The 2012 UNESCO World Book Capital (what
every that entails)
After my first impressions of the boarder personnel I was
expecting a very Russian city and to be honest, I’m not quite sure what I got.
You see I’d not spent a huge amount of time thinking about what I would do in
Armenia. Like most places on the trip I had heard the name, thought ‘Oh that
sounds good’ and hurried off to visit the place, with a general Australiany
direction all I needed in terms of Justifications.
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| They even empty the bins are |
After my first walk around Yerevan the Armenian Capital I
was very impressed. The city is covered in 4G mobile signals and wifi is
available for free practically all over the city. The entire centre of the city
is (or at least the bits I should see) were all concentrated in an inner ring
road around the city. Then roads are set in grid fashion to allow for easy
navigation. The boulevards are tree lined and wide enough to easily compete
with the Parisian style it imitates so brilliantly. I couldn’t help but think
that Yerevan could actually be a little Paris, without the Eiffel tower (and
without the dirt).
Accompanied by Tiko (my local guide) I was shown the
impressive Republic Square, which I’m told is one of the most beautiful public
squares in the world. Having just 24 hours ago been looking at Tbilisi Republic
square It wasn’t difficult for me to believe this to be true. We saw different churches which could really
be missed if blinked, to be honest if I hadn’t have had Tiko with me to point
them out I probably wouldn’t have realised they were churches at all. We passed
by the major attractions of the City, The Yerevan Museum, and The Yerevan Opera
House and obviously waved at Mother Armenia. I was surprised to see, in the
country which prides itself on being the first place a Christian Church was
build, numerous mosques, maybe I’d had too many preconceived ideas about what I
would expect to find in this Ex Soviet Republic. I learned about the governments
future plans to grow the city and how the country as a whole hopes to be
accepted into the European Union soon and as such the visa restrictions will be
being altered from January 2013; and Yerevan is rated as one of the fastest
developing capitals in region.
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| Republic Square |
With a couple of days here to relax my time didn’t feel so
precious and so I was able to do that one important thing I hadn’t done much of
during my time in the Istanbul and Tbilisi hostels, Sleep! I had treated myself
to a private room, No dorm! How exciting! I even had a lie in, with breakfast
and a film! Oooh the wonders of having a private room will never cease to amaze
me! On a brisk and dry afternoon after a long lie in, I decided I would visit
the Cafesjian Museum of Art. This trip involved my attempt at using the subway
here. I had previously used the Tbilisi subway and was grateful for their dual
English/Georgian Script signs, and I, wrongly, assumed I would be able to find
similar signs on the Yerevan underground. I bought my ticket, which wasn’t a
ticket at all but a plastic coin which I placed into a barrier much like the
ones you see on the London underground and I boarding the escalator to descend
into the world of the Yerevan Subway system. The decoration were very ornate
and much more attention had been paid to the aesthetics of the public transport
station, however all sigs, all announcements were in Armenian language and
script. I guess since I was in Armenia, this is something I should expect after
all, Market Street Tram Stop in Manchester only displays text in English
script. Either way I was under ground or I was going to use this underground
train system, even if I would be guessing where I was going, after all isn’t
getting lost half of the fun? The gods of luck were clearly on my side and
after two stops I found myself exactly where I wanted to be, outside the Cafesjian
Museum of Art (but modern art).
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| Does My Bum Look big is this? |
I had passed this
earlier with Tiko but had not ventured up it. The Museum of Modern art was
bizarre. The entire design has incorporated a massive stair case to either side
of the building which gave way to many terraces. On these steps and terraces
where many statues, installations, art pieces (whatever you want to call them really)
set against a back drop of the city far below. It was here I saw my favourite monument;
a big fat naked woman lay on the floor without a care in the world. She must
have been freezing, I had a leather jacket and gloves on and my nipples could
still have cut ice, but she didn’t seem to care. She was a trouper! Once at the
bottom of the gallery, I was approached by a young boy, maybe 12 or 13 who was
trying, hopelessly to sell hand painted impressionist style pictures of the
gallery building. As nice as they were I explained that I was not interested in
buying any (if only I knew the Armenian for I don’t have a wall to hang it on)
when he laughed at me, shook his head and gave me one, telling me it was his
gift to me. A little sceptical I questioned him a little more until I felt I
was on the edge of looking ungrateful and I took the gift he had given me. I
now need to find me a wall to hang it on!
Later that night, being a Saturday, I had been invited out
to go clubbing with Tiko. A Saturday night Armenian style, an opportunity not
to be missed. Isn’t it strange how some traditions (such as Saturday nights
out) transcend all cultures (or sometimes it feels like it)? We made our way
down stairs into the first club and I was quickly approached by a ‘Canadian’
with the worst Canadian accent I had ever heard. I later found out he was
Russian and pretending to be Canadian, can’t say I really understand why but let’s
face it you can get strange folk anywhere. We had a few drinks and attempted to
gain access to the dance floor. However when ‘Gangam Style’ came on there was
no chance either of us would find room to strut our funky stuff. Our next bar
wasn’t so great so we didn’t stay long and instead began walking into a multi
story car park, just before I could question where we were going I saw my
question being answered in front of me. A club existed with its entrance off
the car park, a very good idea as you couldn’t hear any noise from the streets
above. With it being my turn to go to the bar I attempted to order 2 vodka and
lemonades, unsuccessful I came back with 2 vodka and lemon juices but at a
little of £1 each, I didn’t mind the lack of ade in my vodka and lemon(ade) :
)The clubs I experienced in Yerevan where surprisingly similar to the ones I
had visited in the UK with the main difference being people smoked and that the
people would generally dance without the need to be wasted, neither of which I
think will catch on in the UK. One major difference I experienced though was
the lack of cloak rooms. When Tiko placed his jacket on the table by the clubs
entrance my first question was, will it not get stolen? A knowing smile formed
on his face and I was told ‘Not in Armenia.’
This is the strangest thing that I’ve found about this place
and by strangest I mean the best but it’s just so far removed from what I have
been used to. Strangers are genuinely nice to me and to others, despite how
easy it would have been for me to have been taken advantage of, being clearly a
visitor in the country and speak (nor reading) any Armenian. The man on the marshrukta who freely gave me
his phone to use, the other man who taught me some useful phrases, even if my
pronunciation was not correct, I can’t imagine that happening in the UK. Even
on a night out, the idea of leaving a bag or coat on the side, or on a hook by
the side of the bar would not be conceivable on a Saturday night out in
Manchester. Even during my taxi ride to the airport when I was leaving the city
the taxi driver offered me some chewing gum and a cigarette, he clearly didn’t
like the smell coming from my breathe and wanted to change it but at least he
was polite about it.
Being a non smoker and non chewer I kindly declined and when
I left the car at the airport and waved him off with a tip in his pocket.
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