Armenia, Karabach, Georgia 22.VII.2006 - 18.VIII.2006 (English)

Armenia, Karabach, Georgia

Michał Wąsik, Krzysztof Heimenn

Armenia, Karabach, Georgia 2006

Michał Wąsik, Krzysztof Heimenn

These are supplementary information to the Lonely Planet guide 2006 filled up with personal observations and opinions. I was not the case to rewrite some historical facts, which one can find either in a tourist guide or on the plaques attached to some churches or monuments. Remember that with time some information can become outdated, so the best solution is: whatever the case – ask locals! They will be more up to date than this ;)!

C - culture, people, customs

O – organisation, advice

Currency:

1 USD = 400 – 420 AMD

1 EUR = 500 – 520 AMD

Prices:

1,5l sparkling water “Jermuk” – 300 AMD

bread/lavash – 80-160 AMD

tomatoes – 300 AMD / kg

white salty cheese (pl. bryndza) – 1.300 AMD / kg

bottled beer – 300 AMD / 0,5 l

candles - 40-120 AMD / each

90% of the land is above 1.000 m. Average altitude is 1.800 m.

22.VII.2006 (Sat.)

Train 5:35 Poznan – Warsaw

Marshrutka Warsaw Central Train Station – Warsaw Fryderyk Chopin Airport

Plane Warsaw – Moscow

Plane Moscow - Yerevan

23.VII.2006 (Sun.)

We arrived about 5:00 am to Armenia, YEREVAN, Zvartnots Airport.

You bought a visa for 30 USD for three weeks at the airport.

There is no public transport to the city before 7:00 am (only taxis). We slept two hours at the airport till 7:00 am.

7:00 Marshrutka YEREVAN (Zvartnots Airport) – YEREVAN Kilikya Bus station (200 AMD / pers. + 100

AMD / luggage + 200 AMD for route modification ;))

8:00 Marshrutka YEREVAN Kilikya Bus station – SISIAN (2.200 AMD / pers.)

We met in marshrutka two Czechs: Vitia (48) and Lukasz (16) from Prague. We decided to travel together!

On the way we had a stop and some eggs, vegetables and tutovka (vodka made of tut). However a national

spirit of Armenia is cognac/brandy.

12:30 SISIAN

We met an Armenian, called Vriez who offered us help. We went to the bar for a dinner. Typical Armenian dinner consists of: shashlik, bread, white salty cheese, seasoning (arm. ryhan), tomatoes, cucumbers, lemonade, beer, vodka 0,5l. Vriez told us about his Polish girlfriend – Kamila from Grudziadz, Poland – with whom he lived in Russia.

Vriez offered us - because of his great friendship towards Polish people - that he could show us the region, just for petrol. We intended to see Carahunge, waterfall and monasteries, but most of all Tatev Monastery. C: rus. kooshay, kooshay! ;)

Money exchange was already closed, but you can also exchange money on the street. Vriez collected his part by taking some coins for organising the exchange ;)…

He invited us to his place. The blocks of flats look quite ugly from the outside, but the flat itself was really cute. Vriez was divorced; he was seeing her daughter rather rarely. He bought a watermelon, which we ate at his place. While going through the yard, local kids poured water on us – there was kind of feast that day. It was hot, so the clothes were dry again in no time .

Taxi to CARAHUNGE (ZORATS STONES)

It is said to be an ancient observatory. There are dozens of standing stones. Some of them have hole to look through at the sky.

Vriez came with an UAZ in the evening, bringing us water and taking 5.000 AMD for petrol the next day.

Δ CARAHUNGE, tent

24.VII.2006 (Mon.)

MW: As we woke up there was a little dog sleeping just next to out tent, which did not even got up as we started to make noise ;-)…

8:00 Vriez comes with his UAZ

SISIAN Orthodox Church (6th century)

On the way we refuelled. This also can take some time: first of all you have to pay for a patrol/gas. Then you receive a piece of paper with which you can go to the distributor. There is no self-service… 3.000 AMD.

Generally, the Armenian orthodox churches are rather dark inside, lightened only by the candles and daylight. Many people light one or more candles entering the church. Candle-stands are situated in front of an altar or next to the paintings of Saints. There is sand in candle-stands in which you stick the candle. People attach candles to the walls or just anywhere. You can encounter in many temples small pictures of Christ, Holy Mary or other saints attached to the walls. Some of them are even hand-made… When entering or leaving a church people make the cross sign three times with three fingers standing face to the entrance (also when leaving they walk backward!). The Armenians are not that strict as the Georgians – men can enter a church without having trousers. The church walls are decorated with stone carved crosses (khachkars). In most cases you can see some lizards crawling on the walls.

O: take a torch to churches. They are rather poorly lighted.

In this particular church in Sisian through the magnifying glass you can see a hair (probably animal’s) on which there are carved some crosses! There are some old books behind the glass. Pity that you cannot leaf (pl. kartkować) them through ;)… The person who sold candles was so kind that he rang a bell for us. Because it was five to (let’s say ;)) ten, he hit the bell 24 times ;)! The sound was really impressing: very sustainable, clear and extremely loud!

SISIAN Brothers’ Grave (rus. bratnia mogiła)

By the church there is a new graveyard with people killed mostly at the war in Karabakh. Although the war ended theoretically in May 1994 (exchange of prisoners of war), the latest graves was from 2003-2004…

SHAKI WATERFALL (rus. wodopad) – 18m high

There is a power station on the way, which uses water from a river. For “turning the waterfall on” they wanted 5.000 AMD… Greedy ones…

The waterfall is nice, but I could not see a great difference with or without extra water… Generally an esthetical impression in Armenia is almost always disturbed by litter … In this case there was no exception…

The Czechs and Vriez had a dinner, similar to the previous one, but with swine and only 0,25l vodka. 7.800 AMD / 3 pers.

VOROTNAVANK (9th-11th century)

C: vank means church, monastery. The names are often created of the name of the village (place) + a + vank.

This place is rather off the beaten tracks. It was deserted, alone-standing, a bit scary, but with a great climate!

There were some khachkars lying on the floor of the monastery. The walls inside were covered with smoke in places where candles were lighted. In such a non-tourist places like this one there were no candle-stands.

C: an infinity sigh is often placed on the graves (a circle with “petals” inside).

HOT POOL

In the village there is a small (ca. 3 x 4 m) hot pool with some algae inside. The bath is very refreshing! 

C: women bath in clothes (not in swimming suits)… 

When trying to make some photos with Holga - analogue camera - Kris thought he was stepping into a small puddle. In the fact he stepped into a great hole on the bottom of which there were sharp stones. He fell down till his belly, but camera was saved :)! I applied a dressing on the leg (tibia – pl. piszczel). However it hurt for couple of days. The scab (pl. strup) reached Poland for weeks later… This accident influenced our plans in that way that we resigned from hiking in a southern part of Armenia…

LOR

Lor has an orthodox church with a very interesting portal. The villagers opened the church for us. There was only rubbish inside. Allegedly there was a secret passage from the altar to the roof of the church used as a hide in the time of invasion.

O: there are a lot of springs (also mineral or sparkling water) in Armenia from which you can drink water (on you own risk of course, but local do so ).

Vriez tries to repair his vehicle with five other villagers… ;)

Dinner at Vriez cottage house (rus. dacha). We had some meet from the can but cognac/brandy made it good for us. We met Andreas (41).

C: lavash is kind of thin bread. It is very useful: you can dry it and later just sprinkle with water and it is already good to eat! ;)

VILLAGE ON THE END OF THE ROAD

We visited an Orthodox Church in a centre of a village. It was closed - we saw it only from outside. Later on we were in an Orthodox Church on the hill, not in the village (hand-made paintings). There were some crosses and rosaries hanging on the walls.

Δ CARAHUNGE, tent

25.VII.2006 (Tue.)

9:00 Vriez picks us up with his UAZ. Way to TATEV MONASTERY leads up&down and so on… 

DEVIL BRIDGE

There is a great view from the road to the canyon below. By the road there is a sparkling/mineral water spring ! Going down the path there is a small hot pool, where you can bath.

TATEV MONASTERY (built 895-906, 12th century church)

In the monastery the first thing that catches an eye is a crane, used probably for a renovation ;)… There is a spring in the monastery. The whole complex is quite complicated, with a lot of small passages and hidden chambers. The yard is filled with majestic khachkars. Some of floors are made of marble. There is a grave of ST. GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR.

We had a dinner on the crossroads between roads Goris-Sisian and Tatev 12.000 AMD / 5 pers. (2.400 AMD / pers.). It was quite typical: swine, seasoning (ryhan), white salty cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, bread, beer, tutovka (an alcohol made of arm. tut = ang. quince = pl. pigwa), lemonade, water (no coffee).

SISIAN

RAM STONES PARK

There are some carved stones and khachkars to see near the centre of Sisian, in front of a museum. In fact nothing particularly interesting, what you cannot see anywhere else ;)…

The MUSEUM was already closed, but the guard let us go in. He quickly showed us the stuff and at the exit asked for 2.000 AMD in total… ;) The museum looks like a large house with old things put inside… Some of the exhibits were interesting, but you can see the museum is not very often visited…

We went to a BAR by the second petrol station in the suburbs of the town. We got there quite early, so they had to organise staff for us… Kris and I had one Kilikya Beer, Vriez had something like four or five… The whole day he was not in the mood…

Vriez showed us some Armenian dance, which performed by him rather did not impress us. Later on, in Karabakh we saw a girl dancing at the concert, which we liked much more – Orient style ;)! We watched some Armenians video clips: some were below any criticism (old, fat man in a jail clothing), others were just Russian language versions of international hits and others were quite funny (young macho guys driving big cars through Armenia) ;).

CARAHUNGE

When leaving us Vriez asked how much we will give him for driving us, suggesting about 50 USD per person, which is 200 USD ! After two hours of negotiation he received in total 30 USD (2x10USD from Czechs and 2x5USD from us). In the bar, where we met he told us he can drive us for a fuel. We paid always more for the fuel, he ate and drunk with us. He threatened us that he had a gun (rus. automat) in the garage. He said he will pick us up in the morning and drive us to Sisian, to marshrutka station, whatever we give him money or not… We did not trust him from that time on and decided to sleep somewhere else in case he comes back with a “support” . It was already dark and there were some serpents on the road… That was the most unpleasant situation that happened to us during the whole journey…

Δ by the CARAHUNGE, tent

26.VII.2006 (Wed.)

6:30 We walked to SISIAN. On the way there was another petrol station (first one). A marshrutka driver took us to Sisian for free . We had some time till marshrutka leaves, so we made some food shopping. Vitia&Kris met Vriez in a bar. Allegedly he looked a bit shy and was sorry for the evening before, but did not give the money back… The guys drank cognac and it seemed to be ok. I must admit that he held his word and wanted to pick us up in the morning, although the day before I said we do not want it, but to be honest the case was not 100% clear... He came to marshrutka some minutes before departure and asked if I was offended and he asked me not to be… I think he did wrong, but in the end one should not bear a grudge (pl. zywic uraze), so I said it is already ok and we left to Stepanakert…

v

10:30 Marshrutka Sisian – Stepanakert (via Lacin)

Normally you need a visa for entering (MOUNTAINOUS) NAGORNO-KARABAKH (claiming independence 1987-88, cease fire 1994, NK is not recognised by international community as a country). It costs 25 USD. However we heard from people you can pass without it, so we decided to have a try ;)! There was actually no boarder control. A driver got out from a car for a minute and we drove further. There was not any passport control by the policemen in the country at all ! One can notice that he or she already entered Karabakh by the quality of roads – they were newly built !

STEPANAKERT (Mountainous Karabakh)

We just jumped off from the marshrutka and jumped in to a taxi to get to the Artsakh museum. The museum (two floors) was very interesting: from the Stone Age period, to the heroes of the recent war. There was a photo of a first tank and its operators, as well as the place dedicated to the women snipers… Our good friends Czechs had an appointment with a taxi driver to take them back to Yerevan the same day…

We asked for a place to sleep at the grocery stand. We found ZOYA BABA place at the Sasuntsi Davit Street 19. There were four beds in the room (1.000 AMD / pers.). You should count with it that a stranger will sleep in the same room as you do… For the first night that was the case (one person extra). The second night we slept alone (we liked Stepanakert so much, we decided to stay longer ;)).

There is a great thing to eat: kind of batter (pl. ciasto) with dressing (spices). It is green and very tasty!

At “ZOYA BABA HOSTEL” (that is how we called it ;)) we finally had some hot water to change the bandage at Kris’s leg. The upper part of the injury was ok, but the lower one, deeper and still wet. As a solution I decided to dry it: first of all we put some hydrogen peroxide (pl. woda utleniona) in gel and we put regular powder on it. As we found out later on – it worked!  Later on I found out that one should put “wet to wet” and “dry to dry” injuries…

Mountainous Karabakh is a separate country not acknowledged by the international community. It has its own parliament and president. A new orthodox church is being built in the downtown. Stepanakert was very quiet and peaceful. People were friendly, smiled and look happy. Many buildings were being renovated. Maybe it was because the war was ended and they enjoy the freedom… We met a butcher who opened a bottle with his eye! ;)

C: there was a very interesting thing called “gulanie”. It is not a literal translation, but we understand it that way: when it is not that hot (about 18-20 o’clock), people go out on the streets and walk. They are beautifully dressed: woman with make-up, men trousers and elegant shoes. Men and woman hold their hands while walking (I mean woman+woman and man+man! – it is normal ;)). They walk slowly, look around without haste. Good thing is that is does not happen only during the weekend, but also on the regular working days ;)!

In the evening we tried “gulanka” . We really liked it! We have not noticed any hard drunken men, or quarrels or fights…

Of course going back home we lost our way (we not that drunk ;)), but we came across a youth hostel, but do not ask me where was it ;)…

ΔΔ “ZOYA BABA HOSTEL”

27.VII.2006 (Thu.)

9:00 Marshrutka STEPANAKERT – GANDZASAR (500 AMD / pers.)

The road up to some kilometres before the village is good. From the GANDZASAR we had to walk a bit to the top of the hill. When we walked - before the monastery - there were lizards sneaking away just in front of us.

GANDZASAR MONASTERY (13th century)

Looks like being renovated and well cared for (pl. zadbany).

We saw a priest for the first time on this trip. He wore black robe and a huge golden cross on his chest. He himself was big, too.

GANDZASAR

There was an American style hotel in the shape of a boat. Beneath was an artificial waterfall and swimming pool. We found it as rather trashy (pl. tandetny).

Marshrutka went back at 15:00. We almost missed it, because it goes back from another place than it arrives… ;)

STEPANAKERT

At Zoya’s place there was no bathroom, so you have to wash yourself in a basin outside the house ! Zoya (82), her sister and other woman told us about the war, that when people hear an aircraft, they were afraid of bombs, everyone has lost someone from a family…

For me Stepanakert will be remembered as a “city of women” … Because of the losses during the war and guarding boarders with Azerbaijan in the time being, there were very few men in Stepanakert…

We were at the concert of a guy from Yerevan. Average age of audience was about 14-15 ;)… People were sitting in chairs. During the concert of a star there was a dance performed by a woman. The music was disco/hits – not exactly our type, but as an experience it was interesting. They were so friendly, that they let us go in for free (we were a bit late) ... Normally it cost 600 AMD / pers.

For the evening part of a centre is closed to have space for “gulanka”. There was a huge video screen with some competition like Eurovision transmitted from Russia. There was a performer from Karabakh, too! 

ΔΔ “ZOYA BABA HOSTEL”

28.VII.2006 (Fri.)

One of the women collected money for a trip to Russia to her parents who abandoned her in the childhood. We gave her 10 EUR each. That was surprising she did not want to take it at all. We knew how much she really needed it (they tried to sell some pots), but she refused to accept it till Zoya convinced her…

Marshrutka STEPANAKERT – SHUSHI (SHOUSHI) (200 AMD / pers.)

A guide-woman from the museum told us about an “umbrella” (rus. zontik), which was a allegedly a good place to put a tent. We did not try it, because we stayed at Zoya’s place.

It was written in a tourist guide there was a church in Shushi. It was – but modern ;)… Keep in mind: if it is not written from which century, it means it is modern!  That was actually not what we expected… But it was built like the old one (construction) ;)!

We tried to hitchhike, but the traffic was rather poor ... Finally a car stopped and offered to take us to Goris for 5.000 AMD (2.500 AMD / pers.). We were bored of waiting, so we jumped in!  We slept almost the whole way so I did not even noticed when we passed the “boarder” ;)…

15:00 GORIS

Till 18:30 we waited for any marshrutka to Getap. The guy from the car told us there will be one, other people told us the will be none, than he told us there was nothing coming today – so probably his previous opinion was to eager us to drive with him to Goris for money… Well, shit happens… 

While eating by a shop (great smoked cheese! ) some kids gave us three cucumbers! How nice ! We rewarded with a some pencils! ;)

People wanted to drive us to Getap, but it was too expensive for us. We decided to have a walk.

We met an American guy – Jazz – who was saying to the locals he was from Poland (not to be associated with wellness and not to be associated with a country that is terribly poor) ;)… First of all he was saying he is from South Africa, but the locals could not catch it, how can he not be black – so he switched to Polish origin ;)…

When we went out from the city we started to hitchhike. We caught car to the crossing of the roads Goris / Sisian / Tatev (we had a dinner at the place before). Just after a couple of minutes there appeared a marshrutka. We got to intersection Getap/ Yeghegnadzor.

Δ 200 m before GETAP, by the river, among onions and with a huge black-yellow spider 

29.VII.2006 (Sat.)

We walked towards SEVAN LAKE.

Hitchhike 5-7 km for free .

Hitchhike BMW to Martuni. Unfortunately there was a bad weather on the pass… 

MARTUNI

On the market I received two peaches for free. Later on I bought half a kilo ! I had my sandals repaired (500 AMD for stitching shoes around). We had a dinner in the restaurant: 2x shashlik, 1x kebab, bread, tea, coffee – 3.500 AMD (1.750 AMD / pers.) There was a very pleasant service – a nice Russian woman.

Marshrutka MARTUNI – NORADUZ

The weather was rather bad, it rained…

In NORADUZ a guy by the petrol station expected some gifts from travellers, but he was too insistent (pl. nachalny) to receive one…

There was an interesting cemetery on the hill.

We met a shepherd grandma. He was very happy as he received a cap for his grandson from us! It is beautiful how relatively easy you can make people happy – great!  We met a couple from Quebec. They endorsed us to trek Debed Canyon.

Hitchhike to LAKE SEVAN (75km x 37 km, max. depth 100m – before lowering water level)

The guy took us, when we got off he wanted 5 USD for two of us, without saying anything earlier … As usually in such cases he threatened that he would kill us and so on… He was for 30 years a taxi driver and knew all other taxi drivers standing by the road… He received 1.000 AMD / pers. and by mistake a company cap (I wanted to give it to his for a drive)... Anyway - Bastard! 

We had a shitty weather and it was very cold .

A drunken guy trying to get us to the birthday party… We were too tired and not in a mood, but he repeated himself couple times being very funny ;).

Talk with a guard of bisetkas (benches+tables).

Δ LAKE SEVAN (west side, full of cows’ shits)

30.VII.2006 (Sun.)

We walked for about 2h towards Sevan along the lake.

SEVAN MONASTERY (SEVANAVANK, 874 AD)

There were two orthodox churches beautifully situated on a peninsula, on the hill with a view to the lake. On the peninsula itself, the president of Armenia had its fenced house (guarded by soldiers) and there was an Armenian Orthodox Church Seminary.

During the weekends there were a lot of people.

There are camping sites: 1.500 AMD / tent or 7.000 AMD / container. There were relatively clean lavatories, running cap water and some benches+tables (rus. bisetka) – you had to pay extra for it. We took a tent - of course - on the north side ;)… The south side was less windy, had more sun, warmer, but there was a lot of people, smoke from BBQs, noise from discos and bars.

We even saw hummers (terrain cars) – Kris for the first time in his life !

We witnessed a fight on the camp site with women screaming, but it was the only time in Armenia.

In the evening we had our first Armenian wine (Areni). Although during a day south side of peninsula looked booming, in the evening at 23:00 there were already no dances and very few people…

Δ SEVAN PENINSULA (north side)

31.VII.2006 (Mon.)

One Armenian asked me if I had anything to grill at. I did not have, but I found some wires he was satisfied with. He invited us for a breakfast: aubergine (pl. bakłażan), tomatoes, lot of vodka. We danced till 12:00 hearing a loud music from a car – it was fun!  The guys were from Yerevan: Tommy – the diamonds jeweller and three other guys (among them a former samba world champion with a 20cm scarf from a knife) and one woman.

Not fully sober we said goodbye and decided to try some crawfishes (rus. rak). They hold them in the cages in the lake. They were green when uncooked and red when ready to eat – unfortunately they were cooked alive…  We had four pieces each for 1.500 AMD / pers.

Hitchhike with a policeman/military guy to DILIJAN. He bought us a corn !

Marshrutka Dilijan – HAGHARTSIN (150 AMD / pers.)

HAGHARTSIN MONASTERY (12th century)

From the road you have to go 6,5 km up the hill. It is a beautiful remote area with some places for BBQ. The monastery complex was well preserved. We saw there for the first time on our trip some nice postcards to buy… On the way back we saw a killed serpent on the road…

Hitchhike Haghartsin to 7km before Gosh

Hitchhike 7km before Gosh to Gosh – marshrutka for free !

It is about 4 km walk to GOSH from the river level. The monastery GOSHAVANK is situated centrally in the village. Accidentally we met a guide grandma, who worked in a monastery for about 30-35 years and she let us sleep by the monastery .

There was a lot of kids playing and sliding down the hill on a crushed 1,5l plastic bottle …

Δ GOSHAVANK (built by Mkhitar Gosh in 1188 AD)

01.VIII.2006 (Tue.)

There is a museum consisting of two rooms in this monastery complex (a voluntary contribution). A guide grandma can tell you about the monastery, too. For example: earlier there were some jewels attached to khachkars, but the invaders stole the stones. The only thing left are holes after it… We saw an eagle !

There was a lake about 2 km from the village, but we did not find the way… Kris was leading ;)…

Walk from Gosh to the road Dilijan – Vanadzor.

Hitchhike / taxi - intersection Gosh / Dilijan – Vanadzor – Vanadzor (700 AMD / pers.)

Bus Vanadzor – Gyumri (450 AMD / pers.)

Bus Gyumri – Marmashen (100 AMD / pers.)

We took some funny photos with an old car wreck ;). The monastery was about 2 km away from the village. On the way there was a “fish breeding pool”.

MARMASHEN MONASTERY (built 988-1029 AD)

Very beautifully situated church – in the valley, by the river, surrounded by an orchard!

We went back to the pond to fish, but without a success. However, there were a couple of ultra sweet puppies! 

Δ MARMASHEN MONASTERY (in the river valley)

02.VIII.2006 (Wed.)

There were two waterfalls, which can serve as COLD showers !

Bus from a village (which one? – dunno…) – Gyumri

Bus Gyumri – Artik

Bus Artik – Haritch (very helpful grandma in a bus, although she did not speak Russian…)

HARITCHAVANK (7th–8th century)

We met the father of Gagik, the guy described in Lonely Planet. They both were very dear… We gathered a couple of men. Ashtot promised us to organise a place in a truck going to the shepherds’ summer camp in the mountains for free ! We intended to go towards former volcano Mt. Aragats (4090 m high).

We made some shopping and bough ice-creams for the guys (instead of vodka). One guy was very burdensome (pl. uciążliwy) and wanted money for vodka. A Russian proverb says: “there is no village without a dog”… He received just a little money…

Gagik came later. He told us the history of a monastery (made of tuf – very popular building material in Armenia: better isolation than a brick, no fungus – not as mortar (pl. zaprawa)) and a legend (the columns were once removed by the invaders, but the church was untouched. They got frightened and put the pillars back on their places. Today they stand a bit uneven). Gagik supported us a lot of useful information. He also offered us a stay at his place, but we had to move on…

Ashtot took us to the place where a truck should be. On the way an owner of beehive invited us to his house. The house interior was beautiful. He treated us with honey in different forms (honeycombs – pl. plaster miodu) and ayran (pl. +- kefir). Very hospitable welcome ! As a gift we received a jar of honey !

As we were jumping on the truck’s trailer (opened), the sky was very dark. A couple minutes after we started to drive, it began to hail… We were on the truck with three shepherds/farmers. They had some foil to protect them from a hail and rain. We had our “waterproof” jackets, but we got wet from head to foot …

s we reached the summer camp, we started to walk towards Mt. Aragats… As we were coming closer we had an impression that a peak changes its localisation …

There were no footpaths or anything…

We were just going to the azimuth … Till we came to the very steep river valley, which we did not see earlier… We decided to go a little bit lower and reach its tributary (pl. dopływ), but Kris went to the very bottom of the valley … It was getting dark, we had no visual or voice contact, but we fortunately found each other (but there was a bit of stress)… You walk there through bare stones. From time to time you come across a spider’s web – a very strong one: you feel resistance when trying to break it with a leg. The spiders are also cute ;)… By the river we saw some tents of shepherds.

Δ MT. ARAGATS Mountains (in the river valley)

03.VIII.2006 (Thu.)

We wanted to start walking early, but it was either dark or too wet…

First of all we had to cross the river which had a couple of arms – barefoot ! Brr…  The distance we walked the previous day accidentally down, we had to make up for it that day, which was quite tiring, especially, because there were no trails, you walk through bushes, stones, springs and so on … Good we were mostly hidden in shadow !

We reached a plateau (pl. płaskowyż) and it started to hail. It hail from this moment on almost all the time with short breaks . First of all we wanted to wait till the hail stops, but later on we came to the conclusion it made no sense…

As we reached ridge (pl. grań), we thought we were almost on Aragats. It was not true, of course !

We have hidden our big backpack, took only indispensable (pl. niezbędne) things and headed towards the peak. It changed it localisation a couple of times again … We run out of water, so we started to drink from the hollows in the stones. There was a plenty of water from the sky anyway ! From this time on the road led through slippery stones with hail on it, wind, rain and cold, but it was possible to avoid a snow.

Finally we reached the peak, the one with a metal cross. There was no extraordinary sun, but there were no clouds for a moment, so we enjoyed the gorgeous views ! We had no symptoms of altitude disease. Just a few minutes after we reached the top Kris noticed that his hair was beginning to stand up… It happens before the thunderstorm… We did not even considered reaching the other peaks of Mt. Aragats (there are four of them), especially standing next to the metal cross … After a couple of lightings, we heard some thunderclaps (pl. grom) – on this altitude they are really loud ! Everything motivated us to go as quickly as possible down…

We found our backpacks and reached a plateau on the left-hand side of the ridge going back from the mountain.

We pitched out tent in a heavy rain…

Kris had a terrible leg muscle ache.

A flock (pl. stado) of sheep encountered us. A shepherd corrected our supposing (pl. przypuszczenie) about our localisation. We thought we were heading south, toward Byurakan, but in the fact we were still on the west side of the mountain. The round lake we saw was not the one with a base camp described in Lonely Planet… He told us that Byurakan was about 80-90 km from there and the closest village was Artik, about 35 km away… It is difficult to estimate if the distances were true or not…

Δ MT. ARAGATS Mountains (plateau, west side of the mountain)

03.VIII.2006 (Fri.)

We have to admit we had no good map. We had one map from 1973, scale 1:100.000 (the best what we could find on the web). We could not buy anything better in Armenia, either…

The night on this altitude was really cold !

We decided to check the info from the shepherd and we walked towards our round lake (NW). The shepherds we met confirmed former unfavourable info… So we started to walk (Kris had leg muscle ache!)… We managed to catch an UAZ, which took us about 5 km.

The most dangerous thing was dogs of the shepherds. Really be aware of them! People told us that if they approach one should squad (pl. kucać) and have a stone in a hand. Did not work…  We came across a couple of pack of these dogs, but normally there was one, two and seldom three of them. Normally there was a shepherd which told the dog be calm and quiet.

Once it was not the case: we were going about 0,5-1 km away from a settlement. First of all we saw three dogs running, than another three and behind them two more… We were walking in a distance with Kris, so they had two targets… I tried to protect myself with a backpack (going backward and putting it in front of the legs), tried to squat, but there was no effect. We simply retreated, hoping they do not bite us. After couple of minutes someone finally came out of the settlement and started to call off the dogs, but they were not very obedient… I noticed that if you look back, they attack you again… Fortunately they did not bite us and we went away, but it was tough… By the way: a Caucasian shepherd’s dog can weight up to 100 kg…

When going down out feet began to “melt” – it was extremely hot again…

When going to the town a taxi driver stopped and offered us a ride for a donation or for free. It was what we needed ! We gave him 500 AMD as a reward. He brought us to the place, from which marshrutkas were going to Yerevan. We had a beer, which tasted awesome !

Marshrutka ARTIK – YEREVAN

YEREVAN

By the bus station there were some good street bars and fast foods. In the Republic Square there was free tourist information, but much better one was Armenian Tourist Information on one of the streets by the Republic Square (former Lenin Square).

They can arrange a place for you (phone call). We received a place by Anahit (around 60) for 4.500 AMD / pers. / night. As we found out later, she was in a new edition of Lonely Planet and that was the reason why we had to pay that much. The place was very interesting, because there were paintings everywhere (Anahit’s father). She can support you with any kind of information. She can arrange a laundry/washing machine for 2.000 AMD / 4-5 kg. The conditions were really good. Address: Anahit Avedisian, 5 Soyat-Nova Ave., 3rd. floor apt. #6, Yerevan. Tel. (37410) 581617. 6+key+7510.

In the evening we cultivated “gulanka” ! By the fountain in the Republic Square there was classical music and fountains “dancing” to it… We had some beers in the street gardens … Yerevan was very beautiful. There were a lot of green areas, parks, cafes, fountains, bars and drinkable acid (rus. kwas) . The centre looks well off and peaceful.

Δ YEREVAN (Anahit’s place)

05.VIII.2006 (Sat.)

10:00 Matenadaran (1.000 AMD / pers., if you want a guide 2.000 AMD extra) Manuscripts Museum. It is said there were around 12.000 manuscripts, but for the audience there were only two rooms opened. Anyway it was very impressing – masterpieces! There was also a manuscript of Copernicus, donated by Aleksander Kwasniewski – president of Poland (I wonder why he gave away Polish national heritage?!)…

Mother Armenia can be seen from the Matenadaran museum.

Erebuni Museum and Fortress (1.000 AMD / pers., 782 BC) It was not that impressing. The ruins of fortress were even worse… It is hard to believe the frescoes were orginal…

Blue Mosque (1700 AD)

A very charming Iranian lady showed us around. We had a delightful chat with her! 

Cascade – evening. Great view, another good place for “gulanka” ! Romantic place… On the top there were almost only couple and two of us !

Atlantic Discotheque – endorsed by Tommy and samba world champion. House music, middle size, cool bouncer ;) – first of all wanted money for entrance and later let me go for free (some people had to pay, other not). Kris was not even asked for entrance fee… 

Cheers Pub – for ex-pats. We got screwed in kind of “Erasmus Party” with a lot of Spanish people.

Opera Club – looks prestigious, but is also middle size. Too posh for us! 

Δ YEREVAN (Anahit’s place)

06.VIII.2006 (Sun.)

We visited an Orthodox Church Katoghike among the block of flats. We were lucky, because we landed to a mass. During the transition a curtain is closed, so that a faithful cannot see the altar. A mass was celebrated by a couple of priests. It was accompanied by singing. After a service (pl. nabożeństwo) people eat together, share bread and other food. The main priest blessed particular persons.

Vernissage – painters, flea market.

We sold our fishing rod and windlass (1.000 AMD) (pl. kołowrotek).

Kris bought some cds.

Big orthodox church by the bus station – a new one.

There were a lot of wedding on Sunday…

We had an appointment with Anahit to pick up our clothes at 18:00. She came at 19:00. You have to calculate such things when travelling in the East… Maybe she was not happy we did not stay longer?!…

Bus Yerevan – Echmiadzin (550 AMD / 2 pers.?)

ECHMIADZIN is surrounded by walls. It is situated in the village. This is a place where Catholicos (kind of pope ) lives. There is also seminary (two others are in Gyumri and on the Sevan Peninsula). It has beautiful gardens, a monument for remembering a visit of Pope John Paul II, khachkars and bushes.

O: By the way - you cannot find “Echmiadzin” on the map. The village has a different name (dunno which one ).

Δ Echmiadzin (outside the village)

Kris decided to sleep outside a tent. Suddenly he saw a man going down a path. Once the man saw our tent he run away. Then he sneaked to the tent and sat in the bushes. Kris started a conversation with him, but the guy seemed to be crazy: first of all he said he was a guard and watched out so that people do not bury meadow, then he was looking for a meat (?!), later he offered us a woman and wanted to find out if I (I was laying in the tent) am not dead… From security reasons we decided to move a tent somewhere else.

Δ We put our tent by kind of agricultural farm and slept well …

07.VIII.2006 (Mon.)

Echmiadzin Cathedral (3rd century)

By the entrance, below a bell there is a scorpion on the ceiling. Allegedly there was a spear of a Roman soldier, which stabbed Christ on the Cross! On Mondays the museum is closed …

St.Gayane Orthodox Church

The girl told us a story of a beloved couple. One of them lies there.

St.Maria Orthodox Chuch

St.Hripsime Orthodox Church

Bus Echmiadzin – Zvartnots (250 AMD / pers.)

ZVARTNOTS CATHERDRAL (normally 1.000 AMD / pers., but after negotiating we get in for 500 AMD / pers., 641-661 AD)

Ruins of cathedral…

Marchrutka Zvartnots – Yerevan (250 AMD / pers.)

A bus station to Garni.

O: very hard to find it and to get information when a bus leaves… Good luck !

We met two Czechs: Robert (administration worker) and violin maker (I am sorry – I forgot a name).

They just applied for a visa to Karabakh, so they got a bit depressed, as we told them we were in Karabakh, without any visa they got a bit sad ;)! Sorry guys !

Bus Yerevan – Garni (250 AMD / pers.)

Hitchhike Garni – Geghard

GEGHARD MONASTRY

It is located at the end of a road. The mountains surround it from three sides – very climatic ! Here allegedly was stored a spear of a Roman soldier, which stabbed Christ on the Cross prior to moving it to Echmiadzin! I felt like Indiana Jones! Part of a church is in the rock. When you enter, the birds are flying away. A spring begins in one of churches… Going up the mountains you encounter a lot of bushes with clothes strips on it. There were also a couple of caves.

Δ GEGHARD (on the hill, with the view to the monastery)

08.VIII.2006 (Tue.)

GEGHARD MONASTRY (4th century, church in rock 6th century)

It was so impressing, that we had to have a look for the second time (caves by the entrance).

Hitchhike Geghard – Garni on an opened truck

GARNI TEMPLE (Hellenistic, 1st century AD)

It looks like a Greek temple. Beautiful mountains and river valley surround it.

One can see it has been renovated and it distracts a bit the atmosphere…

Bus Garni – Yerevan (250 AMD / pers.)

Marshrutkas in Yerevan cost 100 AMD / pers.

O: Sometimes you have to go to Yerevan to get a transport somewhere else…

Marshrutka Yerevan – Hradzor (500 AMD / pers.)

O: great bun with kebab, onion, ketchup, mayonnaise, seasoning and green hot paprika.

Bus Hradzor – Tsakhadzor (100 AMD / pers.)

TSAKHADZOR

We met a guy (around 45) who was for six years in Poland. He spoke great Polish. He runs a company of paragliding and ski. Address: Simonian Mikhael Joraevitch, Sports & Tourist Club “Troyka”, 21, Bratiev Orbeli Str., Tsakhadzor, Armenia. Tel. (374) 557592, e-mail: armgel@rambler.ru. For example: ski, 10 days inkl. Hotel and food – 450 USD. Paraglide (30 flights), inkl. course – 350 USD.

TSAKHADZOR MONASTERY

“Gulanka” in the town square. Kids trying to be our friends and asking for money… 

Δ TSAKHADZOR (out of the city, by the river)

09.VIII.2006 (Wed.)

Bus Tsakhadzor – Hradzor (100 AMD / pers.)

Marshrutka Hradzor – Road to Sevan (100 AMD / pers.)

Hitchhike/car Road to Sevan – Dilijan (1.000 AMD / pers.) – a carpet was ised as upholstery (pl. tapicerka) 

Hitchhike/car Dilijan – Vanadzor (500 AMD / pers.)

Bus Vanadzor – Odzun (550 AMD / pers.)

ODZUN CHURCH (6th century)

For the first time we spoke with a priest. He opened a church for us and let us through, even sang for us !

ODZUN RUINS OF A MONASTERY

It is beautifully situated by the cliff. There is another church attached to the cliff, but I could not find any path to it (cliffs were very steep). I do not know how people could built it and attend it…

There were eagles flying above us.

Δ ODZUN (behind ruins of a monastery)

10.VIII.2006 (Thu.)

Lot of ants in a backpack… 

This day there were five eagles. Their flight is very majestic…

By the monastery grows Indian hemp… ;)

Walk down the hill and later to the road…

Hitchhike Odzun – Road to Debed River Level

ALAVERDI

Marshrutka Alaverdi – Alaverdi Brigde ( AMD / pers.)

Bus Alaverdi Brigde – Sanahin

Bus Sanahin – Sanahin Monastery

SANAHIN MONASTERY (started in 900 AD, library built in 1062 AD, flourishing in 12th century)

There were gravestones put on a floor in a church.

Kids accosting (pl. zaczepiać) tourists.

Bus Sanahin - Alaverdi Brigde

O: You can eat blackberries by the road.

Hitchhike Haghpat Road (military guy)

Hitchhike Haghpat Road - Haghpat Monastery (Jermuk van)

HAGHPAT MONASTERY

A woman quarrelling and yelling for all the time 

We found a great place for a tent in a valley by a river, behind bushes.

A trip to restaurant, but it was closed (if it ever was opened )

Δ HAGHPAT (in a valley by a river, behind bushes)

11.VIII.2006 (Fr.)

Food left on a tree in a container was gone. The container was destroyed… Anxious thing…

Bus Haghpats – Armenian/Georgian Border

We wanted to go only to the next village, but we passed it and the bus came directly to the boarder.

O: to leave Armenia, you have to be checked out. That means that if you stayed longer than your visa foresees, you have to pay extra (allegedly 3 USD / day). Anyway you have to be patient on the border… In our case it lasted about 2h. For marshrutkas it takes even longer…

Some language points:

Polish pronunciation: Barev dzez - hello

Polish pronunciation: Es kez sirumen – I love you

Polish pronunciation: Shnorhakalutsun (shnorhakal-em) – thank you

Polish pronunciation: Hadjogh – bye

GEORGIA

Stalin originates from Georgia (Gori). He attended even seminary…

SADAKHLO

Marshrutka Sadakhlo – Marneuli – Tbilisi

Marshrutka Tbilisi – Rustaveli

RUSTAVELI

We had some Russian pirogi ! We received a very nice welcome!

Marshrutka Rustaveli – Gardabani

A taxi to Davit Gareja costs 50 GEL. We did not take the offer…

In a village a former taxi driver offered to take us there, but he said it was 100 km away from Gardabani, which we did not believe…

O: There are not so many springs in Georgia as in Armenia or they are harder to find…

Δ GARDABANI (in the field, with mosquitoes)

The dogs were howling…

12.VIII.2006 (Sat.)

Hitchhike Gardabani – Gandzar

No taxi to Davit Gareja from there.

GANDZAR

A lady gave us water from a well. She warned us of going on foot or even by a taxi to David Gareja. She told us that a taxi driver will use his mobile to inform bandits to rob us. She claimed they can kill us just for a tent or anything and that everyone has a gun at home. She wanted us to leave Georgia and go to Turkey. She was Azeri and very good for us, treated us like sons, gave us breakfast, but she exaggerated a bit…

Bus Gandzar – Gardabani

Anyway we took a taxi to Davit Gareja. The guy looked honest, he was with son. We bartered 25 GEL and warm trousers, as well as sweater for a transport. We gave hand gloves and cap for free ! Although when he started to phone on the way I recollected what the lady in Gandzar said… 

We wanted in the beginning to walk to Davit Gareja, but everyone on the way advised us against it. They were right – the road leads through a desert and it is about 30 km away from the closest village. The view were cosmic… You can see Azerbaijan, too !

DAVIT GAREJA (6th century)

There was a monastery in which live seven people. They do not let you hang around everywhere, but a yard is accessible. Than you have to go up the mountains to see two churches and allegedly up to 70 caves with beautiful frescoes, some in a very good condition! It really makes impression! You can also see a huge amount of giant lizards sneaking around.

We had two hours to see everything – a bit few… Try to bargain at least three! 

Taxi Davit Gareja – GARDZABANI

Marshrutka Gardabani – Tbilisi

Marshrutka Tbilisi (0,5 GEL / pers.)

We drove to MTSKETA (former capital of Georgia)

Samtavro Church (?)

A Georgian Catholicos was buried on a yard recently. Man should wear trousers (this applies to some other churches, too). You can place a thing that you always carry with you for a couple of minutes at Catolocos’s tomb. That should bring good luck to you.

Women can enter the Orthodox Church in scarves. You can simply borrow it. They are lying by the door.

Jvari – seen from a car.

We were invited to a dinner in a restaurant with friends (eight people). Georgians are very generous. We wanted to participate in a dinner, but we had problem to buy anything for them at all.

ΔΔ TBILISI (Ana’s place)

13.VIII.2006 (Sun.)

Holy Trinity Church – a new gigantic church built in the centre of a city.

TV tower – there will be a beautiful restaurant with long pillars. It is being renovated recently. It offers a great panorama of the city.

Turtle Lake with picnic !

Old Tbilisi – a great ice coffee .

Dinner at Ana’s place – tasty pielmeni.

There are a lot of old beautiful buildings in Tbilisi (which means hot spring) in comparison to Poland (where most of them were destroyed during the World War II). The buildings in the capital of Georgia have also great balconies, verandas and palms. The city has wide streets and underground (metro). River “Kura” (rus.) (eng. chicken) flows through Tbilisi (1.515 km long). Most famous king is Wachtang Gorgasal. National spirit is “czacza”. Georgia is also famous for wines. There is Mother Georgia statue in Tbilisi.

ΔΔ TBILISI (Ana’s place)

14.VIII.2006 (Mon.)

Walk through Tbilisi: thermal springs, mosque, synagogue, fortress, churches.

We had ostri at the bus station.

Marshrutka Tbilisi – Kobuleti (16 GEL / pers.). Takes about 6 hours with three 15 min. breaks.

KOBULETI

The place never goes to sleep. On both sides of the road a day and night there were shops opened. It was a tourist area so it was expensive. We heard that Batumi was for adults and Kobuleti for youngsters. You can just enter the house you like and ask for an accommodation. They prefer that there comes a whole bunch of people and they stay forever ;)… As usually in resorts…  We found an accommodation for 7-8 GEL / pers. / night, but the conditions were terrible: a passage-room with fungus on the walls... However we spent there a couple hours at night and there was a decent latrine and hot water in bathroom.

We went with Muka (son of the owner of the house) to the disco (5 GEL / pers.). Beer 3 GEL / bottle. There were a couple of discos by the beach (at the number of the street round 550, near Intourist hotel). What was curios they were of a similar quality, but only these discos where you have to pay for admission there were people…

The bartenders were juggling ! Some guys were laying on the bars, bartender poured drinks directly to the mouth.

ΔΔ KOBULETI (accommodation)

15.VIII.2006 (Tue.)

KOBULETI

There are marshrutkas from suburbs to the city centre (0,5 GEL / pers.). The water is allegedly better in Kobuleti than in Batumi and it is cleaner in the suburbs than in the centre. There was a brand new train station in Kobuleti. We bought a ticket to Tbilisi (10 GEL / pers., inkl. sheets)

Marshrutka Kobuleti – Batumi (1 GEL / pers.)

BATUMI (on the Black See)

The city is a great resort: people walking in bathing suits on the streets, beautiful promenade with bamboos, palms and colourful buildings. There is a market by the bus station.

In the evening “gulanka”.

ΔΔ KOBULETI (accommodation)

16.VIII.2006 (Wed.)

Sunbathing… The sea was very warm and not very salty. There were mostly rock beaches…

Marshrutka to the city centre.

There was no left-luggage office, but nice ladies at the counters can place your backpack in the back office !

Sunbathing…

By the city centre there were no such big discos as by Intourist hotel, rather restaurants with a dance floor.

ΔΔ Train 23:50 Kobuleti – Tbilisi (very good conditions ).

17.VIII.2006 (Thu.)

Janashia State Museum. Normally there are four floor, but first to third were being renovated. We attended an exhibition of gold, jewellery and carpets (temporal exhibition). 3 GEL / pers. (students 1,5 GEL / pers.)

Market outside the city (Loli/Lilo?).

Super dinner at Ana’s place: dolmy (pl. golabki), aubergine and home wine.

There is a great tradition of having toasts. There is a person – tomada – who is responsible for pouring

drinks and drinking. The toasts have a deeper meaning and are rather serious and very ceremonial.

ΔΔ TBILISI (Ana’s place)

18.VIII.2006 (Fr.)

5:00 wake up

7:25 plane Tbilisi – Moscow

Moscow Airport

We almost missed the flight: we should have been at the Transfer Office at 16:00. We were after personal luggage control 17:20, but without a boarding pass . At the Transfer Office they told us, they can not let us go to the plane (it was too late)… After a bit of running, calls and stress we fortunately got two last places in a plane !

17:55 plane Moscow – Warsaw

18:20 Poland, Warsaw – rain and cold… (2,40 pln / bus from the airport to the Central Train Station).

19:25 Entering a train to Poznan without tickets… 

23:00 Poznan, home, sweet home… 