Best Eastern Olimpia Yerevan

... The whole thing is an impressive construction but just like other Soviet style structure, it is poorly designed and built. Even though it is still being built, some finished parts have started to fall apart already and because the flowerbeds have no drainage the water flows over to the steps, making them stained and dirty.

The city didn’t really excite us so we just spent a day there and moved on to the mountains in the eastern part of the country the next day.

... them 300-500 drams.



Where to shop?

For clothing you should just have a walk through Abovyan Street, best shops are located here.



What should I try?

The food!

Our special bread – «lavash»

Khash – (it is eaten only and only in winter)

Fruits and Vegetables

Barbeque – called «Xorovats»

Kebabs ...

Another fabulous day, Marion and I up at 7am, was good to practice the alarm clock as we have to be up at 2am on Friday morning , bound for Dubai. A taxi out here to the Family, and while I am talking if traffic and taxis, one really takes one's life in one's hands, as traffic light signals are only a recommendation, and to get a taxi license here, you just have to have a car of some sort ...

... a city outside Moscow, but came back to help the grandmother. We had some coffee and chatted. They called the local taxi service for me, and then fussed at me for spending the money and kept trying to invite me home with them so I could catch a marshrutka to Haghpat and back to Vanadzor the next morning. Even when I left in the taxi to Haghpat, they told me if I couldn't find a car back to Vanadzor, I should come spend the evening with them visiting and it would ...

... century, with the church and its rebuilding occurring in the 13th century. There were also Christenings and Weddings happening- yes, more than one wedding (one left, 5 minutes later a new one arrived). I heard a rooster and couldn't figure out where it was coming from, until I walked out to the river near the church and caught the last bit of an animal sacrifice in celebration of one of the christenings or weddings (they do eat the ...

... found the mine/ironworks really exciting and beautiful in it's ugliness [ok, I love these things;)]. Most of the villages are actually build on the plateaus above the canyon and some have cable cars built for the people to commute down to the factories. The first stop is Sanahin Monastery lying on the edge of the respective village. And it's really so atmospheric!! It's half-hidden in trees and quite sexy covered with grass. The overall shape is similar to Georgian churches, but one can ...

... first map herein shows little Armenia, surrounded by large, powerful, sometimes hostile, and hungry neighbors. We drove from Yerevan, the capital, to Meghri, on the border, 400 kilometers (245 miles), across six or seven mountain ranges, some up to 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) high, and it took us one whole day.

... speak the language. BUG ALERT Who said there are no roaches in Yerevan? I saw a big black one in our brand new hostel bathroom. Needless to say I began to have images again, like in Asia, of these insects crawling in my bed while I couldn't sleep at night. For the record, we didn't even see any on the streets so it was definitely a one-time sighting. LANDSCAPE Ahh, the beautiful country of Armenia, mountains/hills, and our Ararat Mountain, of course... :)

... based on actions and sound effects, so it transcends linguistic barriers. It was a great experience to worship with people in another culture, especially when we all sang songs that were known to Americans and Armenians, singing them in both languages to our God who is author of all. This afternoon, we went to the dungeon where St. Gregory was imprisoned for many years. It was quite an adventure simply climbing down the narrow ladder into the small ...

... we went, people stared. When visited the tourist sites, people asked to take pictures of us. I felt like a cross between a rock star and an alien. The wedding was very nice, but at its essence, it was just dinner with the Ambassador and Cindy's coworkers.