Karagasanly

Makaravank, main church (r) and gavit (l) Makaravank is a 10th to 13th century church complex near the Achajur village of Tavush Province, Armenia, located on the slope of Paitatap Mountain. Though the monastery is no longer used for services, the complex is well preserved. There are 4 churches, a gavit (narthex) that serves the two largest of the churches, and other buildings which served secondary roles. At one time there used to be vast settlements around Makaravank, the presence of which was of great importance for the growth of the monastery. The oldest church of the group was built during the 10th and 11th centuries. The materials used in its construction were mostly large pieces of roughly hewn red tufa (a common Armenian building material). One of the churches, named Surb Astvatsatsin church, was built in 1198 in white stone, on the eastern side of the complex. Surb Astvatsatsin is attributed to Yovhannes. The main church was built in 1205, using pink andesite, with a red andesite gavit. The main church is a domed hall. The diameter of the high dome is quite large, and the under-dome space predominates in the structures interior. The entrance portals are rectangular, with a semi-circular inner niche. The tympanum and the spandrel are composed of stones of various shapes and colors. The dome drum is skirted by a graceful twenty-arch arcature on twin half-columns. The arches are made as an ornamental band; the same band passes between the arches and the cornice. The arcature is harmoniously proportionate to the dome and to the overall volume of the church. The facade of the gavit, which was built with a donation from Prince Vache Vachutian in 1224, bears sculptures of a sphinx and a lion attacking a bull. Inside the gavit, one reaches the earliest church, of the 10th or 11th century. (source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makaravank)

July 25, 2012, photo by Yuichi S. Hayakawa 　小コーカサス山脈から北流（写真左から右）するトヴス川は、本流であるクラ川に注ぐところで北向きの扇状地を形成する。その開析谷の比高は写真の地点で約60 m に及び、谷の内部には後氷期に形成された数段の段丘がみられる。現河床からは礫の採取も活発に行われ、対岸ではその工場からの煙が立ち上がっている。扇状地上を東西に流れる灌漑用水は、径2 m 超のパイプを通り、サイフォンとしてトヴスの深い谷を横断する。 （表紙写真：地形34-1, 2013） geomorphoto.blogspot.com/2015/04/deeply-dissected-valley-...

Sleeping in the first-class coach of the Baku-Tbilisi night train. Note the fabulous blanket - I'd like to buy it!