Monomad: A Soviet Radio-Optical Telescope (ROT-54) in the Armenian Mountains

Have you ever been to a place that feels so secretive, so intentionally hidden, that you feel like you're breaking some major law by being around it? Well, I had that experience the other day in my search for Armenia's Radio-Optical Telescope that sits at the top of one of the nation's mountains. To add to the feeling that I wasn't supposed to be there, this was a place that isn't really advertised as anything you can go to, and in fact, you must request permission to visit it prior to arriving. It has no website. It has no phone number to contact. It isn't even a museum or tourist attraction in the conventional sense. There's no surprise that this place isn't considered as such. Far from Yerevan, to the point where even Armenian's barely even know it's a thing. I found it online, searching for urban exploration locations to check out, with the intent of documenting them with the camera and drone. This is a huge hobby of mine that has been sitting dormant for over a decade with the crazy development taking place in England, and here in Armenia, it's a perfect destination to witness historical locations. This was like nothing else I have ever seen. A place walled-off for the most art, a decayed wall placed around the mountain and location to clearly attempt to stop people from entering in the past. Nearby are other features: an observatory a little lower down on another mountain, and a satellite dish which you'll see in another photograph in this post.

I started this post off with the main attraction: the Radio-Optical Telescope itself. The very main feature of this location. Sitting there, carved out of the mountain, slanted and pointing upward into the cosmos. It's claimed that this telescope made impactful discoveries within its first week of operating. Sadly, it closed down for good in 2012, and there have been attempts to revive it, but the usual nonsense of Governments being shit and lazy have led to it essentially rotting away. How depressing, right? Something so grand, special to our discoveries in the universe, left because of something as stupid as money. Even as the nation throws out endless development projects and throws funds at events for politicians. Fortunately, this is a space that sits idle in the mountains, far from the potential of getting damaged by anything that isn't naturally unfolding. No graffiti, no vandalism, for example. Some areas are a little rustic. The buildings appear a little decayed. But that's about it. Nothing all that different for the abandoned areas of Armenia.

In this second image is another piece of the telescope. This had a mirror around it with many pieces missing. A rustic tower that one could climb up, assuming you were slightly insane and didn't mind potentially being seen by someone. The place is somewhat guarded, perhaps to maintain some of the historical aspects of the site from damage. I understand it, but don't agree with the general operation it had of fleecing anyone that wants to visit with a £100 fee for photography. A bit insane! This piece had a beautiful painting of a hawk on it, painted in tones of blue. It isn't visible from this angle, neither is the building behind it that would've held the equipment for operating and maintaining it. I did get a chance to go inside, but I'll write about that a little more later. I had to fly my drone over the mountain, the wind was picking up at this point and I could see the battery would change change rapidly. I got a few shots on video as well as some stills, and told myself that I had to return to this place someday. That this wasn't enough, I wasn't truly content. From afar, this is the first part of the telescope you'll notice. Everything is tucked away behind the mountain, only coming into view from the the other side, from a 14th century church. How odd that such a historic church sat idle on the mountain, opposite it a modern marvel with the peak of technology we had at the time. Two vastly different periods together. Vastly different ideologies. I wonder how many of its workers would head over to the church and pursue their beliefs in God having searched the universe for a sign of something more than us.

It felt odd here. A feeling of something otherworldly. A spiritual feeling is felt to no surprise. The elevation of the mountains. The church which sits on the edge of one. The telescope which overlooks the horizon and the nation below it. To get to the telescope, I had to walk around the mountain. Through a view challenges. I'll be posting those tomorrow!

But here is that aforementioned view. The church opposite the telescope. This is the view from inside the building of the mirror. On foot. I almost feel it was purely intentional to place it here. To have that view of the church. To the side of it you can see the little dots of civilisation below the mountain. The beauty of it all. Something pulled straight out of a fantasy world. I really wanted to fly my drone more around here, but at this point I was on foot and exploring the surroundings while keeping an eye out. My urban explorer sense were firing off with great pleasure at this point. Not just witnessing such greatness, but walking around it, capable of seeing and touching it. It felt as if the world had ended, in a distant future in which mankind had actively pursued the space race to no end. All that were left were the rundown relics of our pasts. The signs of life that said something, someone lived here at one point, and how it evolved massively over the years. That contrast showing a species of intense growth, intense interest in understanding itself from both within and outside. It reminds me of a science fiction story I once read about astronauts that do discover the remnants of a long lost civilisation in space. The feelings they had. The assumptions. That inevitable passing of time that leads things to decay and a lost story, in which only one can make a guess to pick up the pieces and find things out.

This last picture is actually the first I took with the drone, while trying to find out where the telescope location actually was. It was hidden away on the other side where I couldn't quite see it. This satellite dish towered over, visible from lower down in the mountain. Giving hints at something more lurking within the mountain somewhere. I put up the drone to try to find out where things were. Though from this height it barely looks visible in the imagine. I can assure you it's actually huge! Can you imagine stumbling across something like this? Such unique reactions. Feelings of greatness. That connection to the universe and the achievements we have made over the decades. The politics of greedy politicians is no longer cared for. A mutual appreciation for the attempts to discover, learn, and improve.