i have been attending a cultural event a night... arthur has had three concerts in the past week and i have seen everything from the eastern dentist to anush opera. there is something to see every night in this town.

well i am extremely excited because my brother is making his first armenia trip ever and i am just FLOORED with happiness to show him around. i am actually quite excited to visit the tourist sites again and introduce him to armenia.

this is quite a busy time for me. it seems our neice is falling in love and things are getting serious... and work is going to get hectic as well... i am just trying to manage all these things at once... so it should be interesting.

and to pick up on harout's theme... i am quite annoyed at something as well.

at anush opera there was this woman who did not turn off her cell phone during the performance... the first call i gave her an annoying stare... the second call i was shocked she had not turned it off after the first call... the third call she started flat out talking in the middle of "ampi dakic jur e galis", an anush opera part.

at intermission i went up to her and said... "mard inchkan ANFAIM bedk e linel vor chanjati heraxose nerkayacumi zhamanak" translated... how unaware of ethics does someone have to be, to keep their phone on during a performance... and she replied... "inch anem azziz jan, zangi ey spasum" what can i do my sweet, i am waiting for an important call... AY KEZ BAN!!! do not come to the performance if you are waiting for an important call... the hundreds of people around you do not have to be a part of your problems... AHHHHHHHHH is this not COMMON SENSE?

The heat is SICK!

Anyway, so I HAVE to talk about a new cafe that opened up by the Opera, yes another one ... if I'm not mistaken there are about 10 of them by the Opera now.

The new one is called Jazzve. First, any Turkish named establishment in Armenia is NOT ACCEPTABLE with me; second the service sucks, and the most important being they have "face-control". I know this judgmental procedure exists in many parts of the world to some point, but for a country that is striving to develop a middle class society, this is really not the right time to do this.

I have acquaintances, expats, that were sitting at the cafe recently and told me this story ... 4 innocent looking local guys dressed in black wanted to sit in the wicker furniture so-called "very important people" section of Jazzve, but the hostess looked at them up and down and said, "Your kind does not belong in this section, you can sit over there," pointing to the "not so very important people" section. In the meantime, the VIP section had hastaviz (thick-necked) rabiz guys talking out loud on their phones, "Aper ....."

TWO THUMBS DOWN for JAZZVE! (I say, "The hell with them!")

I might have bragged about Melody cafe before, and I'm going to brag again. Melody I and II are located right at the corner of Tumanyan/Mashtots behind the gates, next to Jazzve. Both are very popular, with good service and super inexpensive. They also have a full dining menu now, and again very cheap and pretty decent. For less than $2 you can get a sandwich and a delicious fresh fruit drink (check out the raspberry and strawberry fresh juices ... and tell them to mix it with crushed ice.)

TWO THUMBS UP for MELODY!

Onto Phoenicia and SOHO Restaurants. The same expat family manages them both. This is a warning for anyone visiting these restaurants ... IF the owner of Phoenicia or the manager of SOHO approaches you and says, "How is everything? Would you like to drink something? Come on, drink something, it's on the house" DON'T BELIEVE IT! They ALWAYS put it on your bill afterwards.

Can anyone tell I'm p_ssed off? This is MY "life in armenia."

Yikes! I haven't logged for a while.

I've been keeping super busy running around getting ready to live solo for the first time in Armenia. My aunt and uncle (expats for over a decade) have taken great care of me, but freedom awaits and I'm anxiously looking forward to it.

Other than shopping and ordering furniture, last week I decided to pay property tax (or whatever it is called) for my apartment ... about 50 cents for a year. Then I decided to go pay my water bill. I haven't lived in my apartment since I bought it last summer, so obviously I expected to pay pocket change since I've barely used the water. So I dropped by the Post Office (where you can pay phone, electricity and water bills) and they told me I owed 59,000 drams = $110 US! Long story short, I refused to pay it, went to Jermugh (the water company), where they told me that there was a mistake and that all I owed was 500 drams, not even a dollar. Can you imagine if I paid the $110?

Other than my so-called "remond" (I hate that overused term) and dehydrating in 40 degrees celsius, everything else is just greaaaaaaat!

There are a few new restaurants in the city, but I haven't really checked them out. At the corner of Tumanyan and Abovyan there used to be a variety store, which transformed into an ugly and unpopular Hin Erivan franchise. That didn't last long, and has now been transformed into a fast-food place called Milen (the "M" imitating McDonalds' golden arches.) Armenians either have no creativity whatsoever, or are completely over the top (best example being artist Paradjanov.)

Tourist season is here; Diasporans are buying homes all over Yerevan, even at $700+ per square meter in buildings that are falling apart. Construction continues, including many high-rise (Armenian high-rise = 8-14 stories MAX) residential buildings, costing buyers approximately $1,000 a square meter, or $1,500+ on the future North Avenue.

A BIG CONGRATS for our President who did a great job at the PACE conference (Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe.) It started off with a long speech, followed by over two-dozen questions/answers. Turk and Azeri lawmakers also questioned Robby, and I think he answered very confidently. (No matter if you like him or not, the confidence he portrays is quite impressive.) Even opposition leader Artashes Geghamyan said some positive things about Kocharian's presentation of our country's policy towards the Artsakh issue. Burning the Turks was the highlight. I don't know it word for word, but he said something along the lines of, "Although you refuse to open the border with us, don't assume we're not surviving, we are progressing at a fast pace on our own."

this is the end of an era. raffi, i live vicariously through your weekend trips out of town... if it were not for those logs... i would get no exercise at all...

i have loved loved loved reading your logs throughout the years. they kept me alive when i was itching to move here... and they gave me another perspective... beyond mine while i was here. while i support and understand your decision... i am going to cyber-miss you.

a few days ago, i passed by raffi's apartment (we own the apartment upstairs)... and happened to notice his garden was a mess. considering how much time he spends on gardening (my tenant complains about morning raking noises)... i was shocked that it still looked like a scene from jungles uninhabited.

after the tour... "what are you saying madlene, look at that gladiola and these baby roses" (looked like shrubs to me)... he sighed in despair. next morning, my tenant complained about more noises. he is so passionate about his plants. he actually is more compassionate about his plants than my dog.

i have a million great stories about raffi...

i am announcing today, june 21st raffi kojian appreciation day. who is with me???

Hajojhutyun...

In a week it will be five years since I moved to Armenia. It has been over 3 years since I started logging here. Armenia has changed a great deal since I arrived, and continues to do so at a very fast pace, hopefully it will keep that which makes it special. I started this log in order to share this special place with the world, to give people a better idea, a more realistic picture of what Armenia is, and what it is like to live here. I think that with all of the different loggers bringing their own perspectives, we have been able to do an excellent job of just that.

But I am done - at least for now. Broadcasting my life online was never easy for me, and I just feel like I am done. It has also left a very bad taste in my mouth that hetq has used my writing in a way they clearly knew I was against, and then furthered their public antagonism when I complained privately to them. This also plays a role.

I have to thank the other loggers for their great work. I know I often bug them to log more often, but I really appreciate all of their contributions and hope to add new loggers in time. Everyone sees things through different eyes, and I always enjoy experiencing Armenia through the eyes of the others, and will continue to do so.

i just finished an interview for the land and culture, my alma mater. one of the questions hit me hard. my answer is kinda cheesy... but here it is in all its glory.


Finally, what message would you like to convey to the LCO members about Armenia’s future?

Five steps forward, two steps back… we are getting there. I see the future of Armenia as a huge jigsaw puzzle with 8 million pieces. Each Armenian (either living here or in the Diaspora)… has one little jigsaw puzzle piece in their heart. One chooses to live here, really live here, by being a good decent person… bringing their piece to the puzzle… one chooses to donate time, efforts and money… bringing another piece to the puzzle… one lobbies in a foreign country for Armenian issues, snap another piece while another still searches for the puzzle piece within them. This is why LCO is amazing… it brings this puzzle piece right to the surface… and once you love Armenia whole-heartedly—your piece is permanently placed and eventually brings those close to you to the puzzle as well… I know we will finish this jigsaw puzzle… an amazing jigsaw puzzle of MOUNT ARARAT.

PICTURES OF MY WESTERN ARMENIA TRIP!!

Western Armenia - general thoughts.

Well now that I have had a few days to gather my thoughts, I will write a final post on my trip. It might be a bit repetitive, since I am not going back to re-read what I already shared with you, so bear with me.

Overall, I must say it was a very good experience, which I recommend that almost nobody else does. Why do I say that? Well in many places, there was precious little to actually see, it was for me more about just being where Armenian history took place, seeing my grandparents birth areas, and seeing what the people and towns there now are like - especialyl in Cilicia. Distances are quite large, English speakers few, and information on anything Armenian still relatively scarce. Little remains in most places, as massive population growth has completely changed the towns our grandparents knew, and churches were destroyed or converted to other uses. That having been said however, I did enjoy the trip, as hard as it was. Seeing the vast mountain valleys and plateaus, the lakes, the remants of old architectural styles, eating the foods we grew up with and for me, just meeting and talking to the Turks and Kurds - these were thing I had to do. Compared to some other Diasporans who went just ten years before me and were constantly harassed, restricted, searched, questioned, and not even able to see places like Ani, this trip was a breeze. Times are changing for the better - slowly. I made it a point to tell people I was Armenian, and brought up the taboo subject a number of times. I wanted to gauge reactions, have open conversations, and I feel like whenever the video camera was not filming, that was possible. So maybe this trip was for you, maybe not. In any case, when the border does finally open, a drive to Ani or Van will be very easy and highly rewarding.

The only place where we had any problems at all was Marash, where this one guy who lived in the small neighborhood that Lena's dad was born in kept popping up and insisting there had never been any churches (we were looking for a church as a landmark to find her dad's house). This jerk even stood there as another 89 year old Turk told us there had been 4 or 5 churches when he was a boy, and told him he was wrong. That and the police search which was apparently due to someone reporting we had been overheard discussing "smuggling antiquities" were the only events to cause us concern. The fact these happened one after another, right at the beginning of our trip left us more concerned than we would have otherwise been.

Other than that, the only real time people warned us not to share our Armenian heritage was when we were going to visit Armenian churches/monasteries. A few people warned us the local villagers would be convinced we had come back for "the Armenian gold", a big deal to this day, as people continue to hunt and dig for gold buried by Armenians during the genocide, hoping they could return for it. We saw fresh digging in a few places, and walls being dug into, and under in the search, as well as graves. That and sometimes people spoke to us in hushed tones and would say to speak quietly about Armenian subjects. There is no problem, but you never know/no reason to advertise seemed to be the thinking...

Akhtamar and Ani were just incredible. People were coming from all over the world to see them, and despite all the pictures I had seen, they were very impressive. Ani in size would give the inner circle of central Yerevan a run for its money in size, and the churches that are preserved, one completely plastered in frescoes, are unforgettable. Akhtamar with it's bible story telling reliefs and more faded frescoes, on it's own little island was a magical place indeed. It was funny that Akhtamar had signs declaring it an Armenian site all over, while Ani didn't mention the word anywhere. The tourists were not fooled, everybody knew, and the guides did not make it a secret. In both places, and all over, the English signs were atrocious.

The hotel infrastucture was woefully inadequate through much of the region, with substandard rooms and often exhorbinant prices. Most places would bargain though. We saw some other very nice monasteries, especially near Van, and I had maps showing many more, especially between Igdir and Kars which we did not have the time (or energy) for. As I said, it is a huge territory from the Black Sea to Kars. We drove 2,000km and tried to see a lot of off the beaten track places, and soak up towns at the same time. Seeing the other side of Ararat was special, and seeing the Republic of Armenia from the other side of the Arax was really cool. Mt. Aragats is very impressive from the other side, for miles and miles! You could also see Arayi Ler, Armenian towns, and even Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant quite clearly!

So that is the general overview of the trip. I will post some pictures too though.

One of Czeck flights was cancelled this week, the flight leaving Yerevan Saturday mornings.
A retired Swedish couple visiting Yerevan for a wedding enjoyed the extended days and credit given by the airline. Also have insurance on their tickets, all in all not a bad deal.
A couple that takes bird watching seriously. Each partner has a binocular. Ara the driver has a good sight for spotting birds. Coming back from Garni we saw a small bird flying very low that took refuge under a rock. It was an owl. Checked the book and yes, this kind of owl exists in Armenia and is active in daylight. We (Ara and I) borrowed the binoculars and watched the owl; in turn, it was watching us. When we drove, the bird flew parallel to us. Today, coming back from Sissian Ara said they saw a man who had caught three live giant baby owls. Wonder how big they grow.
A drive in the country and even without binoculars you can see soaring eagles, falcons and bright blue-green breasted birds (probably bee-eaters). A drive in the city crows (really, who wants to see them), magpies, swallows, nightingales and crowned light-brown woodpeckers and much more.
Not a bad place for bird watchers.

It is a cool, rainy day in Istanbul, and I am so relaxed I haven't wanted to go anywhere... still taking in everything I saw.

Let me write some more about my observations. English continued to be a major problem. So few speakers knew any. There were pretty decent numbers of tourists from the west, but almost all on big bus guided tours. Even the receptionists at the "fancy" places didn't speak English in most hotels, and were never what I would call fluent. The hotels in Van and Kars were all dumps as well. Real dumps. Amazingly some of them were booked solid! We never found an open/existant tourist information office the whole time, except in Kayseri, and that was a very weak one with no maps or useful information.

Kars had some old architecture very similiar to Gyumri (not surprising considering the proximity and that it was not a part of Turkey until the 20s). The new stuff was ugly, as in most of the area we covered. Even the Soviets did better some of the time. Main streets and such are usually nice in Armenia.

In Diyabekir, probably the nicest town in many ways, a lot of the buildings were completely covered in the tiny tiles, usually with a nice big pattern in the middle - like from a rug. Van and Kars had a couple like it, but in Diyabekir it was really nice and extensively used.

Some towns, but primarily Aintab (Gaziantep) had incredibly high security. Every decent hotel and decent mall/shop. This surprised me since it is not the center of Kurdish activity. It was when you got to Diyarbekir that you start to see the military checkpoints where they stop "suspicious" cars. This grows to a crescendo from Van to Kars. There are bases EVERYWHERE with tons of soldiers, and one base in Bayazit had to have had about 50 tanks in plain view.

The villagers were everywhere, still wearing MC Hammer pants, even in the cities. Men and women alike. A lot more women cover their heads, even in Istanbul than I had imagined. In the villagers they have really never seen foreigners and mob you. Children pressing their faces up against the windows, etc. People constantly want tips/money. I hope Armenia never becomes like that. It is so nice to know that people are doing something out of genuine hospitality. Mosques are at virtually every corner. The beautiful Arakelots Cathedral was turned into a mosque. They blast prayers very loudly every so many hours, which is especially painful in the middle of the night.

Quite a trip...

Der Hova is right, Armenia is two hours AHEAD :-)

Yesterday, we went to Ani... it was like a fairy tale city. I had seen it twice from the Armenian side of the river, but up close it is so huge, so impressive. The massive ramparts, the collection of beautiful churches, including a massive Cathedral which dwarves anyone, and some round churches, amazing views, and breathtaking frescos. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I will save the words and post a few pics later. The plentiful signs did not mention Armenia anywhere, despite the extensive Armenian inscriptions everywhere. It was strange standing across the river from where I had been before, but unable to cross either time. The Turkish flag on one bank and the Armenian and Russian on the other.

After that Lena and Jack decided to head back to Istanbul, so I decided to join them, rather than go church hunting on my own. Especially since they were the ones who had a bit of Turkish skills, and I had none, and the locals had no English skills. Even at the fancy hotels, nothing.

That's all for now...

Raff don't you mean it would be 10pm here while 8pm there? We're always ahead of Turkey.

So there are a few new restaurants in town.

The Club (a.k.a. Chez Garo) used to be on Pushkin, and serves Western Armenian food. Garo is an Armenian originally from Istanbul, who later moved to France. The new restaurant/art gallery is at an underground location on Tumanyan between Saryan and Mashtots. The interior design is great, and a completely new style for Armenia. The foods are a little expensive, and although I have enjoyed Garo's cooking in the past, the food was quite disappointing the last time I was there. Anyhow, Garo yelling at the other cooks in the kitchen is always the highlight. He's sort of like a milder version of the Soup Nazi.

Barcelona is another restaurant which opened across from The Club, and it is owned by ex Chairman of the National Assembly, Armen Khachatryan. I haven't been there, but a friend has told me that one look at the place and you'll think "Armen Khachatryan".

Right next to SAS Supermarket on Amiryan there is another new restaurant. Beautiful doors and a facade made of tuff stone, but one step inside and it seems like an episode from Alice in Wonderland. A complete Eastern European village atmosphere, with plastic roosters, a watermill, trees reaching the ceiling with leaves painted on the actual ceiling, and a bunch of waiters that do not speak a word of Armenian. (I should have known since the name of the restaurant outside is only written in Russian.) There was also a blonde inside wearing a gold dress and a crown just walking around doing nothing except changing outfits every 15 minutes. The food was expensive, the portions quite small, but the breads were quite tasty.

So STILL waiting for the ultimate restaurant in Yerevan. A relaxing place to go to, reassured that everything on the menu tastes good, and the service top notch. Most Armenian waiters/waitresses have NO CHARACTER. (Just check out the service at Diamond Pizza, where I refuse to go to because of this reason.)

A new diner will be opening up by Marco Polo on Abovyan soon, let's hope it's not another disappointment. No pressure Sam!

Once again a looong day! When I was making my travel plans with my map of Turkey, I forgot that the distances are so much great than those in Armenia! So the trip is a lot more of taking in the landscape and people and life than about monastery hunting which I was hoping for more of. But yesterday we went back to Akhtamar in the morning, then saw the spot where Narekavank used to be before heading along a peninsula to hike up to two different monasteries that were quite nice.

This morning we headed to Varagavank, quite close to Van. It had some beautiful carvings and nice fresco remnants. The row of crosses across the front facade, each one different was really beautiful. Then we blew across the landscape to Bayazit, Igdir and up to Kars. Seeing Ararat from the other side really was something, then seeing the Armenian Ararat Valley... Metsamor, Mt. Aragats, Arayi Ler, it was a beautiful clear day and all was so visible. Then we drove right along the border listening to Armenian radio and wishing we had brought our cell phones so we could call our friends from "the other side". The funny thing is all of Turkey is in one time zone, two hours ahead of Armenia. So right on this side of the border, it is 10pm, while in Armenia it is only 8pm and light out for hours to come. I much prefer Armenia's situation!

Well I am keeping this short because after such a long day in the car, finally arriving at Kars in the dark, I am ready for bed.

Wow what an amazing evening last night... watching the sun set from Akhtamar Island, where one of the world's most amazing churches (Armenian) lies! Just look at the reliefs below, and there were frescoes inside, and the lake was beautiful.



Aside from that we have been offered tea right and left here. Almost everyone we meet we tell we are Armenian and find out they have an Armenian grandparent (three yesterday). Some of them want to visit Armenia, and they all say there is no problem between the people. It is so interesting. There is still something though, a fear of discrimination or problems with the government or something. One told us he does not tell many people he is part Armenian, another said to speak quietly about this (we were in a restaurant). I don't know if they would have talked nearly as freely with the video camera on, nobody has ever said anything with that rolling. Everyone says there were tons of Armenians here in the past, and a number of them now have mentioned the genocide. One even said that the only thing stopping the government from admitting to the genocide is fear of reparations... but otherwise what is the point, right? They were also talking about the Armenian gold buried here by those who were taken away/killed. They said Armenians came back for a lot of it. So interesting... so I have a slew of churches and monasteries to hunt down, so I had better be going, but enjoy the first photo...

things are wonderful and the weather is fine!!!

children's day was one of the greatest kid events i have ever been to... made me wish i was a child. in a lot of ways i still am.

the day was amazing. i will post some pictures on our website soon and will let you know when i do.

that said, i want to make a point. we all love artsakh and we all spend time there. i helped rebuild a church and a cultural center and lived in karabagh for a few months... just because we take vacations to egypt and or los angeles does not mean we do not have a passion for karabagh... i love the place with all my heart.

as for tonight... we are hosting the armenian jazz band with artistic director armen martirosyan. i know there will be a lot of people in attendance but am not sure how many. i hope many people will come to enjoy outdoor free and live jazz...

Hmmm, sounds like Harout did not use the good road to Dadivank - much longer than the Gandzasar "shortcut" but half the time and quite comfy... :-)

So we have been through too much to write about in any detail - especially since I am pooped and also because this place only has a Turkish toilet. That for those who don't know is a porcelain hole in the bathroom floor. They are everywhere in this country ans so the name is well deserved. Turkish coffee on the other hand, almost nobody has or drinks. So really it should be called Arabic coffee (or Armenian or Greek) but not Turkish...

OK so briefly - we went south from Adana to hmmm I forget the name of the town Jack's dad is from (I know it means four roads and is in the corner of the Med. Sea). From there south to Yayladagh and then up the coast looking for Musa Dagh... we finally found it and the only Armenian village left in Turkey - called Vasif something. We spent the night there and went around with Panos the next day and then zoomed up to Aintab. An overgrown sprawl, without character. The funny thing is that there was security and metal detectors in almost every building (malls, hotels, etc), which we had not seen before and I thought it was because we were approaching Kurdistan, but no, we are in Diyarbekir and have seen nothing of the sort. Here we saw the ruins of the two Armenian Churches - one was huge and quite beautiful. Then we somehow ended up at an Assyrian Church and met the last Armenians in Diyarbekir. Baydzar was the only one who spoke Armenian still. So it has been quite fun. Next, off to Van, Kars and Ani....

The countryside here reminds me a lot of Armenia, and the villages/towns often of Tijuana/Mexico. They are building some massive infrastructure here and there, especially roads, but for the most part things are pretty backwards. In the cities even, there are a huge number of old fashioned/villagers - many men and women wear the MC Hammer pants and can be seen washing their feet in sinks. There is no tourist infrastructure to speak of and almost no English speakers. Diyarbekir is ahead of many of the towns we have been in which is a surprise to me.

So that is all for now... we are skipping some towns to save time. Wizzed through Urfa and will do the same to Bitlis tomorrow while skipping Mush altogether, but we have a lot of monasteries/churches to hunt in the next few days!!