The dome of Ishan

 This is one of the most beautiful domes of all the churches I've visited. It is so stunning.

Most of the roof has fallen. The dome is supported by the four remaining columns and this is a precious memorial to the Georgian architects who built Ishan. As I walked around the church, the custodian came to accompany me and was proud to point out that this is Georgian. He must be of Georgian origin. 

It is images like these that gets me out of bed in the morning and gets me out the door to my horrible job. I love being a Pharmacist but I don't like the current working conditions. I can always quit but where am I going to find a job with that huge pay check. I'm paid an obscene amount of money. That's the reason I'm able to travel to so many places. I have to work through my aching body. It's a tough job, physically and mentally demanding. As I upload these pictures, I am able to revel at the trip again. These trips pays so many dividends.

The interiors of Ishan

 Ishan is absolutely beautiful. Most of the roof has deteriorated but its walls are still standing. The whole church is a testament to Georgian ingenuity.

 The church is so huge that when it was converted to a mosque, the Muslims could only use half of it. They constructed this partition right in the middle dividing the church into two halves. Some part of it is broken so that visitors can tour the whole church without having to go outside.

This is only part of its beauty, the sheer size of it. Wait till you see the dome that is hanging on precariously.....

Ishan

Ishan is on a turn off on the road between Kars and Artvin. It's high above on top of a mountain in a high mountain oasis. The hills are so rugged and going up on a taxi it was hard to imagine that up there is a lush village where this gorgeous church stands. The custodian charged us 5 TL per person. I'm always happy to pay and happy to see a custodian. It means that someone is protecting the place from vandalism. He was proud to point out that the church was Georgian. I recently learned that there are descendants of Georgian people living in Eastern Turkey who has totally assimilated. This guy must have Georgian blood. It is built very similar to Osvank and set in a mulberry orchard. The setting was beautiful.

Mulberries

Mulberries and old Georgian churches, how delightful. Fruits are abundant in Turkey. Mulberries are particularly ubiquitous, the white ones especially. A lot of dried fruit in the world comes from Turkey. I first tasted dried mulberries in Cappadocia last year. Here in Eastern Turkey, the white mulberry flourishes and there is a lot of dried white mulberries for sale. Here we are in Ishan and the church is in a mulberry orchard. I got out of the taxi and spotted them and ran to the trees, ripping off the fruit and eating greedily. A day later on our hike to Tekkale we ate mulberries all the way. Experiences like this just can't be beat.