Armenia

[TaurusTheBull]

Hi,

With 12 days before my flight out of Tbilisi, I headed to the eastern bus terminal and boarded a marshrutka bound for Armenia.

Two hours later we 5 passengers completed immigration formalities and were off into Armenia.

The drama began almost immediately. Armenian roads seem to be more pitted than most in Georgia, often exposed to more treacherous conditions.

As we drove higher the bare winter trees were frozen completely white, to a twig, a real Winter Wonderland!

Descending from the 2,100m Sevan Pass, the road was blocked by a lorry logjam. For the next hour or so blokes strolled pompously to and fro, often smoking, shouting at each other in Armenian, Georgian or Russian.

Eventually the blockage began to clear as lorries shuffled back and forth in the limited space, and after another 45 minutes, we were on our way, followed by a now significant tailback heading down the hill.

The rolling white hills stretched all the way down to large Lake Sevan, which looked picturesque, but cold and uninviting.

After another 50 km the freezing urban fog of Yerevan appeared, not a pleasant sight.

Winter temperatures in Yerevan are usually a few degrees below Tbilisi, as the highest point in Tbilisi is 770m whilst the lowest point in Yerevan is 865m.

Cold can be combatted with warm clothes, but extreme heat, as experienced this month in Australia, can be more problematic. Cold weather every day soon becomes the expected norm, almost a trusty friend.

I made my way through frozen slush, from Kilikia bus station to one of the main thoroughfares, Mesrop Mashtots Avenue. A bed in a twin-room at Domino's, with breakfast, was a princely 2,500 dram, about £4.15.

I changed $100 for 48,500 dram in the adjacent shopping mall.

The supermarket, or Shuka, there had greater selection of stock than in Tbilisi's Carrefour.

A month ago all I knew about Armenia was it's ancient Christian heritage, genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks, Nagorno Karabakh and Kim Kardashian.

The borders with both Turkey and Azerbaijan are closed, due to politics, so unless travelling to or from Iran, Armenia is a side-trip from Georgia.

The issue of the century-old Armenian genocide refuses to go away, and the status of Nagorno Karabakh, internationaly recognised as part of Azerbaijan, controlled by Armenia, and unilaterally declared as independent, remains in limbo.

Since the war in the eary 1990s, in which thousands died, most remaining Karabakhis are of Armenian descent, and a visit there is possible with a permit (passport unstamped if wanting to visit Azerbaijan at a later date).

Yerevan city centre is walkable. Bearing left off Mashtots at the Opera House leads to the recently developed Cascade Steps, from the top of which, weather permitting, a fine view can be had over the city. The Cascade is dotted with arty sculptures and displays from around the World.

Next to the Opera House is Swan Lake, an open-air skating rink in winter.

The city centre was designed in a grid pattern by Alexander Tamanyan in the 1920s. The main avenues of Mashtots, Abovyan and Nalbandyan all point in the direction of Mount Ararat, with the eastern part of the city centre ring designed as a park.

The weather stayed resolutely below zero. This winter is apparently the worst for about 25 years. I felt privileged rather than disgruntled... initially.

One day two of us took a marshrutka 25 km out of Yerevan to the World Heritage Site of Geghard Monastery.

The site dates from the 4th century, initiated by Gregory The Illuminator. It was extended in the 12th century, and is known as "The Monastery of the Spear", after that allegedly used to test Christ's death on the cross.

It has undergone considerable change and upheaval due to invasions and earthquakes, but remains an impressive place, surrounded on three sides by towering cliffs, overlooking the Azat River valley.

The surrounds are carved out of the cliff, and contain well preserved khachkars, or medieval Armenian cross-stones.

Coming back, we stopped at Garni to see the reconstructed 1st century AD colonnaded Hellenistic temple, the only such example in Armenia or the former Soviet Union.

As all else was covered in snow, we baulked at the 1,200 dram entrance fee (Armenians 250 dram). My wily Filipina friend asked if we could sit in the warmth of the ticket-seller's booth, and after a short chat, he let us in free.

Next day we paid 400 drams each for a share taxi 20 km west to the town of Etchmiadzin.

Etchmiadzin Cathedral was the World's first state-built church, under the guidance of Saint Gregory The Illuminator, between 301-303 AD. Etchmiadzin translates as "the place where the only begotten descended".

The cathedral was closed to tourists, undergoing maintenance, but we had a better reception at nearby Surp Gayane Church. Built in 1630 to replace the 6th century chapel, we witnessed a small orthodox wedding ceremony, and met the bride's sister.

After four days, I still hadn't seen the sun. I decided to wait a couple more, in the hope of catching a glimpse of Mount Ararat, preferably behind Khor Virap Monastery, 30 km south-west of Yerevan.

The absence of a discernable tourist information centre in Yerevan makes it harder work for independent trips around and out of the city, as bus numbers and times often seem to change. Armenian is a different script to Georgian, but most streets in the centre have romanized equivalents.

I walked the icy city streets, travelled on the metro (1 line, 100 dram per ride), ate shawarmas and admired the stoic Armenians. I drank the beer and the wine, and waited for the sun.

For those with time to kill, there are several museums (including a genocide museum), a tour of the famous Ararat brandy factory, several puppet theatres and skating on Swan Lake.

On my seventh day the sun finally shone, causing early-morning temperatures to dip even further, to -18 degrees celsius.

However, the clear blue skies and the hulking presence, 36 km away, of 5,137m Mount (Great) Ararat and Little Ararat, 3,896m, made it worthwhile.

Though now in Turkey, the domineering presence of Ararat, and it's association with Noah's Ark, coupled with the persuasive powers of Gregory The Illuminstor help explain why Armenia adopted Christianity so early.

I didn't get to Khor Virap, leaving Yerevan on that glorious morning for the marshrutka ride back to Tbilisi, 6,500 dram, a shade over a tenner. We avoided Sevan Pass and returned in 6 hours, including a food stop and that at the border.

I've a few days left in Tbilisi, to enjoy the relative warmth, wine and sights before my next stop. From the cable car to the funicular railway to the thermal baths to the old town to the large new (2004) St Trinity Cathedral north of the Kura River, there's something here for everyone.

Will I come back to Georgia and Armenia? Probably, but in spring or autumn, not winter. It would be nice to see greens and yellows replacing browns and whites.

Did I enjoy it? It is said that travelling is always romantic in retrospect, but I can't think of a trip that I didn't mostly enjoy at the time, except perhaps for Morocco long, long ago when we had no end of hassle.

Cheers
Taurus

[Clitheroekid]

Thanks T, a very interesting account, as always.

Once again I really wish LF had a recs system so that posts like this could be flagged up for the attention of casual readers, who might otherwise easily overlook them.

[TaurusTheBull]

Thanks for that, CK.

I think I became something of a slave to the recs system at TMF, and I initially thought that I wouldn't post to Lemonfool because of the reason you mention.

But when I stripped out the vanity aspect, I realised that the main reasons I post are to keep friends, relatives and Fools informed, and to have a centralised record, should I or anyone else want to consult my notes at a later date.

I'm not really a social media person, other than occasional WhatsApp usage, so the TMF/Lemonfool system suits me. If I get no replies to my posts, it doesn't matter, because I am no longer a slave to recs.

I raise a Georgian wine to emancipation!

Cheers
Taurus

[macbrains]

Please do keep posting your travels, Taurus - really fascinating. Many thanks!