Cave Monastery to Temple of Garni to cooking lessons

Starting with a 90-minute drive through villages and countryside, we visited Geghard Monastery. It began as a small cave chapel in the 4th century and grew into an elaborate monastery carved into the side of the cliff face of the Azat River Gorge.

While we were in a cave room above the church we were treated to a wonderful performance of Armenian religious music. The acoustics were excellent and it was surreal to hear this music, to see the singers in choral robes within an ancient building. Link to YouTube for a similar performance:
https://youtu.be/TcY31fY3fKMsi=ooPeMRtNMaie4jSy

Our next stop was along the roadside to see women baking Armenian bread. Very thin bread which can be dried and kept for months.

Then to the Temple of Garni also sitting high on a cliff above the Azat River. This was a Greco-Roman temple thought to have been built in the first century AD - a symbol of pre-Christian Armenia.

We walked to lunch in a nearby restaurant where the owner first taught us how to make gata, a traditional Armenia pastry of dough filled with a sugar mixture. Lunch was served under the trees. This was the official end to our OAT tour. However, since our flight out of Yerevan has been postponed for 23 hours, we have another day to rest up and explore the city.

Back at the hotel we continue to see demonstrators. Actually on our way to dinner we saw large numbers of people of all ages heading to Republic Square. Dinner with a small group was soup and beer and conversation. Then back to the hotel to sleep without setting an alarm.