation.

We then stopped at the church of St. Hripsime, which was on our way to Lake Sevan.  St Hripsime church was built to honor the memory of one of the first Christian Martyrs.  It is one of the oldest surviving churches n Armenia, having been built in 618 A.D.

We then headed east to Lake Sevan, which also houses the monastery complex of Sevanavank.  Lake Sevan one of the largest freshwater lakes in Eurasia.

We then stopped at the Noratus cemetery, which houses the largest collection of khachkars (cross stones) in Armenia.

After a short walk through the cemetery, we took a short drive to visit Yura Hovhannisyan's family, whose house we worked on in 2015.  They had finished up the bathroom about a month after we left, and then completed the drainage system.  They finished the kitchen as well and put in a patio last year.  Unfortunately, Yura had passed away since we were there last.

Here is a photo of the outside of the old kitchen, that was detached from the house.

Here is the old toilet (outhouse).