Mountains of Ararat – Here, People Looked for Redemption

Armenia from times immemorial has attracted travelers and pilgrims. Back in the 1st century AD, Romano-Jewish scholar, historian, and hagiographer Titus Flavius Josephus compared the Ararat mountains with a pier. The visits of foreigners became particularly frequent in the Middle Ages.

In Armenia, people have looked for redemption and made reports for the high clergymen of the Roman Church. In 1316, a Franciscan monk named Oderich reported on Mount Ararat to the Pope in Avignon: “The locals are saying that no one has succeeded to reach the peak of Ararat since God most likely hasn’t been favoring those attempts.”

In one of his books, Marco Polo mentions two Armenian countries – Greater and Lesser (most likely Cilicia). The scholars who studied his “Armenian writings” (K. Fuzzaro, M. Fordi) consider his descriptions fairly documental.

Travelers visiting Armenia have been staying in inns. The ruins of those small hotels can be found in many areas of Armenia. The Selim caravanserai situated at the route connecting the basin of Lake Sevan with Vayots Dzor Province at an altitude of 2 thousand meters is preserved quite well.

The modern appearance of this unique monument was formed in the 14th century. This fairly large structure consists of parallel rows of 14 rooms and has a large hall with an area of about 340 square meters.

Селимский перевал и караван-сарай