Jennifer Bonoan
Hi Mevlut! Bayraminiz kutlu olsun! Just to say that we are safely back in Riyadh. My friends and I want to thank you for organizing our 8-day tour of your beautiful country. It was quite hectic and exhausting but the places we went to - Istanbul, Ephesus, Pamukkale and Cappadocia - were all worth it...

Ahtamara Church: The origin and meaning of the island's name is based on an old Armenian legend. According to the tale, an Armenian princess named Tamar lived on the island and was in love with a commoner. This boy would swim from the mainland to the island each night, guided by a light she lit for him. Her father learned of the boy's visits. One night, as she waited for her lover to arrive, he smashed her light, leaving the boy in the middle of the lake without a guide to indicate which direction to swim. His body washed ashore and, as the legend concludes, it appeared as if the words "Akh, Tamar" (Oh, Tamar) were frozen on his lips. The legend was the inspiration for a famous Armenian poem by Hovhannes Tumanyan.

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