Spend Your Weekend in Lori Province: A Firework of Things to Do
I begin my journey to Lori from Vanadzor. Alongside a number of places that have already become my favorites in the city, every visit brings new discoveries, while among the old ones there are those for which I can always find time. One such place is the Vanadzor Fine Arts Museum, located at 52 Tigran Mets Avenue.
DISCOVER
DAY ONE
Vanadzor fine arts museumy
Tel։ +374 98 02 97 77, Tatevik Baghramyan
FB: vanadzorfineartsmuseum
One of the museum’s unique exhibits is Benik Petrosyan’s sculpture Childhood Sorrow. After guided tours, you may notice candies placed near the sculpture by children, who believe they will bring happiness to the little girl depicted in it.
Around 1,800 museum pieces are preserved and exhibited in the three-story building on Tumanyan Square, including paintings, sculptures, decorative and applied arts, and graphic works.
The Vanadzor Fine Arts Museum bears the name of Vanadzor-born artist Karlo Abovyan, whose works are also displayed here. They differ from the others in that, instead of eyes, the artist depicted crosses in his portraits.
DISCOVER
WHAT TO EXPECT
Another remarkable place or rather, one of Vanadzor’s symbols is located on the ground floor of one of the high-rise buildings in the “Jungles” district. As soon as the door opens, you find yourself in a truly unique world. Here, everyone can become a part of art or craftsmanship.
The master, who has dozens of students, is engaged in sculpture, painting, khachkar carving, graphic arts, and music. You can easily find Master Bogdan, because there is hardly anyone in Vanadzor who does not know him. By the way, the master always has unfinished works that you can help complete yourself.
BG
Tel։ +374 93 629 139, Bogdan Hovhannisyan
DISCOVER
WHAT TO EXPECT
Cycling tours in Vanadzor have become one of the most popular forms of healthy recreation thanks to the “On Two Wheels” initiative. The tour is a true discovery for adventure lovers every moment brings fresh impressions.
If you want your weekend to be truly beneficial for both body and soul, take a cycling tour through old Vanadzor along the routes of Soviet architecture. Today, the number of cycling tourism enthusiasts continues to grow year after year. The explanation is very simple: cycling is one of the most enjoyable forms of tourism.
You can rent bicycles directly from Two Wheels (“On Two Wheels”), and it is worth mentioning that the variety of cycling routes is truly extensive.
Many people remember from childhood the rustling sound of bicycle tires on dusty roads and the warm wind blowing against their faces. A cycling trip will revive those childhood memories.
The most important difference between cycling tourism and other forms of active recreation is that cycling leads in travel speed, route diversity, and route length.
Are you still wondering whether it is worth it?
Vanadzor on two Wheels
Tel։ +374 91 10 77 74 Emma Petrosyan
FB: @discovervanadzorontwowheels
Where to Stay
DAY TWO
From Vanadzor, my journey continues to Dsegh, the village of Tumanyan, or more precisely, to Sona Guesthouse, where I spent the night.
In the morning, Mrs. Anahit and I went mushroom picking. I tied on my apron, took my basket, and walked ahead of Mrs. Anahit as if I were the expert. It was my first time picking mushrooms, and as I later realized, certainly not the last.
Have you ever picked mushrooms? If not, let me tell you that you are about to experience one of the most interesting, heartwarming, contagious, memorable, and relaxing activities imaginable.
Mrs. Anahit introduces the guests of the guesthouse to the rich treasures of Dsegh’s forests. While picking mushrooms, I learned that they should be boiled together with potatoes, and if the potatoes turn black, the mushrooms are poisonous. Mrs. Anahit also shared many other secrets of the plant world.
Sona Guesthouse
Tel։ +374 93 90 01 49 Tatevik Bezinyan
FB: @Sona-guest-house-Dsegh-Սոնա-հյուրատուն-Դսեղ
WHAT TO DO
Right next to Sona Guesthouse is TUC (Tourism Unique Centre). Here, guests are offered a variety of interesting activities. If you are adventurous, Zilling is for you. If you enjoy intellectual recreation, then the Tumanyanian games are waiting for you. And if you prefer the combination of nature and architecture, then follow me.
TUC organizes a number of hiking tours. We started from the northeastern part of the village, where the Holy Terunakan, the Beautiful Cross khachkar, rises high above. Beneath the lower part of the floral-decorated cross is the symbol of the Earth. It dates back to the 8th century, although it may belong to an even earlier period.
We descend toward the ruined St. Bardzrakash Church, rich with sculptures and numerous extensive inscriptions that carry history within them. Before reaching the church, you will pass by Gikor’s Spring the very place described in Hovhannes Tumanyan’s story Gikor.
INTERESTING
It is impossible not to visit the Hovhannes Tumanyan House Museum. The museum preserves around 300 valuable exhibits presenting the life and work of the great writer.
The museum is two stories high and consists of six rooms. The guides will gladly accompany you through the museum and tell stories that you may be hearing for the very first time. Here is one of them.
At the age of 54, Hovhannes Tumanyan passed away. The autopsy was performed in Moscow, where his son Areg asked for his father’s heart and took it back to their native village.
“I took a step… I stole my father’s heart. It is true, one must be very daring to steal the heart that embraced the whole world. One must lose oneself completely to even come near it. But my own heart could not bear it. I stole it. Perhaps you blame me. It doesn’t matter. Let my holy father’s heart remain in our home. It is true, it no longer beats, but after all, it lived with us. After all, father lives within every heart, and father’s heart should remain in our home…”
Tumanyan was buried in the Khojivank Cemetery. For many years, his heart was kept in Tumanyan’s private room. One day, Avetik Isahakyan visited the family and convinced them to transfer the heart to the Anatomical Museum of the Yerevan Medical Institute. In 1994, the heart was moved once again and buried in the courtyard of his ancestral home.
Tel: +374 77 90 69 89 Roza Ghazumyan
FB: gatmuseum
This article was created within the framework of the My Armenia Program, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by the Smithsonian Institution. The contents of this article are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the Smithsonian Institution, or the United States Government.
