Taking the easy option
To go to Tbilisi in Georgia, I could have taken public transport. A minivan would take around 6h. But the hostel had a door-to-door service (to their hostel in Tbilisi) which included several sights along the way. This seemed a time-economical way; I’d save a day doing that.
We left about 15 minutes late from the hostel. Less than two hours out, we stopped at a little town called Aparan with a famous bakery. We were treated to some pastries (bready bakes filled with mushrooms and spinach) and cookies.
Aparan is also famous because its residents are considered by Armenians to be the dumbest in the country! They’re likened to donkeys: dumb, strong and hard working. Donkeys have certain other attributes but I’m not sure if these are also found in the locals.
Along the way I couldn’t help noticing the number of Turkish-registered trucks on the road. There is a lot of trade between Armenia and Turkey but it is all routed through Georgia due to the border being closed.
We took in two UNESCO Heritage listed sights, both monasteries. The first was at Sanahin, birthplace of the Mikoyan brothers, the younger of which co-founded the MiG aircraft company. From there we entered in the Debed Canyon where the scenery became lush and green. The second monastery was at Haghbat.
There were several large abandoned chemical and copper processing plants in the area. They were just left to rot. After the fall of communism, some plants were privatised only to have their assets stripped off for sale.
It was after 1500 when we broke for lunch on the banks of the Alaverdi river. We had a typical Armenian pork BBQ accompanied with lots of vegetables and salad. It seemed like a great send-off from Armenia.
Text continues after this gallery.
-
- Sanahin monastery, in the town where the Mikoyan brothers were born.
-
- Sanahin monastery, in the town where the Mikoyan brothers were born.
-
- Haghbat monastery.
-
- Haghbat monastery.
-
- Haghbat monastery; there are frescoes above the altar. This is rather unusual for Armenia and may be due to Georgian influence.
-
- Crosses on the walls of Haghbat monastery.
-
- Cross-stones at Haghbat monastery.
-
- Lunch on the bank of the Alaverdi river.
Finally, we called at the Akhtala fortress-monastery which had beautiful frescoes. Frescoes are uncommon in Armenian churches but some we’ve seen today, especially this one, is richly decorated with frescoes due to the Georgian influence. Actually at Akhtala, some inscriptions were in Greek (reflecting the Orthodox nature) rather than in Armenian script (language of the Apostolic Church).
Text continues after this gallery.
-
- Akhtala fortress and monastery.
-
- Akhtala fortress wall.
-
- At Akhtala monastery, the frescoes are very evident. This and other elements suggest a strong Georgian influence. The hole in Mary’s face is where the Mongols fired a cannon into it when they suspected there were people hiding in the dome.
-
- Akhtala fortress and monastery.
-
- Akhtala fortress and monastery; the hole in the centre of the cross is where the canonball came out.
We reached the border around 1800 and a simple exit from Armenia and entry into Georgia meant that we were back in the van at 1830.
Georgia felt a little bit different. The architecture of the rural houses were different. Within minutes we were faced with two separate dead livestock on the road. And there was a McDonald’s at the first town (whereas there are none in Armenia).
I grabbed dinner with Niles from the ride up, at a nearby restaurant. The hostel has a nice rooftop terrace from which we had a panoramic view of Tbilisi. It certainly has a lot of character with the river, hills and architectural gems.
Thoughts on leaving Armenia
I really enjoyed my few days in Yerevan. The people at the hostel (including the tour guides) were great ambassadors for their country. Together with other people I’ve met, I feel like Armenians are hospitable and genuine people … more like Iranians and Persians rather than cold Soviet service.
The sights of the country are largely related to the Apostolic church. You could liken it to Myanmar. Yerevan is a nice-enough city despite largely Soviet architecture. The Opera area is my favourite with all the garden cafes. However, it took only a first glimpse of Tbilisi for me to realise that Yerevan is rather plain in comparison.