Trees....

Most of Armenia is rugged, bleak and treeless. Like much of the Mediterranean and Middle East, the forests disappeared centuries ago and overgrazing (by goats in particular) and the resulting change in climate, has meant that the forest has never recovered and the landscape remains desolate.

However in the northeast of Armenia towards the Georgian border, the altitude dips to 350 metres resulti in a warmer, wetter micro climate and green lush forests.  The area around the main town of town of Dilijan has long been a popular summer retreat for locals and Russians as far back as the nineteenth centre.

It is so wet that the newly constructed International School even has a thick turf roof.























Naturally there is yet another medieval monastery located in the verdant district - in this case the Haghartsin. Of the three churches in the complex, the oldest dates to the 13th century.

Lake Sevan - ecological disaster

In the heart of the Armenia highlands is the huge Lake Sevan, also known as the Armenian Sea. Covering 950sq km (Lake Taupo is 620), the level of the lake was lowered by 18m in the 1940s and 50s in order to create more arable land around the lake. To increase fish stocks new species of fish were introduced to lake. The result was an ecological disaster and is it not surprising that one of the engineers behind the project, Soukias Manasserian, was also an engineer on the catastrophic Aral Sea project.

The new fish species drove the indigenous species to the brink of extinction and the lower levels led to a toxic algae bloom, not previously seen before. In more recent years, environmentalists have campaigned to have the lake levels raised. While the process of raising the water level is not difficult, in the intervening years, homes, businesses and hotels have been built along the shores, many of which are owned by influential and politically powerful people.

Of course the lake is the home of an important religious complex dating back to the 7th century. Once an island, the ancient churches are now high and dry on a peninsula.

Karahunj or Armenian Stonehenge

In the south of the country on a high plateau is a complex of over 200 standing stones and an ancient iron barrow grave. Dating to around 5000BC, the complex is usually described as the 'world's oldest astronomical observatory' and is much older than both Stonehenge and the Pyramids.

The claim for an observatory is based on the fact that 47 stones have holes drilled in them and were used to study the night sky and that one of the avenue of stones align with the summer solstice. However, both these theories have since been debunked and the holes in the stones maybe have supported a substantial wooden structure and the whole complex is more likely to be an elaborate burial site.



Regardless of purpose, site is impressive covering over 5 hectares and is set in a stunningly beautiful location.

A bookshop? Maybe.

Tucked away in a quiet part of Yerevan is a small second hand bookshop. Located in a former cigarette and cigar store, the shop has retained a beautiful old interior of carved wooden fixtures and fittings. However, there are very few books. The English 'section' had just five books including a substantial Finnish/English dictionary and Linda Goodman's Star Signs for 2010 - which is handy if you want to see how your 2010 turned out against Ms Goodman's horoscope predictions.

I asked an Armenian friend about the bookshop but he didn't know the place and when I said that it must be almost impossible to make money out of such a shop, he merely shrugged smiled and replied 'Maybe they don't sell books and sell something else....' 

Republic Square, the heart of Yerevan

The pride of Soviet/Armenian architecture is the vast and stylish Republic Square, originally called Lenin Square. Designed by Russian born Armenian architect Alexander Tamanian, construction began in 1924 and was completed by 1929, though further developments continued through to 1958. 

Pride of place on the north eastern side of the square is the National Museum and Art Gallery opened in 1929. Built of light creamy stone, the gallery/museum contrasts with the pink tufted stone of the surrounding buildings. 

Oval in shape, the square is paved with stones designed to look like a traditional rug from the air.

The main government buildings around the square are all constructed from pink volcanic stone, art deco in style and decorated with Armenian motifs. A common building material, the distinctive coloured stone gives the city it's nickname "The Pink City".

The recent protests over the electricity prices rises were in this square (if they made the international news).

Coffee

The wine might be unreliable but the coffee is really great!

Although it is boiled on a stove in a small pot, Armenian coffee is no where near as thick and heavy as Turkish coffee. It is more like Italian espresso. 

They are eating our butter over here

Fonterra must be doing a good job as my small local supermarket stocks New Zealand butter, though it comes wrapped up in Russian packaging.

Homemade is not always best

Wine making in Armenia dates back 6000 years (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-12158341).

Unfortunately this long experience has not universally resulted in good wine. There are excellent Armenian wines and if you come across the Norovank and Karas labels, they are certainly worth buying. Even though these good wines cost less than $10, this is far too expensive for most cash strapped locals.

Popular wine is a good deal more basic and cheaper. Everywhere along the roadsides stalls sell homemade wine. Some is pretty drinkable and some is not. The frugal nature of Armenians means that any useful container is used for wine. Those two litre Coke bottles are particularly popular and these sell for about $3.00.

While the homemade wine is worth a try, the locally made vodka is a good deal more questionable, though very popular with the locals. You can have plain vodka or vodkas in a variety of flavours. Good luck to you drinking that!!

Tatev

Tatev stones

Tatev is a monastery complex in the south of Armenia near the Iranian border. A Christian church was built here in the fourth century replacing a pagan temple (Despicable as it is, the ISIS destruction of 'pre-Islamic' religions is nothing new).  The oldest building still standing dates back to the 9th century and over the centuries the monastery has been looted many times despite its isolation and formidable position. The greatest damage, however, was caused by an earthquake in 1931.

The site is spectacular. Surrounded by rugged mountains and deep rocky gorges, the monastery itself is built on outcrop protected on three sides by sheer cliffs.

Armenian churches are very plain, more Protestant than Orthodox, the explanation being that rich decoration, icons and precious religious vessels only serves to attract baddies.



The Tatev tower and stone piles are apparently unique constructions designed to detect the heavy footfall of approaching enemies. When the stone shake, the inhabitants are warned to close the gates and prepare for battle.

Goat country

Armenia is seriously mountainous and rugged. The lowest elevation is 350m on the Georgian border and the highest point is Mt Aragats at 4090m - average elevation is 1800m. In addition it is a country of deep gorges, steep valleys and sheer cliffs. While is makes for death dying roads, it also has fantastic tramping and spectacular vistas.

Wild rivers, snowy mountains and waterfalls create an amazing backdrop to small villages located in places almost impossible to reach. Like everywhere in the world these small isolated villages are half empty with young people preferring the bright lights of Yerevan to alpine quiet.

Within Yerevan city elevation varies between 700 and 1300 metres, though the city centre is mercifully flat.

A common sight in the mountains are old but incredibly rugged Russian trucks that slowly grind up the narrow mountain roads.