It’s hard to believe that Noratus is becoming increasingly popular in Armenia, but according to Deputy Head of the Noratus community Vachik Khachatryan, the number of travelers visiting this Gegharkunik province village reaches 200-300 per day. If we consider the lowest of the numbers, Noratus gets a mind boggling 6000 visitors a month, about 72000 a year. How many tourists do you think come to Armenia each year? To give you a hint, if you believe Mr. Khachatryan, a third of them flock to Noratus.
Khachatryan told Armenpress that the tourists are particularly interested in the medieval cemetery that contains a large number of early khachkars, the largest surviving cemetery with khachkars in the country.
But a number of 200-300 tourists a day seems a bit inflated, unless these tourists arrive here with short day-trip packages. The shortage of hotels in the area makes it challenging for tourists to find accommodation; but tourists from Yerevan, for example, only need 1.5 hours to arrive here.
Yet this sudden flux of tourists to Noratus cannot be explained. Aside a renovation/ restoration project in 2010 (with support from the U.S. Ambassador’s Culture Fund), that consisted of installing a protective, decorative fence, two new entrances and electric lighting, visitor center and craft center, there hasn’t been much done to promote Noratus Cemetery with foreign tourists. There is only one panel at the entrance of the graveyard, with information in Braille, as well as English, Russian, French, German, Italian, and Armenian. And when it comes to news about this destination, Noratus is remarkable through its utter absence from the main media streams.
There can be a lot more done to attract more tourists to Noratus – and the funds resulting from an increased number of visitors could be used to continue the preservation projects begun in 2010. For instance, tourists could be offered more clear information on what else, aside the cemetery, they can experience in the village: local traditions, culture, cuisine, other landmarks, nature, etc.
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I get this vision of Charlton Heston leading the Israelites away from Egypt, crossing the parted Red Sea in single file. 72,000 people marching into the beautiful Armenian outback, one-by-one - all day long - you get the picture.
I think there was a mistake?
Always,
Phil
Mistake, or the man counted something else... not people. Sheep perhaps?
I visited Noraduz twice in one year; on one occasion I noticed a large German tourist bus; and on the next occasion I noticed many French tourists.
Noraduz is nearby and on the road to other touristic location such as Lake Sevan, Hayravank, and the Caravanserai (a 12th century motel on the silk road - nearly intact).
Most people who travel to Noraduz are on a day trip to other sites as well.
@Berge Jololian - thank you so much for your feedback Berge. I've never been there myself, but I would love to go. And so would my husband, I bet. History is a passion for both of us. Still the reported numbers seem a bit too high. I assume some of the tourists are Armenians? Otherwise the numbers make no sense, if we consider the annual foreign visits - from which, business travel is about 30%.
There is more info about Noratus from the following website:
http://www.armenianmonuments.org/en/monument/Noratus
As for the number of visitors, I can only comment on what I saw during my two visits to Noraduz; there were German and French tourists.
Traveling to Armenia is like traveling back in time. It is a great place for people with passion for history, archeology, nature lovers, outdoors activities (hiking, mt. climbing, etc..)
For example, the oldest winery in the world dating back to 6,500 years was discovered last year in a cave in Areni, Armenia. Along with it, the oldest show in the world, the oldest dress (not sure if it is his or hers :), and jars of wine and beer; and intentionally dried apricots.
The country is dotted with churches, crumbling fortresses from every century, on-going archeological digs dating back to different ages. Vases, jewelry and other artifacts dating thousands of years are found at many sites.
The capital Yerevan has a several important museum including the the depository for ancient manuscripts.