Hi guys.
I took a week of vacation after my business trip to pick up a parcel in Armenia, I didn't dare to pick up things from rf personally. For readers from other countries or for those who have turned a blind eye to the last year and a half - going back to rf now is not an option for me, for my opinion on the war you can at least get a fine, and most likely a prison sentence. Instead of the possibility of being interrogated and punished, I chose to do two things at once - useful and pleasant, more precisely to pick up parcels with personal belongings and take a drive to interesting places.
Armenia in many ways confirmed the stereotypes about the Armenian people, both the good ones and all the others. The first cab driver at the airport tried to take me to the wrong place and deceive me, but everything turned out only with a little scolding and searching for a new cab. Further there were only good impressions - hospitality, excellent cuisine, fine wine and friendliness of locals. Besides, in Armenia we managed to meet with former colleagues and talk about the present over mugs of beer and glasses of wine. Huge numbers of Russians are hiding from mobilization and state institutions in neighboring countries, where you can live in peace without learning a new language - Armenia wins here over Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in terms of climate and Christian culture.
Yerevan's calling card is a cascade of fountains. Inside there is an escalator for the lazy.
95% of the population is Christian, even though almost all of the country's neighbors are Islamic.
Another beautiful church. Almost all the buildings are made of tufa, but it looks much worse in photos than in realit
Not far from Yerevan there is the fortress and temple of Garni - it is a pagan temple, which is more than 2000 years old.
It could very well be some very distant relative of mine (or yours) put a lot of meaning into those words.
This must have been a place where sacrifices were made or some important relic stood
admire the detail of the preserved elements
The remains of the fortress
I was pleased with my visit to this place. A real and accessible part of ancient history.
Apart from the temple, this place just has fabulous views of the mountains.
It's hard to imagine how thousands of years ago people like me walked here, overcame thousands of kilometers on foot through these beautiful places.
On my last day in Armenia there were rallies because of the armed conflict with Azerbaijan. I have not seen such peaceful rallies for a long time. The police were doing what police should do at peaceful rallies - to protect law and order and let people peacefully express their opinions. After the Russian rallies it looks unusual.
It was a pleasure to visit Armenia, hopefully not the last time.