YEREVAN, JUNE 16, ARMENPRESS. The peak of Mount Ararat – the place of the ceremony, the outfit – hiking clothes, you are invited to a wedding.

This is how the young Armenian couple - Ishkhan Gevorgyan and Ashkhen Hovhannesyan, organized their wedding ceremony.

They both like nature, hiking, climbing mountains, and this common preference became a reason to organize the wedding ceremony.

In an interview to ARMENPRESS, Ashkhen said she told her fiancée to participate in trekking tour to Mount Ararat instead of organizing the honeymoon in any resort.

“I and Ishkhan have talked about the dream of climbing Masis for many times. Most of Armenians always dream of climbing Mount Ararat, this desire, seems, is from childhood. I was always suggesting Ishkhan to go to a trekking tour to Mount Ararat after marriage. One day he told me “let’s go and get married on the top of Masis, there couldn’t be a better wedding ceremony than this”. And of course, I agreed”, she said.

And they turned their decision into an action: they reached the peak of Ararat on August 26, 2018. Due to lack of oxygen, movement is quite difficult there, feeling bad is also possible, however, nothing stopped this couple to go for their dream. Ishkhan Gevorgyan says that very few people in the group were aware of their plans.

“Most of the members of the group got informed about our plan in the end. When we arrived in the peak, we told them that you are invited to a wedding. Martin Martirosyan hold the cross, and the others helped to pour the champagne”, he said.

Years have passed, but the young couple still remembers that wonderful day with smile and excitement. They already have an opportunity to share their story with children as after the marriage they continue hiking by engaging also kids.

The couple is guided by the following principle – if you love your country, firstly you need to know it. By discovering Armenia and Artsakh together, they now try to bring their contribution to other initiatives as well.

The couple got acquainted with each other in the Art of Staying Alive NGO. Today they are having their investment in the Azatazen initiative, by establishing a shooting range which allows to get acquainted with the skills of using a weapon.

“We made a decision to come up with this initiative after the war. We had no place to train. As there is no large shooting range in Armenia, we were going to mountains to shoot, which is risky. Today there are many places of entertainment in Yerevan, but there is no shooting range. We decided to change the picture in the country and with our combat friends founded the Azatazen military-educational NGO. It will teach those who want to get acquainted with the secrets of weapons”, Ishkhan Gevorgyan said, adding that his wife, Ashkhen, is also actively involved in the project.

By keeping the feelings of the peak of Ararat in their hearts, the young Armenian couple is going to make new discoveries.

Reporting by Anna Gziryan

Photos from the archive of Hayk Manukyan, Ishkhan Gevorgyan