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Tossia Gharibian, on the stairs leading to the labyrinth by her husband Levon Arakelian under their home in Arinj, Armenia, June 27, 2018 / AFP / Archives
When Tossia Gharibian asked her husband to build a cellar to hold their potatoes there, she was far from imagining that he would dig a labyrinth, which has since become one of Armenia's main tourist attractions.
A maze of galleries, endless staircases: for more than 23 years, her husband Levon Arakelian dug a network of cellars and tunnels in the ocher earth under his house in Arinj, a small village of 6.000 inhabitants near Yerevan.
"Once he started digging, it became impossible to stop him", his wife told AFP.
Every day, Levon dug for more than 18 hours, just taking a break for a short nap before hurrying back into the labyrinth. "I had a lot of arguments with him, but he became obsessed with his goal," Tossia recalls.
"He never drew plans, he often told us that he saw in his dreams what he had to do next, "she says, adding that Levon was convinced to be" guided by Heaven. "
Levon Arakelian dug a network of cellars and tunnels for more than 23 years, under his home in Arinj, Armenia / AFP / Archives
In total, Levon dug to more 21 meters deep a labyrinth of 280 square meters, machine-less and with only hand tools, using the equivalent of 600 trucks loaded with stones and earth, using buckets, says Tossia.
If the first layer of the basement was composed of black stones in basalt, Levon quickly reached chalk stones micaceous, more porous and easy to dig in.
In 2008, as the two ends of the last tunnel came together, Levon died at the age of 67 from a heart attack.
– Tourists from whole world –
Tossia, a widow, decided to show off her husband's strange heritage.
Visitors from all over the world visit Arinj to discover Levon's labyrinth: some days, cars are full of tourists make the trip to the house of Tossia, the only tourist destination of the village
In the labyrinth of 'Arinj in Armenia, candles and altar strew the tourists' course / AFP / Archives
Guided by Tossia in the cold and silent galleries, the tourists keep adminching exclamations as they discover that Levon had pushed his pbadion to sprinkle the terracotta vases and engrave on the walls decorative motifs reminiscent of the churches of Armenia.
The glow of candles placed on tourists' course adds to the charm of the visit.
"In this incredible place, one realizes how much the physical and spiritual capacities of a person have no limits" says Milad, a 29-year-old tourist from Iran
To honor the hard work of her husband, Tossia erected a small museum in her honor ten years after her death. Located in the center of the village, it traces the construction of the labyrinth and shows the methods used by Levon.
Levon Arakelina had pushed his pbadion to sprinkle the terracotta vases and engraved on the walls decorative motifs reminiscent of those of the churches of Armenia / AFP / Archives [19659003] Tossia also sells mugs, t-shirts and aprons bearing the image of her husband, whose obstinacy has become a symbol for some Armenians and tourists.
At 44, Levon's daughter, Araksia , remembers her childhood with a pbadionate father day and night by her project
"My first childhood memories are the thud of my father's hammer from the cellar during the night ", she says.
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