Veidehi's Post

Nestled in the Caucasus Mountains, Armenia, the world’s first Christian nation since 301 AD, offers a timeless escape. Highlights of my visit included exploring ancient churches and savouring traditional cuisine. However, it was in the picturesque village of Tsaghkunk, with over a millennium of history, I dined at a former Soviet-era canteen, now a bustling restaurant run by the Aghajanyan family—an unforgettable experience I recently covered for @nikkeiasia 👉🏻 Originally a modest Soviet-era canteen in the 1970s, it was abandoned until the Aghajanyan family acquired it in the 1990s. 👉🏻 With a deep appreciation for Armenian heritage, they uncovered an abandoned Glkhatun next door, revealing 300 artefacts from the 11th century, including two tonirs in the adjoining bread house. 👉🏻 The Glkhatun, or “head house” in Armenian, is a spacious rectangular room carved into hillsides, featuring an earthen floor and volcanic rock walls. Resembling Greek-Roman atrium houses, it has minimal openings, including a door and a yerdik (smoke hole). 👉🏻 But tradition isn’t just preserved here—it’s served. While two excavated tonirs are preserved as historical displays, a new tonir has been dug to showcase traditional underground cooking, including baking lavash and preparing dishes like Panrakhash and Gata, deeply rooted in Armenian culinary heritage. 👉🏻 With a practised flick, baker Anna Yesayant swiftly stretched the dough into an impossibly thin sheet. Gohar Gareginyan, another baker, then traced a delicate cross onto it, explaining, “It’s a blessing, a touch of divine grace bestowed upon this ordinary bread, transforming it from sustenance to insignia of faith.” Watching this ritual, I realised that lavash, Armenia’s national bread, is more than just food. So, next time you enjoy a piece, imagine the warmth of the flames, the blessing of the cross, and the legacy in every bite. #tsaghkunk #thehiddentrack #tsaghkunkrestaurantandglkhatun #travelwithkrazybutterfly

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This post was published on 05th October, 2024 by Veidehi on her Instagram handle "@Thekrazybutterfly (Veidehi Gite)". Veidehi has total 894.4K followers on Instagram and has a total of 1.7K post.This post has received 19.8K Likes which are greater than the average likes that Veidehi gets. Veidehi receives an average engagement rate of 1.74% per post on Instagram. This post has received 145 comments which are lower than the average comments that Veidehi gets. Overall the engagement rate for this post was lower than the average for the profile. #thehiddentrack #travelwithkrazybutterfly #tsaghkunk #tsaghkunkrestaurantandglkhatun has been used frequently in this Post.