Saturday, July 30, 2005
from Russia with haste
Hello all.
We are on a real whistle stop tour of the world at the moment. 10 days in Armenia and 7 days in Georgia was hardly enough, and even three weeks in Turkey only took in a fraction of the sights.
Armenia is a great little country, although like all of its immediate neoghbours (Azerbaijan, Georgia) it is suffering still from recent conflicts - especially over Ngorno Karabagh. Somewhere we didnt go as it happens but is apparently very much open for business - tourist business that is...
Tatev down south - near Sisian - where we were adopted by Katherine a Peace Corp Volunteer in Armenia for the past three years. She his heading back to the states this month. She took us in and we went sight seeing with herself and her niece Kate - and she even made us a packed lunch to take on the Marshutka. We met on the road by a market stall in Sisian - her opening line an accussative 'Where are you from?' They dont get many people from outside in the South of Armenia. The tourist industry try to encourage people to do Armenia in day trips from Yerevan which is a pity but understandable - as the infrastructure just isnt there yet. The roads are a disaster. We had a great couple of days.
Top marks for Hosts with the most are the Stepanyan family in Yerevan - whose great home is being slowly eroded by hundreds of guests trooping through the living room. It is a problem with a home stay - where you stay as a guest of a family rather than in a bed and breakfast. You can imagine how a families privacy can slowly be destroyed especially when you have 10 people trooping in and out and constantly changing. Then there are people who arrive and expect it to be a guest house and to be waited on hand and foot. People are interesting indeed. And then there are people who arrive at 11.30 pm and have no where else to go - and they are hosted onthe best bit of the house, on the balcony with a view of Cassiopeaia.
Yerevan is a very cultured town, a brilliant bit of early 20th century town planning, in the process of being brutalised by boorish corporate hotel and office blocks. The number of Hummers, BMW and Mercedes on the streets of Yerevan belie the fact that the country is under an Oil embargo from the Azeris - and have to get everything via Georgia. But something stinks in the way that some people can still drive 3.0 litre mercs, on a planet with oil hitting 60 dollars a barrel and a country that has to import all its oil via one neighbour.
The traffic is fairly crazy - although not as bad as Tbilisi - where the best way to commit suicide is to cross the road. The observance of the rules of the road, or more the total denial of them or any semblance of them apart from a red light is endemic in Georgia and Armenia. In Georgia they add speed to their repetoire - a fact only missing in Armenia I am sure because of fuel shortages.
Tbilisi is a great town. It has all the ingredients of the next great Bohemian town -(Prague etc) if they can get a few people together with a big picture in mind - and if they can reopen the the rail road through Abkhazia which connects it to the rest of the world. But the Georgians are well upset at the Russians still, and any benefit or advantage of being one of the most affluent and successful Soviet Republics has disappeared in a cloud of Nationalistic spite. Shame. CAuse it is all there to happen again - it is just depressing to talk to highly highly educated people in Armenia andGeorgia and they are sure that the only SOlution to their respective problems is through violence.
All I was going to say was that you could get the train from Berlin to Tbilisi not so long ago. And that is all it needs again to reopen the Cacausus to Europe.
Still, I know this is the sort of thing people said about Ireland and the North for the past thirty years. Nothing changes it seems. They are finally disarming I see.
The mountains in Northern Georgia were definetly a highlight, just not enough time for proper camping trip unfortunately. Svaneti is well open for business, although I believe that tour operators in Tbilisi would prefer you to think that it is still a problem so you will avail of their 1000 euro tours. Just jump on a bus and go to a home stay - we didnt make it ourselves, but I will be going back! We toured around Kazbegi with Andrew a geneticist and biologist from Maine (Senator Mitchell country as it happens), Julie a teacher based in Alaska, and Ara from Jerusalem a teacher and secretary to the Israeli Constitutional Think Tank. There were a lot of great conversations. A great travelling crew.
I think for me culturally Yervan was the highlight (I dont think we spent enough time in Tbilisi to know it) and the landscape in Georgia - from the almost tropical Black Sea Coast to the mountains in the north and the rock cut monasterys in Davit Garjela on the Azerbaijan border it is all incredible. Although I have to say that around Tatev in southern Armenia is equally stunning and has to be explored. You just have to come and rough it to find out I think, and give youself at least three weeks for a camping and travelling trip. Best if you have your own jeep too. .... It could be a long time before I can afford to come back!
Right got to go.
Sochi awaits - the Russian Riviera wants my money.
Ahhh Russia. Those Capitalist Pigs!
We are on a real whistle stop tour of the world at the moment. 10 days in Armenia and 7 days in Georgia was hardly enough, and even three weeks in Turkey only took in a fraction of the sights.
Armenia is a great little country, although like all of its immediate neoghbours (Azerbaijan, Georgia) it is suffering still from recent conflicts - especially over Ngorno Karabagh. Somewhere we didnt go as it happens but is apparently very much open for business - tourist business that is...
Tatev down south - near Sisian - where we were adopted by Katherine a Peace Corp Volunteer in Armenia for the past three years. She his heading back to the states this month. She took us in and we went sight seeing with herself and her niece Kate - and she even made us a packed lunch to take on the Marshutka. We met on the road by a market stall in Sisian - her opening line an accussative 'Where are you from?' They dont get many people from outside in the South of Armenia. The tourist industry try to encourage people to do Armenia in day trips from Yerevan which is a pity but understandable - as the infrastructure just isnt there yet. The roads are a disaster. We had a great couple of days.
Top marks for Hosts with the most are the Stepanyan family in Yerevan - whose great home is being slowly eroded by hundreds of guests trooping through the living room. It is a problem with a home stay - where you stay as a guest of a family rather than in a bed and breakfast. You can imagine how a families privacy can slowly be destroyed especially when you have 10 people trooping in and out and constantly changing. Then there are people who arrive and expect it to be a guest house and to be waited on hand and foot. People are interesting indeed. And then there are people who arrive at 11.30 pm and have no where else to go - and they are hosted onthe best bit of the house, on the balcony with a view of Cassiopeaia.
Yerevan is a very cultured town, a brilliant bit of early 20th century town planning, in the process of being brutalised by boorish corporate hotel and office blocks. The number of Hummers, BMW and Mercedes on the streets of Yerevan belie the fact that the country is under an Oil embargo from the Azeris - and have to get everything via Georgia. But something stinks in the way that some people can still drive 3.0 litre mercs, on a planet with oil hitting 60 dollars a barrel and a country that has to import all its oil via one neighbour.
The traffic is fairly crazy - although not as bad as Tbilisi - where the best way to commit suicide is to cross the road. The observance of the rules of the road, or more the total denial of them or any semblance of them apart from a red light is endemic in Georgia and Armenia. In Georgia they add speed to their repetoire - a fact only missing in Armenia I am sure because of fuel shortages.
Tbilisi is a great town. It has all the ingredients of the next great Bohemian town -(Prague etc) if they can get a few people together with a big picture in mind - and if they can reopen the the rail road through Abkhazia which connects it to the rest of the world. But the Georgians are well upset at the Russians still, and any benefit or advantage of being one of the most affluent and successful Soviet Republics has disappeared in a cloud of Nationalistic spite. Shame. CAuse it is all there to happen again - it is just depressing to talk to highly highly educated people in Armenia andGeorgia and they are sure that the only SOlution to their respective problems is through violence.
All I was going to say was that you could get the train from Berlin to Tbilisi not so long ago. And that is all it needs again to reopen the Cacausus to Europe.
Still, I know this is the sort of thing people said about Ireland and the North for the past thirty years. Nothing changes it seems. They are finally disarming I see.
The mountains in Northern Georgia were definetly a highlight, just not enough time for proper camping trip unfortunately. Svaneti is well open for business, although I believe that tour operators in Tbilisi would prefer you to think that it is still a problem so you will avail of their 1000 euro tours. Just jump on a bus and go to a home stay - we didnt make it ourselves, but I will be going back! We toured around Kazbegi with Andrew a geneticist and biologist from Maine (Senator Mitchell country as it happens), Julie a teacher based in Alaska, and Ara from Jerusalem a teacher and secretary to the Israeli Constitutional Think Tank. There were a lot of great conversations. A great travelling crew.
I think for me culturally Yervan was the highlight (I dont think we spent enough time in Tbilisi to know it) and the landscape in Georgia - from the almost tropical Black Sea Coast to the mountains in the north and the rock cut monasterys in Davit Garjela on the Azerbaijan border it is all incredible. Although I have to say that around Tatev in southern Armenia is equally stunning and has to be explored. You just have to come and rough it to find out I think, and give youself at least three weeks for a camping and travelling trip. Best if you have your own jeep too. .... It could be a long time before I can afford to come back!
Right got to go.
Sochi awaits - the Russian Riviera wants my money.
Ahhh Russia. Those Capitalist Pigs!
// posted by Dub @ Saturday, July 30, 2005 
Comments:
<< Home
Hi Kevin and Solene!!! This is Andrew - now in Yerevan - also at the Stepanyans. Armenia seems nice but I'm not sure it's going to be as interesting as Georgia - we'll see. Azerbaijan was mostly miserable, although Sheki was nice. I'm still waiting to hear about the Iranian visa. Hope you all had a great time in Russia and on the Trans-Sibirian. Best wishes! -Andrew
http://marmotpower.blogspot.com
http://marmotpower.blogspot.com
Hiya everyone, I just registered on this lovely forum and wished to say hey there! Have a impressive day!
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