Alan Whitehorn: Echmiadzin

Echmiadzin the holiest shrine for apostolic Armenian Christians.
So old, so traditional, so revered,
yet filled with contradictions.
A Christian Church, but built on pagan ruins.
A priest walking alone in black robe,
while talking on a cell phone.
A quiet contemplative garden,
yet just beside a children's brightly coloured amusement park.
Old traditional grave stones and khachkars
next to a newly-filled earthen grave,
which is adorned with 24 red carnations
and dedicated to "Bob".

From Ancestral Voices: Identity, Ethnic Roots and a Genocide Remembered, published by Hybrid Publishing. Used here by kind permission of the author.