“Armenia 🇦🇲 ~Orbelian Caravanserai on the Silk Road”

• April 13, 2021
• By Pen
• 0 Comment

From the Noravank Monastery and the Oldest Winery in the World, we still had just enough daylight and time to make our way, up in elevation to a very interesting historic location.

We would continue on the Silk Road, but this section was even more amazing, because the travelers who used this route, back in the day, came from the Far, Far East; as in the Orient! It is difficult to imagine the feat of taking on such a trip over rugged mountains, and of course the distance alone would have made for a very exhausting trip for man and beast!

The drive up was AMAZING and the views were spectacular. It was like we left springtime below and drove back into winter! However, The roads were clear of snow and ice, so this made it all the more enjoyable. It was a beautiful day!

When we finally arrived at our destination, we were very surprised to see what we thought was a barn structure made of stone, but we could not understand why it was so short in stature. I mean how did the camels get inside?

We met an elderly couple off the side of the road, near where we parked.  They had a little mini-mart right out of their car. No English, but lots of smiles and shaking of heads.  The gentleman gestured with his hands to show us where the trail was, as it was still covered in snow like the rest of the mountain! The good news is, the distance was not that far to the entrance of the stable, but I was in flip flops and a dress. The truth is the weather was warm; in the 60’s, so my winter outfit would have been way to hot for the day we had of hiking up hills, every place we went on this day.  I did, however, have my heavy winter parka, so I put that on. Daryl had long pants and tennis shoes, and this would prove to be great for both of us!

We made our way down the slippery, snowy and muddy hill from the roadway.  So far so good. I mean I saw spring wildflowers blooming in a clear patch. How bad could it be? The next step onto the flat area, I sunk up to my ankles. The next step I sunk up to my knees.  At this point I reached down and just took off my flip flops.  From there, I would be wading up to my hips in snow! Who knew?  Daryl, for his part, is so lucky to have very long legs.  He got ahead of me and pulled me out of the snow, and tried to make a pathway for me to step in. I was giggling, and losing strength fast. My feet and legs were FROZEN, by the time I reached an area next to the stone structure, where there were a few rocks.  One was big enough I plopped down and let my legs soak up the sunshine for about five minutes. Luckily, there was warmth and sunshine! When I could feel my limbs again, I continued. From there, I put my flip flops back on and walked on rocks to the front entrance, where there was so much snow, we realized the structure was plenty tall for a camel to entrance. The reason the structure looked short, was because it was buried in snow!  

We got inside and it was simply amazing.  It did have a small alter in two places for worship, but the whole thing was one gigantic stable with individuals mangers; all made of stone!  Wow. It was mighty impressive and so is the history.

The History of the Orbelian Caravanserai

Orbelian Caravanserai was built in the year 1332, by the prince Chesar Orbelian who was a member of the Orbelian Dynasty, which was a noble family in medieval Armenia.

Inscriptions in Armenian and Persian were discovered at entrance hall of the caravanserai. However, the Persian text had been damaged by vandals.

The Armenian inscriptions a intt one time were fully intact and they read:

“In the name of the Almighty and powerful God, in the year 1332, in the world-rule of Busaid Khan (İlkhanete ruler at that time), I Chesar, son of Prince of Princes Liparit and my mother Ana, grandson of Ivane, and my brothers, handsome as lions; the princes Burtel, Smbat and Elikom of the Orbelian Dynasty, and my wife Khorishah daughter of Vardan [and …] of the Senikarimans, built this spiritual house with our own funds for the salvation of our souls and those of our parents and brothers reposing in Christ, and of my living brothers and sons Sargis, Hovhannes the priest, Kurd and Vardan. We beseech you, passers-by, remember us in Christ. The beginning of the house [took place] in the high-priesthood of Esai, and the end, thanks to his prayers, in the year 1332.”

When we were done getting photos, we began our way back to the roadway.  When I came out from inside the stable, what did I see?  That nice old man had a shovel and was digging the snow out, to make a path for me to come back on,  Not only that, but he was caring a pair of rubber boots!  I was a little embarrassed and tried to wave him back, and say, it all good, I would be fine, but he didn’t know English, and he really had made up his mind to help out. He may have heard my giggles and thought I was crying. Bless his heart!

In the end, I was very grateful for the boots, and the path.  It really did make going back much easier, that is for sure!  The boots got wet inside, because the snow was still deep, but when I handed them back, he smiled and put them down in the sun to dry.  We bought a few items from the “store,” thanked them and bid our farewell.