cathedral

At the center of the small town of Chartres, a ninety-minute train ride away from Paris, sits a towering cathedral. This edifice, completed in the thirteenth century, has been the center of controversy because of a decision made in 2009 to renovate it. This is not the simple, patchwork maintenance performed on many old monuments; the cathedral’s once gloomy interior, blackened by centuries of use, is currently being painted a sunny, pale yellow. The paint job is part of a monumental attempt to restore the cathedral to its medieval appearance. But the renovation has inspired polemical responses.

Traveling the countryside of the tiny country of Armenia seems like it should be an easy task. After all, the whole country is smaller than the state of Maryland and is utterly dwarfed by its neighbors, Turkey, Iran, and Georgia. But it is surprising how much you’ll find in such a small area. And the capital city, Yerevan, is just as fascinating as its rural surroundings.