World Armenia Yerevan

Fall 2008 Caravan of Countries Along the Central Asian Silk Road

Yerevan, Armenia Oct 2, 2008

October 2, 2008 – Thursday – Tehran/Armenia

We had 0445 wakeup to make our 0900 flight out of Iran to Armenia. We were on Caspian Air, an obscure Iranian carrier, so the women on the flight had to keep their scarves on until we deplaned in Yerevan. Yerevan is 1.5 hours northwest of Tehran by air. In one of the major oddities of the time zone structure, we actually had to move the clock forward another 1.5 hours resulting in a noon arrival.

It was sunny and 70 in Yerevan. Last week the first snow of the season fell on Mt. Arafat, one of the speculated locations of Noah’s Ark landing site. Though Arafat is 20 miles inside the Turkish border to the west, there are magnificent views of it from nearly every place in Yerevan, given clear weather. There was a bit of midday haze but the snow capped peak was clearly visible and a ring of clouds circled the mountain just below the snow line.

As you approach the city center one of the first memorable buildings you see is a large Soviet era Brandy, Wine and Vodka factory. This is confirmation certain that you are no longer in Iran. Likewise, you no longer see women wearing scarves and loose fitting robe-like outer garments.

Yerevan is technically in Asia but the city center has a lot of European touches. Beyond the city center, the suburbs are plagued hundreds of Soviet era apartment blocks but, on the whole, the atmosphere is livelier than what you have experienced in Iran during the preceeding week.

We checked into the Marriot Hotel on Republic Square, a splendid and sizeable public place that is circled by buildings with curved facades done in the early Soviet style.

The buildings are constructed of local volcanic stone much of it with a pink hue. I am told the rock is a combination of tufa and basalt. There are a number of fountains and at night the attractive facades are lit in a manner that accentuates architectural detail.

In the afternoon our bus took us to the top of the city, a point NE of the center, which overlooks the entire city with Turkey and Mt. Ararat looming in the west. The crown jewel of the park is a 72 foot tall statue of Mother Armenia holding her massive sword in a protective posture, presumably to psychologically ward off any Turks who might have thoughts of invading. This statue replaced a giant statue of Lenin when the Soviet Union was dissolved. But Lenin did not go without a fight. Two Armenian soldiers were crushed to death when Lenin’s statue was toppled from the pedestal.

This overview provides an excellent orientation to the city and surrounding area. Photographers who want panoramas of the city and Mt. Ararat should visit in the morning rather than the afternoon to avoid shooting into the sun. The statue itself is best photographed later in the day.

We came back down to the vicinity of the Opera House. Just north of it, the city of Yerevan is building a pair of massive staircases called the Cascades that connect the upper and lower city. I gather the project has been bankrolled by a wealthy Armenian American. There are various monuments to local heroes, gardens, sculptures and museums surrounding the walkway. Long steep escalators minimize the effort required to scale the walkway up to a monument celebrating the 50th anniversary of Armenia’s participation in the Soviet Union. I find it a bit ironic that this monument didn’t suffer the same fate as Lenin’s statue but history is rarely logical.

A couple of us walked from the Opera House back to our hotel on Republic Square which takes you through the heart of the business district. The Marriott Hotel has an outdoor restaurant on Republic Square where you can indulge in Western food, not to mention pork which was not available in Iran. Thus, we enjoyed club sandwiches garnished with a couple thick slices of bacon as night fell on the Square where exterior lighting accentuates the massive facades of the adjoing buildings.