Armenia

Armenia was a surprise to us. We knew shockingly little about this small embattled nation, but from the moment we entered from Georgia through the deep, lush Debed river canyon, we started to fall in love.

The country has vast landscapes of forest, river canyons, agricultural valleys and mountain passes. It is dotted with ancient churches and monasteries, which is appropriate as they were the first official seat of Christianity in 301 AD.

There is also a deep sadness to the country which has not recovered from losing 1.5 million people to genocide in the early 1900’s. Repeatedly invaded and oppressed, Armenia’s history is a story of repression by the nearby Ottoman, Russian and Persian empires. In 1639, the Ottoman Turks and Persians fought over the region and divided Armenia between them. In 1828 the Russian Empire took over the Persian half of the country. Conflicts with the Ottoman Turks and the Russian Empire over control of the region continued into the 20th century. During WW1 the Ottoman Turks systematically killed and displaced 1.5 million Armenians.

Despite their tragic history, the Armenian people exhibit strength, resilience and a deep national pride. They have retained their unique language and faith throughout the centuries. There is a passionate ownership of the diaspora which is widely dispersed due to people escaping during the genocide - as one man told us, “there are more Armenians living outside of Armenia these days than in it.”

Christianity plays a deep role in the national history and culture. We were told with national pride that Armenia was the first state to officially adopt Christianity. So we began our learning by visiting some of the oldest and most beautiful sites of worship in Armenia.

*Haghpat Monastery, medieval monastery founded in the 10th century*

*Khachkar - unique Armenian art of carving intricate crosses in stone*

The hills of Armenia are dotted with religious sites, but these first two monasteries, Haghpat and Sanahin stayed with us as two of the most beautiful, both for their location up remote winding mountain roads and their simple beauty which has withstood the test of time.

With all the wide open space, Armenia was a country where it was super easy to wild camp. We rarely saw other overlanders or local campers and the sites were spectacular.

*Winding up our first dirt road to spend the night*

*We like getting off the paved road but try to avoid aggressive 4x4 routes (we are just too heavy)- this was our happy medium*

*Found a site with a view of the valley*

*And, of course, a beautiful church down below*

*Andy made friends with the stray dog that adopted us for the night. Luckily this one did not eat Dawn’s bedraggled, jackal chewed camp shoes.*

*Finding our way out of the mountains the next day*

*Saghmosavan Monastery, wedding in progress and guests being photographed but we snuck Andy into the background*

*Perched on the edge of stunning Kasagh Gorge*

*Selfie in the gorge-another good day on the road!*

*Hovhannavank Monastery, also gorge side, also hosting a wedding, Andy didn’t photo bomb anyone this time*

We appreciated the unique architectural style of the Armenian monasteries and churches, with their cylindrical towers and conical rooves, but now it was time for something different.

We made our way to the capital of Armenia, Yerevan. We had booked an Airbnb with the intention of doing laundry and securing visas for our travels eastward.

*View from our Yerevan Airbnb - we were on the outskirts of the city, looking down into the adjacent neighborhood*

*We found that once we walked into the neighborhood that our instincts would have called “sketchy,” it was actually full of cozy homes and cafes, with lots of intriguing art.*

Yerevan, like much of Armenia was a study in contrasts. Old world styles and architecture blended with hip cafes and bars. It is the only place in the world that Dawn has been asked after she ordered a latte “would you like that with plant based or cow milk?” (Keeping in mind that she has spent a LOT of time in California and Oregon.) Broken down Soviet era Ladas shared the streets with fancy Mercedes and street murals shared space with classical art.

*Republic Square government buildings, young people and families hanging out by the fountains*

No big city visit is complete without a visit to a real mechanic - Andy took the new brake rotors we carted back from the US (20 lbs each in our luggage) and had our old ones replaced. Really important on all these steep mountain roads. Huge shout out to our kind Airbnb host, Lilit who took us to her personal mechanic.

*Privileged to watch an artist carve a khachkar on a side street*

*National Museum of Armenian History - a great place to spend a hot afternoon, we learned a lot.*

Building mural in Yerevan. We do not know the meaning but know there is tension in the country about where to obtain needed military support in the future. Neighboring Azerbaijan had recently invaded and pushed Armenians out of a disputed area of the country. Younger people we spoke to hoped to align with the EU, a guide we talked with thought there was a greater chance for support with aligning with Russia. We sensed tension, fear and hope in the country.

*Memorializing the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians*

*Cascade of steps culminating at the statue of Mother Armenia*

*Armenian artist Ervand Kochar - “The Disaster of War”*

We found Yerevan to be an easy city to explore on foot, with taxis readily available if we wanted to go farther. We spent a lot of time wandering the city, but one of our main missions there was visas. We had heard that the embassies in Yerevan were easier to work with and quicker in providing visas than those in nearby Tbilisi, Georgia.

We cannot compare to other embassies, but we found the staff at the Chinese and Russian embassies to be professional, courteous and we were able to get each of our visas within two days (with an expedited cost). These were two major visas for us and each one involved multiple visits and leaving our passports for a couple of days so it was a huge relief to secure them.

As an aside, it had not been our original intention to drive through Russia and when the idea was originally floated to us by fellow overlanders we immediately reacted with strong “no’s.” Our personal beliefs aside, we are US citizens traveling in a US plated truck and what we represent to other governments is complicated. In the end we were faced with 1) driving through Iran and western Pakistan, 2) placing our truck on a flatbed to ship it into Azerbaijan (land borders are closed for driving in), fly into the country then pick it up and take the intermittent ferry across the Caspian sea, or 3) secure a transit visa to cross a small section of Russia in 3 days. In the end we chose the latter as what we perceived to be the least risky for us. It was not a decision we felt good about, and we definitely harbored some sense of moral slippage, but our choices were limited and we really did not want to give up and go home.

So visas secured in our passports, we left Yerevan to see more of Armenia.

*Exploring the deserted Smbataberd Castle*

*There is nothing like exploring history with no one else around*

It is very rare to see women in shorts in these parts so Dawn continues her tradition of hot weather hiking in a dress. Although since we never saw anyone except for two shepherds, it probably didn’t matter

*Wild camp along the way - much dryer landscape in the south*

*Admiring the view at Selim Pass - parked by a Caravanserai from 1332*

*Caravanserai - old Silk Road trading post and rest stop*

*Heading back down from Selim Pass - a windy but good paved road*

The last area we visited in Armenia was the most touristed - but still intriguing in its history.

*Craggy cliffs on the way to Geghard Monastery*

*Our last monastery! Geghard Monastery was a little different, carved into the rock face*

*A unique stand alone building which connects to chambers carved back into the cliffs*

*Chambers carved out of the solid rock face*

*Garni Temple - harkening back to the Greco-Roman days*

Our last stop in this region was the intricate and fascinating Symphony of Stones with its hanging basalt column along the river - one of the most unique rock formations we have seen (it reminded us a little of a vertical version of Giant’s Causeway in Ireland.)

*Last night in Armenia, more beautiful views*

And that was a wrap for Armenia. We appreciated the people who took the time to explain both their history and current fears, we hope for peace for you. Now we are back to Georgia for more mountains then on our way on the Silk Road. Thank you for reading!

Georgia

Western Turkey