This was a typical meal. We had the tomato, onion and cucumber salad with an oil dressing. Delicious tomatoes, far better than the U.S., but we had them at EVERY MEAL and we were quite sick of them by the end of the trip. I realize how spoiled we are as Americans with the vast array of foods from every country at our fingertips!!
There was usually a plate of herbs — rosemary, basil, etc., used to roll in the lavash bread with the salty cheese. Sometimes sautéed mushrooms, sometimes pickles of green onion, or baby cukes or olives, a salad of lentils or a salad of red beans and something, sometimes cooked beets, sometimes green beans with scrambled eggs on top. But always bread, often the lavash. This time you see there were bags of plenty of lavash at each plate. I believe this was meant for us to take with us, since there was fresh lavash to eat with our meal. We joked that lavash could be kept for 6 months and water just needed to be added. No one took the bags with them, since we always got so much to eat. I’m sure it would have been perfectly good.
These shots were taken at the Food Market where Sila and her mother shop. They live only blocks from here.
We visited the Armenian Genocide Museum and Memorial. The outside of the building showed 1915 and 2015. The genocide went on in 1915 and the building was dedicated as a remembrance one hundred years later. But the genocide by the Turks of the Armenians began decades before 1915. The Turks wanted control of Armenia’s prime location and they knew Armenians were very smart and determined and feared they would one day rise up and stop the Turks; so the Turk decided to eliminate that problem by genocide. It was horrendous. They took the beautiful Armenian girls and disfigured them with tattoos like this.
The Turks murdered the men first; and then the women and children. These are some of the unfed and badly clothed children of the murdered parents. When I ask myself how the rest of the world could sit by and watch ….. I realize the U.S. may be doing the same thing about Ukraine. ….just sayin’.
On a happier note: we paid for a special dinner in Yerevan, Armenia, and had music and dancing entertainment. The food turned out to be the same stuff we ate for lunch and dinners throughout our trip.
We visited a carpet weaving factory. The Armenians use a double knot system which far surpasses any other rug weaving technique (1-1/2 knots). I believe it, but say it with a smirk, because I don’t WANT my carpets to last 30 and 40 years. I LIKE a change of carpet once in awhile.
I believed this story (as told by Sira before getting to this carpet museum), until I saw the size of it. The story is the mother cut a carpet in half and gave two sisters each 1/2 before the genocide when they were taken from the mother. After Armenians were free, the sisters survived and found each other by matching up their pieces of carpet. My cynicism goes to thinking each girl could sneak something this large past the guards and all the while they were starving and without shoes, etc. I had imagined it was a 3″ x 3″ piece of carpet. But, yes, you can see this carpet is cut up the middle. It’s a good story.
If you see the lower left side Mr. and Mrs. George and Amal Clooney is weaved into the carpet. George and Amal were scheduled to arrive to accept this carpet during covid; and they have yet to appear. But they have done much work on the genocide and keeping Armenia free.
More of the countryside views
We went to a brandy factory and had a tour through their museum. Brandy and Cognac are the same. But, like Champagne, you cannot call sparkling wine Champagne unless the grapes are grown in Champagne, France and bottled there. You cannot call brandy cognac unless it is from the city of Cognac. The bottles on the left were old and dusty and up to a hundred years old. They had probably turned to vinegar already. I like how they put their various wares on the wall. And the musical chart really is their actual company jingle; or maybe the national anthem.
Very important people and world leaders would come to the country and this brandy distillery. The company would send home the important peoples’ weight in their favorite brandy. Some of the men started to get very heavy and the practice was stopped. Winston Churchill had a favorite (one of the upper price end, with the most alcohol) and he would order enough cases for a year at a time.
The brandy tasting room was beautiful and we got to try the 3-year, 7-year and 15-year stuff. The older and more expense was definitely better — it didn’t catch in the back of your throat and make you cough like moonshine does. Lynn is not a wasteful person and would acquire the glasses full, from the people who did not drink.
We also had a frugal soda system. Somehow I got a room with free drinks in my refrigerator. So Orange Fanta went to Tom and regular (not diet) Coke went to Butch. …. everybody has their specific drink favorites.
She was teaching us how to swirl and smell and taste the brandy.
We visited Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. This is where we met a 23 year old Polish boy who was talking with another group of strangers. We realized he is backpacking throughout Europe and Asia. He had been to about 20 countries and was carrying a large backpack. He was still a student and he was doing his studies on line. So he wasn’t making a living on Instagram, etc., as some travelers do; but was probably being supported by parents paying for his schooling. He said he was only afraid one time. It was in South Africa where he had to get out of the country very quickly. He laughed when Sira asked if he felt safe in Armenia and said “Of course!” He was interested in us and where we were from and I think he would have gotten on our bus to go with us to our next stop. He was a hitchhiker anyway. We did not invite him but sent him on his way with wishes for a safe trip.
This was ruins of Zvartnots Cathedral, a 7th Centrury architectural masterpiece, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
I don’t do it for this reason, but I guess it pays to leave an $8 tip to the hotel room cleaner. The robe and slippers weren’t in my room when I got there; but showed up they cleaned my room..
This was a photo stop. Note the fields and the grapes. There are 500 different kinds of grapes in this country alone.
We were heading up to the monastery. Lots of winding roads up the mountains and hairpin turns. I DO NOT LIKE hairpin turns with no guardrails! At the end of the trip I tip a lot to our drive — who keeps us alive through all the treacherous hills and mountains.
You can tell it’s a church in current use because of the curtains and the picture of the Mother Mary.
Just three of us decided to head to the top of this rocky mountaintop and to the flagpole at its peak
Ta-da!! I made it!!
My panorama setting on my camera has a flaw!! Tom is in the very same picture, left and right!!!
More monasteries.
There were many people buried inside and outside the churches and we just walked over them. We were not real comfortable doing so, but sometimes you could not get to where you wanted, without stepping on them. Outside, many of the writings on them are worn away so badly they cannot be read. Sad.
Lunch!! Overhanging this (dirty) river
In addition to the many salads and breads, they also added the sauteed vegetables and the rice dish with rainsins. Both delicious. …then came the meat entree. Note the silver stands. There is so much food provided, they need to make double-deckers to hold all the food trays!
I tend to be the top person.
We took the largest (highest?) tram in the world (?). Maybe country. But it was HIGH!! These are roads below — no wonder it took 12 minutes via the tram and 40 minutes in a vehicle on the road to get to the church. The black dot on the road that looks like an ant is a CAR! Look at the black blob at the bottom of the photo. That’s our shadow of the tram we were in.
Tickets are sold for a specific time and we got on in a timely manner. Even Butch, in the wheelchair, got to go with us and enjoy the view. It did take a village, because the sidewalk were made with chunks of concrete and Butch has to slowly walk some stairs. We helped him up the stairs and bumped him over the cobblestones. But I think his view was worth it!
Church to which we were heading. .. a drone’s view.
It was just a magical place. Knowing people gathered around here centuries and centuries ago to worship. Note the center photo. The metal straps were placed to keep earthquakes from further destroying these ancient limestone edifices.
Beautiful background; beautiful people.
Not a lot of seating in these old churches. They had a couple chairs along the back and sides for old people and women who need to sit down a little bit during the service.
Look at those people on their knees!! I think church is for the young, in Armenia.
More to come!!
Linda Jeanne