When Christianity was introduced to the country early in the fourth century, most pagan temples were destroyed, and churches were built on the ruins. This one survived because the sister of the king liked it, and so he let her use it, and the bathouse that used to be next to it, as a summer house.

The canyon below Garni temple (taken a week earlier, when Stepan and I had to abort our hike due to heavy rain)

The cliffs below Garni temple are very strange, the hexagonal pillars make them look man-made.

A close-up of the cliffs

More cliffs

Smoking a cigarette, taking a little break...

We came upon a forest guard's shack, where he spent the days with his dog, horse, and very curious cat

The forest guard with Stepan, and his horse, Buyan

A minute after I took this picture, the Armenian minister of defence and an important Armenian "businessman" drove up to a nearby locked gate at the head of a convoy of six new SUV's, and started honking. The "businessman's" bodyguard drew his gun as I curiously and innocently approached (that made me stop), and the "businessman" was very annoyed that the forest guard was taking his sweet time to get to the gate. The guard explained that he had foreign hikers that he needed to talk to about the area, and as the VIP's drove through the gate, he muttered "who the fcuk do they think they are?"

Mmm... Dung... The ball is about 2cm in diameter.