Yerevan

Alain has arranged to visit Ara, an Armenian physics colleague, whilst we are in Yerevan. Meanwhile, Alice has time to explore and to get us organised for boxing the bikes ready for the flight home.

Yerevan feels nothing like the other parts of Armenia we have visited. It’s not an old city - the center is modern and was built in the Russian era. It is an expensive town (haircut is more expensive than in Paris or Geneva) and the presence of very wealthy Russian visitors can be felt with shiny black cars and bling-bling shops. There is no sense of the poorer countryside we passed through to get here. The city is only relatively recently (1918) the capital of Armenia. Armenia was once a much larger country including in the west Erzurum and Mus (now cities in Turkey). Now it is only 1/7th of the original size, having suffered genocide at the hands of the Turks who occupy what was formerly western Armenia. Today's Armenia is small, landlocked, unable to defend itself (it is very dependent on Russia for that) and not on great terms with most of its neighbours - so it’s not a very happy country in many ways.

Ara gives us a guided introduction to the city centre when we arrive. There is a huge square with impressive state buildings (one evening featuring lights, music and a national celebration). The town is dominated by a large monument called the cascade, which rises up one of the hill sides and houses art and sculptures. Ara also takes us out, towards the end of our stay, for a whirlwind tour of the surrounding area.

Yerevan is known for stifling heat in the summer. At the beginning of our stay it's not too bad, but by the end of the week its tough going. We have quite a few adventures at the hotel, whose electricity fails every time it gets really hot. We end up leaving the hotel at 4am, carrying our boxed bikes down the stairs (yes, no electricity means no elevator!) in the dark with our torches.Read more