Merry Cilicia Bashing and a Happy New Year!

Yup, once again these blogs on Cilicia have been trashed, and once again it seems wholly ungrounded to me. This time Nathan, a non-Armenian, complains about the primarily Diaspora logs about Armenia... he complains that they are:

1) RACIST (apparently for the complains about the Jugha cemetary destruction - and he is concerned we sound like rabid Serbs about to commit genocide against the Croats)
2) The Diasporans who are writing on the logs don't have a strong stake in the country's success.
3) We believe "Armenia can do no wrong! Anyone who criticizes it is destroying it!"

and by inference

3) None of us believe there can ever be peace with Azerbaijan.
4) We are incapable of writing anything remotely negative about Armenia

In fact, he finds these logs so distasteful that "he doesn’t link them because he doesn’t want to send them traffic." My god! What are we writing here, people??!?!

Eh, what can I say, it's so obviously not true it would be laughable, if this guy weren't actually editor of a compilation blog about Armenia on an international blog compilation site. Where he comes up with this crap is beyond me, since anyone can clearly see that there is plenty of complaining here about Armenia's problems, we've dreamt out loud about the opening of borders which would come with peace here before, we clearly have a very real stake in the countries success (whether measured in dollars, time or all those remonds we've done), and as far as I can tell, not a single one of us is racist. We could all sit and happily spend time with a non-denialist Turk.

So not a single thing he says about us is true, the insults are quite strong, and I dunno why I even care... read all about it for yourselves.

Aaaanyway, Happy New Year folks, and please don't get caught up in massacring Azeris in all the festivities!

First Snow--Really!

I had been composing a blog in my head for some days now. The blog was going to be addressed to Raffi K. exalting the virtues of a warm winter in Armenia. Yes, Raffi, up until yesterday, it was +5-10 degrees consistently, but you weren't here, so you wouldn't know! =)

But alas, all good things come to an end.

We have our first snow of the season, sitting on the ground, on roofs, on fences, on our pets, and on everything else. It began snowing last night, around 9, and this morning, Yerevan was turned into a winter wonderland. On a walk early this morning, my dog and I put the first foot prints in the fresh snow in our neighborhood, and followed the prints of a few dogs that had pioneered the tracks before us.

The serenity and quiet of the morning coupled with that triggered by the snow, was one to see and hear (or not, in this case).

May 2006 bring that kind of serenity to all.

More Retail Shops

Two or three years ago there was a trend in opening up teahouses, followed by outdoor cafes, and now it seems like the new trend is retail shops.

The good thing about retail shops is that they are usually located on the first floor of residential buildings which usually means the chances of these buildings and perhaps their entrances being cleaned up are pretty good. So the mayor doesn't care (unless there are forthcoming local elections and so he replaces residential building entrance doors and paints the walls of only the first floors in these buildings which are located ONLY on main streets), but it's good to see retail shops doing it anyway. What's also a bonus is that they usually don't have anything to do with cutting down trees like our cafes.

I'm sure most of you have realized how much attention I turn to what new physical changes I see in this city ...

Today I was driving on Hanrapetutyan Street and an official Bang & Olufsen franchise caught my eye, along with an Armenian-Italian joint venture pastry shop/cafe and a Home Deco interior design store.

I was thinking about something today ... we love to ask, "It's not fair, why is it that they have one and we don't?" Opening up all these actual franchise shops because of this type of 'hivandutyun' will somewhat decrease the common complaint of not having certain things in Armenia. Don't ever be surprised if one day you see an Eiffel Tower in Armenia or even a pyramid ... oh wait, we actually have one just north of Yerevan. I'm not sure if it's completed, but I think the inside will accommodate a casino ... surprise surprise!

Destruction of Armenian gem

Folks - the khachkar cemetary in Nakhichevan (the biggest collection in the world) once again looks under serious threat. We need to once again raise our voices, and I think the Armenian government should make clear it will take ANY STEP NECESSARY to protect our heritage in Jugha. And mean it.

From: http://www.anca.org

WASHINGTON, DC - The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) today called on U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Reno Harnish to immediately and forcefully halt the ongoing demolition of medieval Armenian cemeteries and historic carved stone crosses (khatchkars) in the southern Nakhichevan region of Djulfa by the Azerbaijani armed forces.

The cemetery, home to more than 10,000 individual khatchkars, was subjected to sustained attacks throughout the 20th Century and again, starting in 2002, when Azerbaijani forces crushed hundreds of the crosses and shipped the rubble from the region by rail. The most recent attacks have been the worst yet. A 12-minute video of the attacks may be viewed at:
http://www.hairenik.com/Haireniktv/HA_TV_Clip04.htm

For more info on Jugha visit http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Hin_Jugha

Clips, Rink, Vacations

We just shot the second set of "social issues awareness clips". We're aiming at producing about 2 a month, and we're definitely going to have previous clips continuing to air in the meantime.

The responses from the first 3 seem quite positive, which is a major relief. Armenians, particularly from Armenia, are quite difficult to please, but I'm glad we're receiving quite a bit of support with this project.

Maybe I can upload them on the net soon for anyone who's interested in seeing them.

So this skating rink Raffi's been logging about was such a great idea. All summer long the city is just filled with people hanging out all over downtown Yerevan, and then winter comes along and the city seems dead. We finally have something in the center which is attracting people. 100 maximum on the ice, but another 300+ hanging around the ice watching and smiling. The rink is surrounded by benches, which would be cool to use if our local figure skaters decide to put on some shows.

I went Saturday night, just after midnight for almost a couple of hours. Ice was horrible, but anyway, I still had fun. Can't wait to see what the rink in the Sports Complex is going to be like.

Armavia just announced 3 new directions which is very cool news. Tel Aviv, Delhi, and Rome (which they had at one time but discontinued.) More options for direct flight vacations. :-)

Dubai

Just thought I'd do a quick post from the Dubai airport since I have my laptop and there's wireless internet (freeee!). So one more flight (and likely sleepless night) and I'll be in Australia. Tata was on my flight, and this well known Armenian comedian whose name I forget - Hrant I think.

Last night the movie Mer Pag 3 opened. It's the one I posted a photo of them filming. I took a pass, but I had seen a commercial for it and it looked like it had possibility. Yesterday was relatively warm in Yerevan, but it was quite wet and rainy. Almost no traces of the snow remain.

Hehe, I just tried to access the "best of" Craigslist - where people write what is usually meant to be funny, but certainly can be explicit... and got the following message:

We apologize the site you are attempting to visit has been blocked due to its content being inconsistent with the religious, cultural, political and moral values of the United Arab Emirates.

If you think this site should not be blocked, please visit the Feedback Form available on our website.

I remembered that hetq.am is also reportedly blocked, and checked. Sure enough, it's the same message.

snow...

Last night it came, and this morning it's still there. Just in time for me to fly south...

I walked by the ice-skating rink last night too, and it was great. A bunch of skaters, lots of people watching, lights, nice music. I guess it will be 24 hr. Anyway, it will definitely bring some winter life to the outdoors - especially at night.

two more days!

I leave for the US on Saturday and move in to my new apartment on Friday. I cannot believe this is almost happening (the move of course). During a conference last week an Armenian said something that is SO true... "plan on spending three times more when remodeling". So far he has spent more than three times what he initially budgeted and this is close to the truth for us. For those of you planning on buying and remodeling older apartments keep this in mind!

Ice skating rink opens...

And here I thought I was done with pictures for the year a couple of logs ago... but I walked by as the new outdoor ice skating rink was opened in the pond next to the Opera. Pretty cool, eh? El presidente was there, lots of passerbys. Later on most of the people left, and a couple of young girls (14ish?) were skating like pros... I was quite impressed, while a couple of boy ran around sliding on the ice in their sneakers.

And yes, the fog finally lifted enough (as you can see from the pic) for the Zvartnots flights to resume a couple of days ago.

Hospitality & Light Bulbs

Armenians are very hospitable. I hear this constantly by so many of us, yet I find it hard to believe especially when it comes to respect for each other outside our homes, especially if you're living in Yerevan.

Someone struggling with holding a lot of groceries; an elder trying to cross the street; someone falling because of a pothole; a fellow logger's foot being stepped on and starting to bleed with the man who caused it seeing the aftermath and simply walking away, etc.

A couple of days ago I saw a man, maybe in his 60's, lying down, at the bottom of the steps leading up to the small Grand Candy shop beside the Mashtots Market. Beside him was a confused young boy, along with half a dozen people around them doing absolutely nothing. I was with a relative at the time walking over to the Market. Our curiosity, like most Armenians, led us to walk over to see what had happened. The man had taken a fall and was in great pain. I give props to the guy in his 20's who was trying to lift him up, but pulling an 80kg elder's one arm doesn't do much help. I went behind the man and lift him up from his back.

I'm sure most of you have noticed how attractive our retail stores are starting to look, right? Especially with elegant marble steps at the entrances, which are so easy to walk on in the winter, or like the steps at this Grand Candy store, which with one step curves 90 degrees. (I don't think I've seen such staircases anywhere else in the world.)

After we lifted up the man, and he relaxed a bit, my relative and I went inside the store to report to the supervisor what had happened to one of their own customers outside. I was glad to finally meet a supervisor who talked to us in a civilized manner without being offended, but the response of, "Yes, I know, we need to do something about that one step, it has happened to a lot of people, even us," was a disappointing, but typical, response. I noticed most of the employees were young females who were wearing high heels.

Anyway, a funny thing that happened yesterday ...

My relative lives in a building on a street which the President uses to go to work and back home everyday. A street you would think would be smoothly paved, and always lit for security reasons. For the past couple of months the one section of the street where my relative's building is has been completely dark. The few street lights on that section have not been working. Very dangerous, considering one time a man walked up to my relative and asked for her purse or she would get hit. Luckily my relative responded, "What? Hit me? I will show you who's going to get hit," and started abusing the guy with her purse till he ran off.

Anyway, long story short, we went to City Hall yesterday to report the street lighting situation. What response did we get? We'll take care of it, it's just that we have no light bulbs left right now.

Fog light or lipstick?

In Armenia many of the cars are not equipped with fog lights. This has become quite a problem these past few weeks - imagine not being able to see the Foreign Ministry from the Marriott - both located in Republic Square.

Last week as I was taking a cab from downtown, the driver asked me whether I had lipstick. I thought, hmm... what an odd question for a cab driver to ask. It turns out that during times of heavy fog, most drivers will take a reddish/pink shaded lipstick and use it to cover a large part of the headlights... unfortunately I did not have any on me - but I do now notice a lot of pretty shaded headlights. Maybe MAC should explore a new product line??

Despite the continuing fog, three airplanes landed and four departed from Zvartnots yesterday. I'm hoping I can also leave on the 17th... otherwise Armavia will transport me to Gyumri Airport and fly me out of there... this scares me...

We got our first feel of light snow today for about 10 minutes.

the Christmas spirit in ArmeniaThe

This weekend, I was working on the VivaCell building decorations when I noticed many others do the same.

‘Tis the season and you can feel it more and more with every year. More stores, hotels, restaurants are starting to decorate (nicely too) their storefront which puts the city in a festive mood. This year, I have been hearing more about NY parties (yes, from locals). More youth are trying to extend their usual family celebration by holding après-NY party either at a house or a restaurant somewhere. This is a great sign that people are getting out of the depressed self-pity state and taking the celebrations for what they really are meant for – good times with friends and family.

Tomorrow is the Diplomats’ wives annual Christmas sale at Armenia Hotel… our kids will give their list to Santa.

Here are some of the joys of growing up in Armenia as seen by my kids – they go to French Kindergarten, have a local Armenian sitter (like a grandma to them), attend weekend activities like cooking classes, dance and skating in English, Go to dance class at Sophi Devoyan, watch Walt Disney films in English, BuyBuy Mgnik in Armenian and Chantal Goya in French… needless to say they are having the time of their lives!

Oh - and I am so happy that Madlene is blogging again - she has such an inspirational writer. Now, if only Alex started to write again...

Rolling Stones urinal

Are you honored that I thought of you, my blogging audience, as soon as I saw this urinal at the Mantashoff Beerhouse (Karechuradun) on Mashdots?

That wasn't the only highlight of the weekend. I finally ate the famous ghapaman, a dish made famous by the Harout Pampoukjian song, "Hey jan, ghapaman, hamov hodov ghapaman...". I'd been bugging Arousiak to make it for perhaps a year, before I finally tasted the fruit of my whining. I must say she did a great job on her first try, and I might have to try making it myself. It's basically a baked pumpkin, stuffed with rice which is spiked with cinnamon, nuts and dried fruits. Very light and healthy... it should be on every Armenian Thanksgiving/Christmas table I'd say.

And finally, I'm happy to see that Skeptik Sinikian has included my suggestion for peoples Christmas lists, when it comes to Armenian gift ideas. To quote him (quoting me):

From Raffi in Cilicia--"An interesting option for you to consider is Liberty Orchards. Back in 1920 these Armenians started selling "Lokhum" as Aplets and Cotlets and they have become pretty popular in the NW. But elsewhere they are virtually unknown and we should be eating them instead of "Turkish Delight." Promoting this among Armenians could give them a big boost in the Southwest, and the Northeast... especially if they get their non-Armenian friends hooked. You can check out their website for more info: www.libertyorchards.com/. "

Raffi, I couldn't agree with you more. First of all, thank you for writing. Second of all, who doesn't like "Lokhums?" So what if they sound like a character from the "Lord of the Rings" Trilogy? I'm all for getting non-Armenians hooked on products of Armenian origin. Let's just get a copyright on the stuff before it becomes too popular so the next time I'm at the local Trader Joe's, grocery store I don't pop a vein when I see bread being sold with the following label "Original Hawaiian Lavash Bread." (True story! I was so upset, I almost didn't accept the free sample of the cocktail weenies they were offering I said ALMOST)

los angeles mania

from my previous log you know i am in los angeles. so is one of my kids from my office. wait... i guess you need the history. i work at the cafesjian museum foundation (www.cmf.am)... we are building an art museum in armenia at the site of the cascade. this huge undertaking is a symbol of mr. cafesjian's hope and vision for the future of the country. i do public relations and events. i have an office of over ten young armenians who work really hard and are each bright and passionate human beings. they are the biggest hope i have for my nation... each one of them is so passionate about their homeland and so eager to contribute. six of them are students in university. one of them was accepted to a study abroad university program and ended up in the los angeles area... so yesterday we decided to get together.

she was full of stories and exciting tales about her adventures here. she has managed to experience LA, do well in her studies and teach her new friends about "back home". we sat and compared notes about what we like here... and what we cannot live without there. it was so inspiring to talk to a 20 year old girl who was in the process of being enthralled with the stimulus of america... yet had the passion, heart and understanding to still love and yearn for her homeland.

although los angeles is not my pick of the us cities... i must admit it is wonderful to be around friends and family. last night i went to the grove and they had santa's castle and a big christmas tree and christmas music and it made me so happy. i guess you can never take your upbringing out of you... meaning i grew up with this christmas cheer... and the music and the magic stays with you your whole life. while new year is celebrated joyously in armenia... and those traditions have also etched into my heart.... this was nice too... to see santa and his reindeers (although plastic)... hanging from above.

this is the mix that i love... the ability to know this culture and armenian culture.... and not only the armenian culture that we celebrate here in the diaspora... but the warmth of running around yerevan for thirteen days... respecting friends and family by sitting at their new years table to eat the thigh of the pig and stolichnaya salad. having your own pig thigh at home and answering each doorbell with excitement... wondering who will be at your door with warm hugs, smiles and most importantly warm wishes. i will miss new year in armenia this year...

at first i thought i had to reject one culture to embrace the other. now i understand that they beauty in knowing both ... is loving the good elements of both... and in turn hurting for the faults of both. this has made me feel complete as an armenian... and as an armenian-american.

am i still allowed to blog?

hi everyone. some of you may not remember me... i am a blogger from back in the days. old school they call it. but i will reintroduce myself so that all our new readers may catch up.

my name is madlene and i moved to armenia from los angeles over four years ago. my love affair began with armenia ten years ago when i first visited through the land and culture. since then, armenia became a passion, and i am proud to say that it still a passion... perhaps in a more grounded way.

i wrote on this blog for a few years when i first moved to armenia. i felt so much love, patriotism and passion for each day i lived that i had so much to share with the thousands of armenians in the diaspora who dream of moving to the motherland but for some reason or another cannot. i filled my pages with events, reality, dreams and examples of how i was blending into a society that i felt i was a part of by heritage but found i had vast differences with... (some differences i was sad to own and some i was proud to own)

as the years passed, i stopped blogging because i felt that i had fallen into the lifestyle so deeply that i should pass my place to someone who was new, who would share with you new discoveries and that virgin love for the homeland. i felt that i had shared my first few years and now i was ready to experience a time of inner realization and adjustment. like a student, it was a time to listen and not to talk.

during this time i was relieved to find our country's profound potential. potential for change, yet elements of preservation. potential for a quality of life that i have not found in all of my travels. although i believe armenia is politically unhealthy with major problems, i see the light through the younger generation, the bond and commitment of family. the eagerness to improve life and social and political conditions and the continuing relationship with culture and the arts.

this of course was the breeze needed to push me to write again. today i sit in los angeles (a visit to my family) reflecting on my experiences in armenia and i feel compelled to write. i want to write because i want to share my perceptions with you. i want all of you to know that i moved to armenia over four years ago, and am safe in saying that i have learned about the country and our people well... and i do not for one second regret my move. i want you to know that when people here in los angeles ask me what i am doing there... or if i am happy there... i look at them and am almost sad that they do not truly know ... armenian life... our daily highs and our daily lows...for if they did... they would be with me in the motherland. i want to express this all to you and i hope over time i will be able to.

because this log is already too long i will save more information about me for later. thanks for reading and i am happy to be with you all again.

Who better to say if it fits the definition of Genocide?

Well, if the inventor of the word genocide says the Armenian case fits the bill, who can argue with him? Well stay tuned to see if the Turkish government somehow tries to argue, or if it just ignores this inconvenient find...

A 1949 CBS TV interview with Raphael Lemkin, the inventor of the term genocide was found. In it he quite clearly talks about the Armenian genocide, and footage of Turkish cavalry hunting down Armenian civilians. This quote is when he answers why the Ottoman Turkish government decided to wipe all the Armenians out (sarcastically):

"Well, the reason given was that they were friendly to the enemy of their rulers; that they were a fifth column; that they were spies. Every one of the 2 million of them…."

The sad thing of course is that you still hear some Turks repeat this very justification today, saying the Armenians deserved what they got, but then simultaneously arguing there was no genocide. Let the denials grow more convoluted...

Medical School in English

So it's true, the medical school in Armenia has a complete course in English. It is quite cheap and students from India, Iran, Syria and other neighboring countries come to get a medical degree here...

Meanwhile the thick fog continues... and the airport remains closed. What chaos. Last night a friend boarded a bus full of such stranded passengers heading for Tblisi to catch flights from there that are now packed as well.

What you buy isn't what you get?

On Saturday I purchased 17 tickets for a "charity" concert held at Aram Khachaturian Hall. We had a number of guests from the US and they were quite excited about experiencing some Armenian "pop". So after spending more than $15 per ticket, our large group was ready to go hear the likes of Andre (from Kharabagh), Sirusho, and many other famous Armenian voices.

Within five minutes I understood that we had been completely lied to. The organizer of the evening had mislead us into believing the lineup of the evening. Had I even take one minute to do research I would have seen that the famous voices were tied up in other concerts... In any case, we did some some rabizish performers with very good voices. If only they can improve their styles!!

I bet very few of you knew that an Armenian boy band actually exists. I saw it with my very own eyes and had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard. For those of you Bostonians the term guido comes to mind. We also saw two different dance groups "busting out" in hip hop moves. I should be happy that our Armenians are branching out... shouldn't I?

So today I tried to contact the organizer to demand my money back. He has conveniently turned off his phone and is smart for doing so. Leaving the opera house I heard the majority of the audience saying they wanted their money back. I will track him down!

knock on wood

I must say the tempratures have been great, we still haven't been hit by real cold or snow. Hopefully this keeps up. The morning fogs have begun however, and are wreaking havoc on the flights in and out of Armenia which are almost ALL scheduled for the early hours of the morning. I don't know when that will change, but it is quite annoying...

sunny hot and humid

I'll be going to Lebanon for a few days - can't wait to sip in the warm smell of the mediteranean sea. I will eat lots of sea food and meet up with a few friends. definitly, I will want to take in a movie with pop corn...
can't wait.

Christmas comes early...

Hi folks, that's right, my present to you is getting off my butt and actually logging five whole pictures :-) I hope you like 'em!

Destruction





Construction





Pond by Hrazdan River (note mirror on tree for post swim check)





Outdoor ice skating rink in Swan Lake by Opera being completed





New Levi's store (is it real?)