In Armenia
I am in a part of the world, I have never been in before… Armenia!
I am on a project here, and the temptation to discover this side of the world was simply too big for me to refuse. The weather is great here, even though I thought it would be -9 according to Google weather…. but nah…it is not at all…. it is about 13! (how could they get it so wrong?)
One thing I noticed about Yerevan is the striking difference between the communist era and the today era… i could safely say that the communist era was not kind to architecture in Yerevan.
the Cascade… it will be a collection of art galleriers when finished
The other observation I had about Yerevan that it is not colourful at all! It is very grey / brown for some reason…I am not sure if it the weather, or the harsh desert-ish nature… but being here is like being in one of those black and white photos that have one colourful element (the flower, or the lipstick…) in the picture… and usually this one colourful element in Yerevan is my orange hat and burgundy coat!
Food on the other hand is divine! It is absolutely brilliant…there is Turkish influence (although I don’t feel I can say that here) Asian influence, Caucasian influence… it is full of spices, herbs and tastes… food really flirts with all the senses.
People are super nice, but this is the default human condition, when you meet them in the same context I do. I mean, we spend our days in meetings and workshops… so it is intense intellectual brainstorming and spend our evenings playing games (it is usually my touch… I love games… they really are fun and bring people closer). However, I thought they were not very nice at the airport… but I later realised it was only because I came from Turkey…and Armenia is not on amicable terms with either Turkey or Azerbaijan.
I truly liked meeting people from Georgia and Lithuania… it just brought a new dimension to my life. It opened doors to a new world of knowledge, history, traditions, food, issues… it is just brilliant!
I liked the trip very much… especially yesterday, when we went to visit two historical sites Garni and Geghard, we got to play with the snow
this is one of the pagan temple
in this one people offer personal items to mother nature… and their wishes come true
…but seriously after a few days… I really miss the mess of Amman…. and the colours and the sun and my bed.
![IMG_0039[1]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7121/6962859922_2342ea8985_m.jpg)
HEhehehe ..
Amman mises you too
well, Armenia .. i think your next trip would be to hummm .. south africa
I like the fact that you are experiancing a black and white photo mode, in a way it drives you to be more curious and adventourus .. how weird is that? huh!
Games.. day by day am falling with love with games, any kind of games, the best way to spend time, with close freinds or even with people you just met!
no need to tell you enjoy to the max. because you’re the master in that
have a nice trip
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madas Reply:
March 20th, 2009 at 14:01
Thank Samah…
The black and white mode…is the setup of the city! not even a camera can recreate this effect!
Games are fun… i like them… thye bring people closer
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Samah Reply:
March 20th, 2009 at 15:02
i ment livivng in black and white mode not creating it by the camera
i passed by the office yesterday, and i spent some time with Hiba …
shu hal akhbar elle sme3t’ha ?
well .. if you needed my help for the next 2 months, just give me a call =)
enjoy the weekend ..
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I love your experiences with Armenia
These experiences are what make us who we truly are
Going to Istanbul tomorrow
Feels like it will feel like home… I haven even been there!!!
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madas Reply:
March 20th, 2009 at 14:02
I loved Istanbul… very modern and contemporary…hope you girl had fun there
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Wow! You are really a world traveler Mariam!
I like the picture of the Cascade. That is some interesting architecture. I also like the pagan temple. I find it amazing that what looks like a Roman Era temple still exists in such good condition! Perhaps the people living near it repaired it over the centuries. Also, it is interesting that people are still making offerings there.
I can understand why Armenia is not having good relations with Turkey. Perhaps you have heard of the genocide that Turkey carried out against Armenians living in Turkey. I only learned of it a few years ago. The Turkish government refuses to admit to that dark part of their history or to apologize for it.
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Armenia was intersting… I am in london as i am writing this… i think i am getting close to slow down my traveling!
I heard all about the genocide… the problem is that it happened in a different era… long time ago…where not the political system, not the mentality, not the people in turkey today relate to to it. Apologizing for it will probably entail big financial installments…
This brings me to another genocide… do you think Israel will ever acc=knowledge its attrocities against Palestinians?
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“This brings me to another genocide… do you think Israel will ever acc=knowledge its attrocities against Palestinians?”
There have certainly been Israel atrocities against Palestinians, but I’m not sure that genocide is a fair word to use. My knowledge of Palestinian history is not large, so my understanding may not be accurate. From what I know, several million Palestinians are refugees today. Israelis forced them to leave their homes, but did not try to exterminate them.
Some Israeli soldiers are now telling the truth about atrocities committed recently in Gaza. I applaud them! I think that most Israelis are basically good people. I also think that most Palestinians are the same. Its the radicals on both sides that keep the fighting going.
As far as the Israeli government goes though, it is too dominated by fundamentalist Jews who believe that all the ancient land of Israel should be theirs. So, I don’t think they will ever apologize or admit any atrocities.
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