We left Shushi and headed to the Martakert region for our next stop, Gandzasar (Treasure Mountain) Monastery, constructed in the early 13th century, was the center of an Armenian independence movement in the 18th century and currently is the seat of the Archbishop of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
The monastery was damaged during the war with Azerbaijan, as can be seen from the shell that's still embedded in its wall.
A view of the Gandzasar Dome
We left Gandzasar Monastery and headed back to the hotel. That evening, we met with the Prime Minister of Artsakh, H.E. Arayik Harutyunyan, who spoke with us for an hour, gave us updates on the progress Karabagh, the issues he's working on and answered our questions. He gave us each watches inscripted by his office as a souvenir from our trip to Karabagh.
This was our last night in Artsakh so we went to dinner and we drank and we danced... It was one of the most fun evenings I've ever had.
Drinking with Irina Lazarian (well, she wasn't drinking)
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