Armenia - Garni Roman Temple

I arrived in Yerevan on the evening of August 7th...  I met up with the Armenia Fund Director Sarkis at the airport and all the Armenia Fund tour members took the bus to Congress Hotel near the center of Yerevan.

In the morning, August 8th, I met some of the tour group members after breakfast:  Karine, Emma, Manya & Vigen, Tamar & Nerses, Araks & Vahe, Janet & Mike (Mantzig), Baron Dr. Vahe, Baron Khosrov...  Then there were people who worked for Armenia Fund:  Sarkis, Ludwig, Sarko (video producer), Tigran (cameraman), and Digran (driver).

Of course in my excitement I forgot to put the battery in my camera so the first day I had to use my phone to take photos.  Our first stop on the tour was Garni Roman Temple, which is the only remaining temple in all of Armenia.  It was built in the 1st century AD, dedicated to a sun god, with 12 columns representing the hours in the day.  When Armenians became Christians in 301AD (first country to accept Christianity), all the temples were ordered to be destroyed by King Trdat III, but Garni temple remained and was restored after the 17th century earthquake destruction (restored in 1975).

There is also a bath-house in the Garni complex, which shows different quarters designed for different temperature levels, with stone mosaics.

During our tour of Garni, there was a group of tourists from Israel.  One of the tourists, an older man named Gabriel, started talking to me.  Granted, majority of the people visiting Armenia from other countries are older people...  They were touring Armenia and Georgia.  He kept following me around the temple complex, wanting to know more about me.  But he was sweet and took a photo with me and we parted ways...