The near three weeks that I spent in Uzbekistan were incredible, however, I was ready to leave and meet my girlfriend in Yerevan. I took what could be described as the long route to Yerevan. Waking up at 5 AM in the still rather warm Tashkent I took a taxi to the airport for my flight to Tbilisi, Georgia. The only way I could get to Yerevan on this particular day was through Tbilisi, which resulted in a 6-hour drive to Yerevan after my flight. This drive does have some spectacular views of the mountains of northern Armenia, an interesting geopolitical context with the crisscrossing of the main road with the de jure border with Azerbaijan, and I got my first glimpse of the beautiful glistening blue waters of Lake Sevan.
Now to the negatives, anyone who has driven in the Caucasus, particularly in Georgia, outside of Tbilisi, will understand the slight mental scarring every journey gives you. The roads in Georgia, and to a lesser extent in Armenia, give off a feeling of safety and security, they are generally good roads with all the normal infrastructure one would find in western Europe. However, their attitude to driving is something quite unique. I admire the ambition to get from A to B in the quickest time possible, my driver told me that he estimated the journey to Yerevan would take 4.5 hours, not the 7 hours indicated on Google Maps, and he would have been right if it was not for the queue at the border.
I distinctly remember flying along a southern Georgian road towards the Armenian border at 140 kph, some may not consider this too extreme on a highway. This was not a highway. This was a sort of country road through villages with a 40 kph speed limit. The speed itself does not scare me, but when you throw in the odd cow in the road and the overtaking, which never takes into account whether another car is coming the other way. Multiple times in my two weeks in the Caucasus I looked at the floor of the car anticipating the inevitable crash, however, the drivers did somehow have a knack for never hitting each other.
Anyway by some miracle and despite an hour-long queue at the border I eventually made it to Yerevan for my long-awaited reunion with Nastya. It’s strange because I actually quite like Yerevan, but I have a weird sort of amnesia about what we actually did there. I remember the many Soviet artwork, buildings, and mosaics, which I love, but otherwise only a couple of things stand out.
Something I do remember well was my great decision to climb The Cascade in 40º heat on Nastya’s first day. It’s fair to say I had become quite used to 40º+ temperatures whilst I was in Uzbekistan, and the 572-step walk up the memorial to the 50th anniversary of Soviet Armenia did not seem too daunting. This was a bad decision. The place itself is really interesting to me, the Soviet architecture is fascinating and the smattering of art installations around it makes it a must-do of Yerevan, nevertheless not in 40º. In fairness, Nastya made it, and she reluctantly did not kill me, therefore I claim it was a success, even managing a nice iced coffee and melon at the top with a great view over Yerevan.
The next day, following my near murder as a result of my addiction to walking up big hills in hot temperatures we took a taxi to the top of Tsitsernakaberd, another hill in Yerevan, atop of which is housed the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex. The memorial itself overlooks the rest of Yerevan with an eternal flame burning at its centre. The museum itself was excellent, telling the story of Armenians in the final years of the Ottoman Empire and how they have been deprived of much of their native territory for the last century. Much of the contents of the museum is a difficult read, in many ways it reminded me of the Topography of Terror Museum in Berlin. The museum was not overly nationalistic which I always find a positive when documenting tragedies, it allows the story to be told in a much more human way than is sometimes seen in museums that entangle a group’s tragedies with a nationalist agenda. Overall, it’s a museum that everyone should visit in order to understand the history of Armenia and Armenians.
I also recommend reading “The Crossing Place: A Journey among the Armenians” by Phillip Marsden before visiting Armenia. The book helps someone understand the history of the Armenian people in an excellent and engaging way. The book was recommended to me before my visit and it definitely allowed me to better understand the nuances of Armenian society. In the book first published in the early 1990s, Marsden travels among Armenian communities across Europe, Turkey, the Middle East and the Soviet Union before ending in Soviet Armenia. I knew very little about the history of Armenia and Armenians before my visit and reading this book and I think they complement each other perfectly.
Also whilst in Yerevan, I met with an Armenian friend from university who offered to show us around Yerevan in the evening and have dinner. It turned into a really nice evening, from a fest of Khinkali in the basement of a Georgian Restaurant, to simply being shown the places in Yerevan to eat and drink and a locals perspective on all things Armenia. Having a friend in any city always makes the experience a million times better and more immersive in my opinion. It is no fluke that my two favourite cities in the world I have visited, Kyiv and Krakow, were both the homes of numerous friends. Anyway, on his advice, the next evening we visited the area of Yerevan where many bars and restaurants are situated, around the area where Moskovyan Street becomes Martiros Saryan Street. We visited this place numerous times and it’s possible to find a new place every night and we really enjoyed our time there.
After a few days in Yerevan, we took a 1 hour and 45-minute taxi ride to the far side of Lake Sevan, to our hotel in the tiny village of Tsapatagh. Our hotel was excellent, with architecturally interesting and aesthetically pleasing two-floored rooms. The hotel restaurant was also excellent, it was however slightly like you were in a horror film. The lack of other people, the 1960s elevator music and the constant sound of flies being executed by those blue lights led to a slightly strange experience but the food was delicious.
Nevertheless, Sevan itself is mesmerising. Staying in such a remote area of the glistening blue lake was an accidental masterstroke. Along with our adopted dog for our time in Tsapatagh, one afternoon we went to the lakeshore. Alone we swam, sat and stared at the view in front of us. This afternoon we did absolutely nothing, but it was one of those memories, as with when I met the boy and his grandfather in Khiva where I felt totally happy whilst travelling. That evening we then saw one of the most spectacular sunsets I have ever seen. The location of Tsapatagh, near a peninsula, where the sunsets ensures a spectacular view, with the sun descending between the mountains jutting out of the lake.
Whilst staying at the lake we also took a day trip to Sevanavank, the monastery situated on a peninsula (formerly an island) at the north end of the lake. The 9th-century monastery towers above the lake, creating a spectacular view of these old masterpieces of Armenian architecture surrounded by the blue glistening blue waters below. The peninsula can appear quite busy, as possibly the main tourist attraction of the country, nevertheless the vastness of the landscape ensures that there is always an angle where the true beauty on show can be seen.
Yerevan and Sevan are definitely worth a visit to anyone. We felt incredibly comfortable in Armenia which is one of the best things I can ever say about a country. The people were lovely, as is normal in post-Soviet countries I felt very safe, and our time there was so relaxing. I’m sure I’ll return one day and I just hope that the great Ararat will decide to peek out from behind the haze this time.
Accommodation
Yerevan
In Yerevan, we stayed 4 nights in an Airbnb and 1 night after returning from Tbilisi in a hotel.
The Airbnb was outstanding, possibly the best I have ever stayed in, in the centre of the city on Sayat Nova Avenue and a brilliant view across the city (and Ararat if the haze went away)
We stayed one night in Nova Hotel, situated very close to the Airbnb. The hotel had all you would expect from a hotel, although a slightly cramped room. The staff were excellent though, and I would recommend the hotel almost solely on this basis.
Sevan
Tufenkian Avan Marak Tsapatagh Hotel – the lovely hotel in the secluded village of Tsapatagh on Lake Sevan where we stayed.
Things to do
Visit Lake Sevan
Just go to the lake whatever you do. It’s simply beautiful. Just be aware it’s usually significantly colder here than in Yerevan due to the altitude gain.
Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex
An excellent thought-provoking complex and museum.
The Cascade
To me an amazing piece of Soviet architecture, however, to non-Soviet obsessives it has some really interesting artwork and a great view of Yerevan.
The Random Wanderer 
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