Yerevan

The last couple of days have seen us settling into Armenian life. Yerevan was a blessed relief after Tehran... cleaner, more charming and easier to walk around. Yerevan is a mix of early Soviet elegance and later Soviet brutalism. All crumbling and fraying at the edges.
We spent a couple of days in Yerevan, going on a walking tour, visiting the Armenian Genocide museum and going out to see nearby monasteries, I think we've started to get a sense of it. A few things stood out pretty quickly -
1 Being the oldest Christian country, monasteries and religion is BIG here
2 Armenia has been disputed ground for centuries and almost always seems to be under the rule of another power
3 Armenia has a serious Mercedes fetish - I've never seen so many in my life
4 And Yerevan takes parks very seriously
Yerevan gave Tom the opportunity for a beer again - though the first one was a significant disappointment. And for me, it was just a wonderful city to walk around and admire. The street life ramps up after dark, every street seems to be lined with outdoor cafes.

We also picked up a car - due to confusion our first day wasn't in a Lada *sob* but this was rectified. The car gave us an opportunity to head out to Khor Virap, a nearby monastery. It set against the backdrop of Mt Ararat which is spectacular though with midday sun and a hazy day, it was hard to capture. You'll have to excuse the exposure on these images as well because my little Fuji was struggling in the flat bright light.Read more