In 2015, which feels like a lifetime ago, I travelled to Armenia for the commemoration of the Armenian genocide. I had planned ahead that I would like to write about my experience, but I wasn’t sure how exactly I should and would do that. Pretty much on the spot I decided that I would publish it as a blog, which I did back then, but it was quickly forgotten afterwards (I had established said blog only for that purpose and not continued publishing there, hence it didn’t attract readers) and I felt this was a bit of a pity. So, I published it as an ebook, and you can find the first day / chapter here:
Yerevan, Armenia (Day 1)
Hello Armenia. I’m visiting you for the first time. This week is the commemoration of the Armenian genocide, and I wanted to contribute in some ways. I started working on a sculpture, a poem, some other things, which I will probably publish here or somewhere else on the internet soon.
Yes, I admit, I also want to see System of a Down. But I’ll get back to that later.
I arrived at Zvarnots Airport literally in the middle of the night, e.g. around 3:30 a.m. local time. I have no idea why most airlines are flying to Armenia at these crazy times. Everyone was extremely tired, although the journey didn’t take particularly long. Altogether, I was on airplanes for 4.5 hours, which is really not a long time. But I was just so sleepy when I arrived. I had arranged a transfer from the airport with my hotel – at least I thought so. Unfortunately, there had been some kind of misunderstanding, I had to take a taxi, and yes, I took one of the “don’t take these” taxis, because there wasn’t another one around, and I had to bargain. At which I am really not good.
I talked with the driver on my way to the hotel, and that was nice and interesting. He told me that he grew up in the former Soviet Union and he has been living in Armenia for 27 years now. And that the taxi system was like the mafia. Well, I can agree now, and I felt sorry for him, but at least I found out at the hotel, that the driver did get a rather fair amount, it was just the “mafia share” that was preposterous.
Today, after far too less sleep and a quick breakfast at the hotel, I took a bus to the Old Town. First impressions: There are so many more hills and ascents in Yerevan than I thought. I really don’t know what I was thinking … I could have figured that out before. Well, I should have figured that out because I booked a hotel a bit outside and I planned on walking everywhere, because that’s what I usually do. I just like experiencing cities by walking through them instead of taking a subway, a taxi or a bus. It’s still early now and I haven’t walked a lot … we’ll see how this works out during the next days. Speaking of the next days: While the weather forecast that I saw last week was speaking of sunny days and about 20°C, it is now cloudy, and it will supposedly rain during from tomorrow on for the rest of the week. I couldn’t help thinking if this was some kind of sign, foreshadowing the day of the commemoration of the genocide on Friday. But I don’t believe in any deity, so — at this point — I consider it to be a coincidence.
I’ll see at what point I’m going to find myself tomorrow.
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You can buy the entire ebook on Amazon/Kindle:
5 Days in Yerevan (English Edition)