Blog

A Beautiful View: Mt. Aragats – U. Sona Dagley

A Beautiful View: Mt. Aragats

By Sona Dagley

This past Saturday we went on an excursion to Mt. Aragats. But prior to reaching the point in which we would start hiking, we made a few pit stops. First we stopped at Saghmosavank monastery. This monastery was erected in 1215 by Prince Vache Vachutyan. The church sits atop of the Kasakh river canyon. When looking out over the canyon, I couldn’t help but have a feeling of pride knowing that this beautiful land is what I call my “home.” This, however, is not the only time that I have had this feeling; everywhere we go I feel this connection to the land and I think of how our ancestors fought to protect such a beautiful country.

After visiting Saghmosavank we hopped back in our car and continued on our adventure. The next stop we made was at the Amberd Fortress Castle. Amberd is a fortress that was built in the 7th century, used as a summer residence for kings and princes. It is also known as “The Fortress in the Clouds.” The church of Saint Asdvadsadzin was built in the 11th century, but a couple decades after the construction of the church, the fortress was captured by the Seljuks and was made into their military base. The fortress was then recovered by the Armenian-Georgian forces in the 12th century and was abandoned in the 14th century. In order to reach the top of the fortress we scaled the side of it; this was a big step for one of my fellow interns as she is afraid of heights and therefore being able to get to the top was a big accomplishment, which we are all very proud of her for. Once in the fortress we saw that it was mostly crumbled, although the walls still stood tall. At the very top of the fortress is an Armenian flag, which is of course where we had to take a photo shoot! After taking our pictures, we discovered a set of stairs that was much easier to go down, and we then visited the church. After we had finished our sightseeing, we again piled back into our car and made our way to our final destination.

Once we arrived at the bottom of Mt. Aragats, we were all thrilled, yet nervous for what was to come. The significance of Mt. Aragats is that it is made of four peaks and the tallest peak is also the highest peak in current Armenia. In the beginning it was very difficult to breathe because of the altitude change, so we would frequently stop to catch our breath. The terrain first began as grass with a couple rocks here and there, but as one got closer to the peak it became very rocky and some rocks were stable, while others were not. Prior to beginning our hike we were attempting to scope out the different paths that we could travel by, how long they will take, and how dangerous they are. Because of our different desires of how high to reach or which route we wanted to pursue, the group eventually split up. Two girls went in one direction, one in another, and then two of us in a different direction. At one point, one person was lying down and we weren’t sure if she was just basking in the sun or not feeling well. Although we tried yelling to her she didn’t hear us, so I ran over to check on her and she was just enjoying herself so I returned to where I was going. After some time had passed I continued on by myself, as I wanted to reach the top and was not a fan of the stopping. I found myself close to the top and when I looked back I saw such a beautiful view that excited me even more!  But there came a point where we had to leave before any of us reached the top, so unwillingly I returned to the bottom. But unlike the other girls, I found a path that was very easy to take, so before they returned to the bottom I went to the top of another hill that had a giant cross standing tall and overlooking the lake. We then all joined back together for some lunch next to the lake.

Looking back on the climb I interpret it as a very symbolic expedition of how life is lived. Before we began hiking we tried to plan out our routes of attack, as in life we do the same, planning where we will go to school, where we want to be in this many years, what we will do with our life. At the start of the hike, where it was grassy and smooth represents when we are young and naïve, thinking that there is an answer to everything and that life is simple. But as we continued hiking it became rocky, symbolizing that as we grow older we realize that life is not as easy as we think and we hit different points in our life that we have obstacles that must be overcome. The idea that the group started together but eventually split into different groups illustrates how that although we meet many people in our life, we sometimes separate. When I was on my own and tried to reach the top but was called back, that symbolizes to me that although we may plan things out in our life, God has his own plan in mind, even if we don’t realize it. After the hike when we all met up at the bottom and enjoyed delicious food represents that even though we all take different paths in our lives, one day we will all hopefully see each other again in paradise.