Armenia - Day 5
Day 5 was another guided tour, with a visit to Garni and Geghard.
Garni is believed to have been constructed in the 1st century. It was destroyed by an earthquake and reconstructed in recent years.
After that was a visit to Geghard, which is neat monastery carved into the side of a mountain.
I think this is one of my favorite pictures I've ever taken
Tying a hankerchief around a tree branch supposedly brings good luck, hence this mess.
At this point I had developed a nasty blister on my foot and frankly I didn't want to walk any more. The rest of the day was spent filling out postcards and packing for the long flight back home tomorrow morning.
Garni is believed to have been constructed in the 1st century. It was destroyed by an earthquake and reconstructed in recent years.
After that was a visit to Geghard, which is neat monastery carved into the side of a mountain.
At this point I had developed a nasty blister on my foot and frankly I didn't want to walk any more. The rest of the day was spent filling out postcards and packing for the long flight back home tomorrow morning.
Aural torture
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Before I took my trip, I had to make a few modifications to my flights. Since my trip was booked through Air France, I had to spend some time on the phone with them. Due to my complicated itinerary, I ended up on hold for vast amounts of time while agents did god-knows-what.
In order to discourage people from calling their customer support line, they have this snooze-inducing song as their hold music. And it repeats. Over and over and over and over.
Not only that, they don't even play the whole song. They just play the last half over and over and over. Men, if you have an erection that won't go away for some reason, just pop this tune into your iPod and your unit will be retracting inside of you so fast that you'll wonder if you were born female.
On the plus side, I checked out another random video by the same band and it had boobies. I like boobies.
In order to discourage people from calling their customer support line, they have this snooze-inducing song as their hold music. And it repeats. Over and over and over and over.
Not only that, they don't even play the whole song. They just play the last half over and over and over. Men, if you have an erection that won't go away for some reason, just pop this tune into your iPod and your unit will be retracting inside of you so fast that you'll wonder if you were born female.
On the plus side, I checked out another random video by the same band and it had boobies. I like boobies.
Armenia - Day 4
I needed a break from walking around, so I went on two group tours on days four and five.
Day four first started with a visit of Echmiadzin, the oldest cathedral in the world.
We started off with a visit to St. Hripsime, one of the older churches in Armenia.
Then was to the Gayane Church, which is much younger than Hripsime (built in 630 AD vs. 618 AD).
We ended this with a visit to the Echmiadzin Catherdral, which is the oldest in the world. I was quite impressed with the entrance to the cathedral compound.
The day ended with a trip to Zvartnots. This was a cathedral that was supposed to be built to be even more grand than Echmiadzin, however it was destroyed by an earthquake. The ruins are quite interesting - I found them much neater than any of the other stuff I saw.
An ancient sundial.
These old jugs were used for wine. They may even be big enough to supply Sarah!
Some of the collapsed stonework that they've tried to document and reassemble.
I wish I had thought to take a shot with Mount Ararat in the background earlier, but it didn't dawn on me until we were leaving, and by then I couldn't take the time to get a good picture. Oh well.
Day four first started with a visit of Echmiadzin, the oldest cathedral in the world.
We started off with a visit to St. Hripsime, one of the older churches in Armenia.
Then was to the Gayane Church, which is much younger than Hripsime (built in 630 AD vs. 618 AD).
We ended this with a visit to the Echmiadzin Catherdral, which is the oldest in the world. I was quite impressed with the entrance to the cathedral compound.
The day ended with a trip to Zvartnots. This was a cathedral that was supposed to be built to be even more grand than Echmiadzin, however it was destroyed by an earthquake. The ruins are quite interesting - I found them much neater than any of the other stuff I saw.
I wish I had thought to take a shot with Mount Ararat in the background earlier, but it didn't dawn on me until we were leaving, and by then I couldn't take the time to get a good picture. Oh well.
Armenia - Day 3
I don't remember what I did on day 3.
But here is a very recently built cathedral whose name I can't remember.
This is a very odd building that is impossible to get a good picture of due to haphazardly strung power lines. It now holds an indoor bazaar.
But here is a very recently built cathedral whose name I can't remember.
This is a very odd building that is impossible to get a good picture of due to haphazardly strung power lines. It now holds an indoor bazaar.
Armenia - Day 2
Sunday, June 15, 2008
The second day here is one of the most awesome days I've ever had.
Due to jetlag I still way overslept (I woke up at 1 pm!), but I still had time to go out and about. I started out with one of the main things I wanted to accomplish this trip: A visit to the Aram Khachaturian museum. Aram Khachaturian was an Armenian composer who wrote some of my favorite music. Most of you are probably familiar with the Sabre Dance from movies such as The Hudsucker Proxy.
Unfortunately nobody seemed to know much about it. Luckily I had an address and a cab driver took me to an unusual building with a small sign on it advertising the museum.
The museum was kind of funny in the fact that they didn't seem to get too many visitors, much less visitors who didn't speak any Russian or Armenian. I was the only visitor there the entire time, and the two people working there seemed a bit surprised somebody showed up.
After paying my 500 AMD (about $1.66), they took me to the various rooms, having to unlock all the doors and turn on lights as I went. They couldn't explain very much because they knew very little English, but I pretty much saw what I wanted. They had a score for Khachaturian's 3rd Symphony locked up which I desperately wanted to look at, but it wasn't going to happen.
Attached to the building was Khachaturian's house he had in Yerevan (he later moved to Moscow). It was neat seeing the master's study and actual piano he composed on. I bought a few postcards and poster that I don't really need and was on my way.
Next stop on my itinerary was the Cascade, which is a serious of steps (500, I believe) built into the side of a mountain, with fountains and sculptures on multiple levels on the way up. There is also a series of escalators which you can take.
When I arrived there, I ran into two Iranians who were seeing the city too. I joined them and their tour guide for the rest of the day. I enjoyed talking with them, and they were quite excited to talk to me too, as they wanted a chance to practice their English. We talked about a variety of subjects. One thing I found interesting: Their president is very unpopular right now too. Also, a majority of the residents don't want this nuclear power plant built that Mr. A. is so keen on. So much money is being diverted to building the power plant that their other infrastructure is suffering.
This is the Fat Cat statue, created by a Colombian artist. This was the first piece of art of many to grace the Cascade
My new found friends (nor their guide) didn't particularly want to go to the top of the Cascade, so instead we headed back down the hill to the Opera House.
After this, the others wanted to head back to their hotel room for a bit, so I continued on my own. I wanted to go to the top of the Cascade, but first, a quick detour to Museum of Ancient Manuscripts, which unfortunately was closed by the time I got to it. I hear it's a must-see, so I'm going to try to squeeze it in tomorrow. The building is still neat to see from the outside though.
Also known as the Matenadaran
And now onto the Cascade! I believe I took eight escalators total, one right after another. The view was very impressive from the top, but I could actually still go higher! Near the top of this hill was a park with the Mother Armenia monument. So off I went...
This originally had a statue of Stalin, but was replaced within days of his downfall with Mother Armenia
And now, I was finally high enough to get the view I wanted! The mountain in the distance is Mount Ararat, with its second peak off to the left. If you look really closely you can see the remains of Noah's Ark.
At this point I was exhausted, so I started back toward my hotel room. As I approached Republic Square, I noticed I could hear music blasting. Apparently they put on a light and fountain show every night. While not as closely choreographed as, say the fountain show at Bellagio, this one seemed more "genuine" to the crowd. The crowd danced as various American and Russian hit songs played, along with a few classical favorites. The show went on for a full hour and ended with the Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia by Khachturian. When I heard the opening notes of it, a shiver immediately went down my spine and through my whole body - this is what it feels like to be Armenian!
After the show ended, I took the opportunity to nail a few night shots of these buildings.
And I'm spent! Stay tuned for more adventures in Yerevan!
Due to jetlag I still way overslept (I woke up at 1 pm!), but I still had time to go out and about. I started out with one of the main things I wanted to accomplish this trip: A visit to the Aram Khachaturian museum. Aram Khachaturian was an Armenian composer who wrote some of my favorite music. Most of you are probably familiar with the Sabre Dance from movies such as The Hudsucker Proxy.
Unfortunately nobody seemed to know much about it. Luckily I had an address and a cab driver took me to an unusual building with a small sign on it advertising the museum.
The museum was kind of funny in the fact that they didn't seem to get too many visitors, much less visitors who didn't speak any Russian or Armenian. I was the only visitor there the entire time, and the two people working there seemed a bit surprised somebody showed up.
After paying my 500 AMD (about $1.66), they took me to the various rooms, having to unlock all the doors and turn on lights as I went. They couldn't explain very much because they knew very little English, but I pretty much saw what I wanted. They had a score for Khachaturian's 3rd Symphony locked up which I desperately wanted to look at, but it wasn't going to happen.
Attached to the building was Khachaturian's house he had in Yerevan (he later moved to Moscow). It was neat seeing the master's study and actual piano he composed on. I bought a few postcards and poster that I don't really need and was on my way.
Next stop on my itinerary was the Cascade, which is a serious of steps (500, I believe) built into the side of a mountain, with fountains and sculptures on multiple levels on the way up. There is also a series of escalators which you can take.
When I arrived there, I ran into two Iranians who were seeing the city too. I joined them and their tour guide for the rest of the day. I enjoyed talking with them, and they were quite excited to talk to me too, as they wanted a chance to practice their English. We talked about a variety of subjects. One thing I found interesting: Their president is very unpopular right now too. Also, a majority of the residents don't want this nuclear power plant built that Mr. A. is so keen on. So much money is being diverted to building the power plant that their other infrastructure is suffering.
My new found friends (nor their guide) didn't particularly want to go to the top of the Cascade, so instead we headed back down the hill to the Opera House.
After this, the others wanted to head back to their hotel room for a bit, so I continued on my own. I wanted to go to the top of the Cascade, but first, a quick detour to Museum of Ancient Manuscripts, which unfortunately was closed by the time I got to it. I hear it's a must-see, so I'm going to try to squeeze it in tomorrow. The building is still neat to see from the outside though.
And now onto the Cascade! I believe I took eight escalators total, one right after another. The view was very impressive from the top, but I could actually still go higher! Near the top of this hill was a park with the Mother Armenia monument. So off I went...
And now, I was finally high enough to get the view I wanted! The mountain in the distance is Mount Ararat, with its second peak off to the left. If you look really closely you can see the remains of Noah's Ark.
At this point I was exhausted, so I started back toward my hotel room. As I approached Republic Square, I noticed I could hear music blasting. Apparently they put on a light and fountain show every night. While not as closely choreographed as, say the fountain show at Bellagio, this one seemed more "genuine" to the crowd. The crowd danced as various American and Russian hit songs played, along with a few classical favorites. The show went on for a full hour and ended with the Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia by Khachturian. When I heard the opening notes of it, a shiver immediately went down my spine and through my whole body - this is what it feels like to be Armenian!
After the show ended, I took the opportunity to nail a few night shots of these buildings.
And I'm spent! Stay tuned for more adventures in Yerevan!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)