Travels in Armenia] (23) The overwhelming sense of ruin at the Matthavank Monastery in Armenia! I was lost for words at the sight of time stopped.
Second day in Armenia.
On this day, we started the morning on a mountain road to reach the Matusavank Monastery.
This mountain road was amazing. It was not well maintained at all. We had no choice but to meander along the road, avoiding potholes. We could only go about 10 kilometers per hour.
The mountain road to the Matusavank Monastery in Armenia is full of holes and is bumpy anyway. Driving at a speed of about 10 kilometers per hour, we meandered along the road avoiding the holes. pic.twitter.com/zQuFaRHEwx
- Takahiro Ueda @Hakodate Kinshokuji Temple (@kinsyokuzi) December 30, 2022
Anyway, it was rocking and swaying. And then we were deep into the mountains.
Hey, hey, hey, hey...are we going to be okay? We're going to be walking for two hours in this place...
I came here with a light heart, but I didn't intend it to be like this... I am exactly in the mood for a "Wednesday night".
With a guide who specializes in this mountain, we started climbing.
The hills are tougher than I thought they would be. And it was hot. This is going to be a hard day's work.
Then, after a 10-minute walk, we arrived at the Juftak Monastery. This is also an active monastery.
When we arrived, it was just time for worship and we could hear the sound of prayers.
I could see from the outside that there was a priest and a congregation of about 20 people.
The building itself looks as if time has completely stopped. And there are only a few modern people in the building. I don't feel any connection with time. This is the feeling of discomfort I have been experiencing ever since I came to Armenia. It is so different that I cannot catch up with my understanding.
Now it is time to begin the mountain trail in earnest. It will take about one and a half hours to walk from here.
The woman who was our guide and interpreter and the driver also had quite a bit of trouble along the way. We had to cross rivers in places. It reminded me of the jungle in "Wednesday Night Live. When I think of them, I start to laugh and feel energetic. It makes me want to laugh at myself and wonder why I have come all this way and am doing this.
We finally arrived at the monastery, exhausted. Perhaps because my walking pace was a little faster than usual, it took me only a little over an hour to reach the monastery from Juhtak.
I was so happy when the monastery came into view through the trees!
I feel extra grateful for all the hard work I have done.
This is the Matusavank Monastery, which was built in the 13th century and looks exactly like a ruin. The roof is overgrown with grass. It looks as if it might collapse at any moment. If it were in Japan, the monastery would be maintained as a historical heritage site, but this is deep in Armenia. But this is deep in Armenia.
Open the rusty wire mesh door and go inside. This door gives the place a very abandoned atmosphere.
Oh, this..!
I have no words...just a feeling of being overwhelmed. All I can say is, "Wow.... I am ashamed to admit that this is all I can say.
How divine the light shining in from overhead...!
A perfect sense of abandonment. Time has completely stopped. It can only be described as a different world. It is a space completely disconnected from everyday time.
And this moss is wonderfully green. Rainwater must be falling here from the ceiling. In the photo above, trees can be seen growing in the gaps between the stones. It is a stark reminder of how buildings that have not been touched by human hands are being eroded by greenery.
I feel the transience of human beings and the passage of time. Prayers were once offered here. But the people have disappeared. And all that remains are ruins, as if time has stopped there. However, it is gradually returning to nature...
It is rare to find a building that evokes such a sense of "time".
There are countless churches and monasteries around the world that are older than this.
But they are still used as places of prayer and as tourist attractions. To put it another way.It's a link from the past to the present."Existence. Naturally, it has been renovated and its interior and decorations have changed with the times. In other words, the church itself, though old, "lives with us today. And we feel it unconsciously.
But what about this matsavank? Can we feel the connection of time from the past to the present from here? Not only in Mat-Savank. I can say this about all the churches I have visited in Armenia. I just can't see the connection between the past and the present in the churches in Armenia. The churches where time has stopped and the presence of modern people just don't mesh. I felt a strong sense of discomfort.
I will talk about this again in a later article, but this discomfort puzzled me.
Matosavank is a rare example of a work in which the connection between the past and the present is not visible, but rather the presence of "time" is felt.
I am so glad I came all the way here.
And on my way home from this monastery, I heard something unexpected.
To his surprise, the mountain guide had previously guided a Japanese researcher here!
Perhaps you are referring to that Mr. Shiro Shinono! I wanted to come to Armenia becauseDr. Shinono's bookThis is because I read the
I could not be sure if it was Dr. Shinono or not, but I was happy to hear it. Even if it was not Dr. Shinono, I would have been happy if I had been able to walk here as well as the Japanese researchers.
It was a physically demanding day, but a very worthwhile second day in Armenia.
be unbroken
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