Armenia in my mind was like the Atlantis.... Kind of place that we all heard off... But nobody really knows if it still exist or where it is supposed to be... This is the Caucasus from where the word Caucasia come from...I have been described like that... but I don't know why... in any case this was the backwaters of the Soviet Union... land of the lawless... as soon as the CCCP went down this guys got independence and went to war wit the neighbors for chunks of Christian land in Muslims countries... in theory Armenia and Azerbaijan still at war..
By day downtown Yerevan seems very Russian with non Russian looking people... (I have not been to Russia, do) ...men in cheap leather jackets and pointy mocasinos... pelt hats... many in fake adidas anoraks looking like iranians/turks ... but Christianity seems to make them look a bit different... women are into very tight clothes under colour leather jackets that come down to their knees, a lot of light blue make up around the eyes and the concept of hair coloring has some how new meaning for me.... There is a bit to much yellow and contrast with the very dark black from the eye brows( and the very white skin)... and by no doubt masters of equilibrium and frostbite control as per the very tight and pointy stiletto kind of boots they use to wander trough the snow
all sort of soviet cars of which ones i only recognize the nivas and a few others, and of course as it is a free country... BMW and Mercedes... meaning that you have either $ or are in politics (normally related)... and is very important for you to show off...
Again I'm a giant walking the streets in disbelieve of the anarchy of traffic.... the old part of the city seems to have been very posh at some stage... the Architecture is monumental... still much more to see... young (teenage) soldiers playing in the snow with uniforms that make them even younger... kebab houses shining... the poster of lord of the rings in Russian and Armenian... (Pity I did not had a digicam)... cheap latino music in Spanish pouring from underground clubs...
on the other side... on a Wednesday night I could go to a opera, a chamber music concert or the visiting Iranian Philharmonic playing with the local one (over 400 musicians on stage)... Pretty much every night is something and we talking a city of Auckland population
Is quite tripy to go on a Volga car (big) trough the hills from outer Yerevan... trough industrial areas with melting snow, down driveways into government buildings looking empty.... The ministries are incredible... Ruskis master the art of institutional architecture....
The office I' be working is a bit out of town, but I can take either a buss or a gondola (sic) to get there... yes the gondola is again very Russian in design...ugly but able to still work after 20 years of minimal maintenance ...
Yerevan is the lowest part of the country, (1000mts) and is surrounded by hills...there is as well a underground metro... so the stations that are under some of the hills have the longest mechanical stairs I have ever seen... one of them must be 250 mts at least... is hard to see the top when you get on it...
Food is varied and meaty.... I went to a place last night aptly named Caucasus Tavern which by some reason was full of Armenian army soldiers... they bring you a small glass of vodka, you pour a bit on your hands to wash then and disinfect... then u dry them and drink the rest.
Then some short dark dressed girls with the faced of experience pass and leaves you with a plate of different types of salad leafs, mushrooms, capsicums and flat bread...
so u get the leaves an much it cow stile.... And make some rolls with the bread ands the rest, and the chunks of bbq meat come and you keep making rolls, and wash down the whole thing with red wine...
By the way, I got the flat, move in on Tuesday, is on the 7 floor, nothing flash, kind of big, close to a park, the bazaar, republic square, etc
Saturday morning... watching muz.ru tv... sort of Russian own mtv... but very cheesy.... Glitters and tits seems to be big in Russian tv...
and all under 30 cm of snow.... but that does not seem to bother the mocasino man and the stiletto woman
