traces of Soviet brutalist architecture

the genocide monument where the eternal fire burns

imposing buildings

squares and statues

Mother Armenia with her back turned to Turkey

fountains

very impressive

Yerevan, the capital, lies low and it is hot there

hip and modern compared to the rest

Gyumri, the second city

completely destroyed after 1988 earthquake

in reconstruction

the fallen spires still lie in the grass

straightforward apartment blocks

facades clad with sawn lava rock

concrete brick houses with tin roofs

beautiful or not, it gives a very individual character

the main roads are paved

the side roads gravel

abandoned industrial buildings and collapsed bridges

manure as fuel

people look happy and are proud

high plains

more than 2.000 metres

sloping

above the tree line

little vegetation

lava rock

the symphony of rocks 

basalt

the only remaining Greek Garni temple

mount Ararat

green gorges

we are positively surprised by its special and distinctive nature

Lake Sevan

picnic spots, bbq, music and vodka

how much we enjoyed ourselves among the Armenians

Sevan trout

Armenia's Gold Coast

many Armenians go to Batumi in Georgia because holidays are cheaper there

teenagers shouting 'give me money'

we are hugely encouraged along the way

even the police honk and wave

Build your dreams, Elon Musk laughed hard at it

but they drive far more than Tesla's here

Ladas with alloy wheels and LED lights

most Armenians do not have money to replace the bumper

weddings with expensive cars honking through the streets

barking of dogs

shops open 24/7

yellow gas pipes above ground

bus shelters with fences

so the cows don't lie down in it and ...

in Armenia, you can drink the tap water, which comes from the mountains

Lavash the unesco world heritage bread

traditional with cheese and herbs

delicious

We spent a few weeks on the yellow rolling Armenian high plains, at an altitude of over 2.000 metres. We descend through the green Debed Gorge towards the border with Georgia. Halfway down, we look for a place to pitch the tent. In the hamlet of Neghots, we spot a suitable site behind a shop. Arus, the owner of the shop, is outside. We ask if we can pitch our tent. 'That's no problem, but we have a room downstairs, you can sleep there too'. We take a look, the room, actually an empty shop space, feels right. But first we have to come and drink coffee. At a round plastic table on plastic chairs, we drink Armenian coffee in the shop, together with her husband. 'Actually it's Turkish coffee,' she explains, 'but of course we don't say that here'. They have two daughters who go to school; the school is next to the shop. In the shop, you can buy exercise books, crayons and pens in addition to everyday items. They inherited the space from her parents. They used to live in Yerevan. Arus studied languages and was a tour guide for Russian tourists. Russia's politics made her hate Russians. And the tourists feel her emotion. So they moved to Neghots and started this shop seven months ago. Her husband worked in the army until two years ago. The shops in the area close at six, she is open till noon. And after six, the number of people coming to shop increases. We thank for the coffee and chocolates and pitch our tent on the concrete floor in the empty space. A little later, her husband joins us, 'you should not cook, we invite you to join us for dinner, seven o'clock it will be ready'. We shower with the Ortlieb water bag behind a steel grille from which we have hung our picnic blanket for privacy. At seven o'clock, we step back into the shop, fresh and fruity. We are led to a room behind the shop, with is a table full of food, various salads, bread, fried potatoes and chicken, bowls of pickles, olives and lemon. A bottle of rosé is retrieved from the shop and we toast. On her mobile, Arus can see who is entering the shop. Despite regularly having to leave the table to help a customer, she talks a lot about Armenia's history.

100 years before Christ, there was a great Armenian kingdom. It was conquered, divided and became smaller and smaller by the Romans, Arabs, Persians, Ottomans, Russians and others. During World War I, the Turks murdered one and a half million Armenians, the world's first genocide. After World War I, the Russians loaned Mount Ararat to the Turks for 25 years. It was never given back. As recently as 2023, Azerbaijan captured an Armenian enclave in Nagorno Karabakh; more than 100,000 Armenians left their homes. The world looked away. And still there is a threat, the Russians still want to have Armenia and the Turks and Azerbaijanis want a corridor through Armenia to restore the Ottoman Empire. We are beginning to understand why the borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan are closed. There are 3 million Armenians living in Armenia and 10 million in America, France, Russia, Venezuela and several other countries, the Armenian diaspora. Arus her husband adds that a foreign resident in Venezuela calls himself Venezuelan and an Armenian resident growing up abroad still calls himself Armenian, there are schools where our language is taught and the culture is preserved.

Faith also plays an important role in Armenian history, Arus continues. Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned in Khor Virab (deep well) because he was a Christian. After 13 years of imprisonment, he cured King Tiriadates of insanity through preaching. Tiridates was baptised and in 301 declared Christianity the state religion, the first country in the world. A monastery was built on the deep well; it is now a pilgrimage site. All Greek temples built to profess polytheism were destroyed by Armenian Christians to make place for churches (except for one temple). The world's first cathedral was built in Etchmiadzin, 17 years earlier than the church in Rome. At Noravank monastery, Jesus' spear is preserved (and we drank a lot of holy water). The monasteries are often in fantastic places. Inside, they are austere, grey and dark so you are not distracted and can focus purely on the faith.

Our prime minister is also cycling. You can sign up to join him. That way, he knows what is going on among the people. He is pushing against corruption, which still happens, although less than before. It is so common here that you have to pay to get something done. It will take some time before corruption disappears completely.

Arus knows so much about her country's history. Incredible. The salads are not even half finished, it was too much we say. No, Arus says, that is also part of our history and culture. There is so much left over that we are sure we will have food tomorrow too, originated in worse times. And we have a big fridge. With a full stomach and a head full of impressions we hit for our tent. Armenia, what a fascinating country.