Armenia: simple living, high thinking

Let me start by commenting on the toilet situation throughout the trip.  Iranian toilets were lets say, sub-optimal, usually consisting of a hole in the ground with a hose to clean and no toilet paper.  Poor but nothing to write home about.  BUT on crossing into Armenia at 2am I was confronted with this. 

 

No hose to clean with.  Instead an interesting looking broom, a bucket, a hole in the ground and a watering can!  Now if someone can come up with a strategy that results in a satisfactory toilet session then please let me know.

The other funny occurrence was the great unveiling.  As soon people passed customs into Armenia every single woman on the bus took their veil off and put it away... The funniest thing I have ever seen! 

Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, is a beautiful city with a mixture of ancient, soviet and modern style buildings.  The city dates back nearly 3000 years although walking around it is the soviet era which has the main appeal.

I visited a supermarket in Yerevan and was amazed to find a whole Aisle dedicated to Vodka.  It is one thing to allow spirits into supermarkets but it is another thing to have a clearly labelled aisle so close to the check out.  Classic.

I was met by Patris, from the Armenian family, and Karen, his friend.  Karen is a tour guide in Armenia, Russia and India.  He offered to give me a unique Armenian experience at a budget rate so I agreed.  Tomorrow it would be into the great outdoors for 5 days.

First it was time for a feast with my home family.  First to the dining room table for what I thought was the main meal.  Fruits, cheeses, bread, spreads, meat and a few shots of a cogniac with Joseph.  Then I was told this was just the precursor.  Out to dinner for a ful restarant meal with more cogniac.  Full and a little worse for wear it was time for bed.

Early the next morning we visited 3 famous Armenian sites. The oldest church in the world at 302AD andSt Gregory’s Cathedral in the mountains. 

Then to Garni temple which dates back 2300 years to the Roman Empire. 

Beautiful site on the edge of a cliff.

It was time to hike the 2.5 hours to the first camping spot at the confluence of the Azart and $$$$ rivers.  A breathtakingly beautiful spot...and enough ants, spiders and moths to make ‘A Bugs Life II’.

We were camping with another group Karen was guiding.

The next day we walked high into the mountains to a place called the dragons stones.  These stones date back 7000 years and their meaning is yet to be ascertained. 

Up and up we went to a total height of over 3100 meters.  After 10 hours walking in the beating heat we arrived and the spot was simply magical.

 

Shepards litter the hills with little stations and offer cheese, bread and tomatoes to any passerby.

The following day it was time for the long descent back to the Azart river.  The scenery was magic and reminded me of NZ in places.

And more sheapards,  Atfter 2 hours walking we arrived at a large sheapard camp. We were watered and fed by this family.  Among them was ^^^^^.  He is a Juventus fan and although English was not a shared language we managed to have a conversation simply by saying the names of players then smiling, frowing, grunting and frowning. 

^^^^^  complained of a bad heart.  When asked at just 38 years od he had a bad heart he said it was because he gets angry.  “Angry about what?” Karen asked.  “The donkey misbehaves” $$$$ reasoned!!! 

The shepards also mentioned that when their butter runs out they use New Zealand butter!  What is more incredible is that they only pay $1.90 per block of butter which is far cheaper than NZ.  I think New Zealanders have a right to be angry about the price of dairy when sheppards in the Armenia high country can access cheaper NZ butter than we can!

Canyons

Large rolling hillsides

Along the way we passed a 2000 year old pagan temple.  It has been great to be off the tourist trail in Armenia and see some legit old remains rather than processed touristy stuff.

We continued down to the Azart River once again.  A new campsite, a new private bath and some firewood to cook a proper meal.

In all the walking was not too bad.  2 hours day 1, 10 hours day 2, 13 hours day 3 and then a final 2 hour walk to civilisation.

On the way out we walked through a classic borat-esque village with stray dogs, old corrugated iron, dusty streets, chickens and old women selling singular apples on the side of the road.

We taxied back to Yerevan and took in some more sites around the city

I then taxied back to the Simonian house and found out we were in for a night of partying. A young girl had just been chrisened so we were off to a restaurant.  The restarant was incredibly plush and up rolled the Mercedes, Porsche and Hummers.  The food was incredible with an array of vegetable cominations, cheeses, yogurts, seafoods, beef, pork, lamb and unlimited drinks brought by the waiters.  To my right was Joseph, the granddad of the house.  Very quickly I realised this was not just a night of eating but drinking too.  Round after round of 10 year old Cogniac.  After 4 days in the hills I was feeling it a little.  Just as I thought Jospeh had finished another bottle appeared.  Joseph and his mate proceeded to drink another whole bottle in front of my eyes. Very very impressed.

Classic Armenian Cogniac and plenty of it

Karen, Me, Ophelia, Mama, Joseph, Patris

The feast

Boozed and a little tired we headed home for my last night in Armenia. Tomorrow I am off to Georgia.

Tehran, Tabriz and the Republic of Armenia: a border crossing meltdown

We headed in to meet Mehdi for a dinner with his friends from university.  First we hired some bikes and went for a ride around the city.  Beautiful on sunset.

During the bike we brought a drink as it was right on iftar (when the fast finishes).  The store keeper had a poster printed from a page of the lonely planet.  He is the food server in the photos and he said it is a highlight of his life!

 

Mehdi’s college friends were diverse and interesting.  Some speaking English and some not so well.  Even if you can’t understand the accent you can still understand a good joke when it is told. 

Amir spoke perfect English with an amercian accent.  He had watched 1000s of American films over and over again to perfect his enlish.  The first movie he watched ws Top Gun.  He said it took him 2 weeks to watch, understand and perfect the first 45 minutes.  That is commitment.

The group

We also talked about how it is illegal for a young couple to be together before marriage.  In Iran you must talk to the parents first before you talk to the girl!  Only if the parents and extended family agree can you start dating.  First dates will consist of tea at the family home and after 2-3 months going out to the park or a movie. 

After dinner we went to Mehdi’s relatives homes while we waited for our bus to depart at 130am.  The people are just too kind and friendly.  At each place all the relatives gave up seats for us, even the old granddad who could barely stand despite our protests.  We were presented with drink after drink (non-alcoholic of course) and plates mounted with food. The fast was clearly over.

We jumped on our VIP bus which cost 12USD for a 7 hour journey. The seats are lazy boys and you can nearly lie perfectly flat.

Arrived early in Tehran, very very tired from 4 hours sleep on the bus.  We found a park at the bus station and slept on the grass for a few more hours.  We often see people sleeping on the grass at bus stations and train stations. 

We caught a taxi up to the Sa’ad Abad Museum, the location of the Shah royal family palaces.  These places oozed opulence and excess.  The Shahs lost power partly because they lived such a highfalutin lifestyle. 

Cars including the famous bullet proof, bomb proof 6 ton Mercedes 600.

We saw some of his gun collection

 

alking around the grounds we came across a tennis court with some guys having a hit.  Curious I watched for about 10 mins before being asked if I wanted a hit. I jumped on court eager as a beaver.  I couldn't get a ball in play for some reason, It was a clay court but this was no excuse.  After 10 minutes of failed rallies I gave the racket back.  The guy explained to me that we were at 1800 meters altitude which made the balls weight about half of their usual…

After this we caught a taxi to Eli’s house for lunch.  

They were not fasting and the food was insane.  I left 5kg heavier.

The sleeper compartment on these overnight trains is luxurious.  TVs, snacks, lighting, electric plugs full length beds. We were with Max, a man from Tabriz and Joseph, a man from Yerevan, Armenia.  While the others chatted, I planned my travel through Turkey but then Joseph mentioned I should come and stay with him and his family in Armenia.  I didn’t even know that Armenia was a country but now I am going there.  It is on a but of a whim but it is not very often you are in a train in Iran when an Armenian invites you to spend 4 days in rural Armenia so why not.

 An IT guy never sleeps

20/8/11

We arrived in Tabriz at 7am.  Max, one of the guys in the compartment, offered us a ride into town to wait for Fahid to pick us up.  We were dropped off outside the ‘Blue Mosque’ and ate some pistachio nuts in the grounds in defiance of Ramadan.  Fahid picked us up and took us to the local park for a look around.  It is a Friday so the main rest day in Iran.  The park was packed full of families playing all range of stports and doing exercise. 

We joined some of his friends for a game of volleyball for a while. 

At one point a police officer blew a whistle and shouted out at us.  I hacd no idea why but on asking the girls they said it was because boys and girls were playing volleyball together.  Even in a family and friends situation it is illegal.  Everyone shouted back at the officer and told him to move on.  He continued to watch and at one point there were 3 watching.  Stupid stupid rules.

After the volleyball we were dropped off at our hotel by Fahid.  The hotel was the most expensive we stayed at, $30usd a night, and had the worst facilities.  Internet was confined to one slow computer with all the usual facebook and blogspot blocks.  This time we had no way around. What was worse was the Chinese guy who sat on the computer literally from 9am till 6pm chatting to his friends in China on MSN.  He is placed in Tabriz for 2 months working for a company, He said he only left the hotel grounds a few times a week and never went for a look around because he was scared of being kidnapped. What a life…

It was bizar time with high roller Dodd after some skux shoes.  As the purchase was made we had a call from Fahid asking if I wanted a hit of tennis.  There was no way to turn that down.  We had a great hit of tennis on sunset at about 30C.  I explained to him that such conditions occurred about once every 5 years in NZ.

 

First taste of Iranian fastfood for dinner.  Iran bans all western brands so there is no MacDs, Subway or KFC.  Instead they have very similar named companies selling similar products.  KFC for instance  is called Kentucky Chicken…  They do not recognise western trademarks at all.

20/08/2011

 I went do to use the computer this morning only to find that it was infected with about 30 viruses.  Probably a result of trying to download various illegal copies of the Armenian Lonely Planet…

I went into town in search of internet cafe.  After wandering aimlessly for about an hour I visited the store that Dodd brought shoes at yesterday. I knew that the 17 year old son at least knew a word of enlgish.  He immediately pointed me in the right direction. 

Internet café still did not allow facebook but it allowed me to boy the lonely planet and have a chat to mum and dad on skype.  In total 1.5 ours of internet cost $1.20.

Back at the hotel I waited for Fahid to pick me up.  He said he had an afternoon of activities planned.  First we went for another hit of tennis, this time at a fancy country club. 

 Perfect clay court

Incredible fake grass football pitch.  Me want.

He then dropped me at the bazaar for a couple of hours while he attended a meeting.  I had a great time wandering about using up the rest of my Iranian Rials. I brought Fahid a couple of presents for his generosity and a gift for the family I am meant to be staying with in Armenia, still haven’t heard back from them…

Fahid and I had another fastfood dinner.  Even though Fahid’s English isn’t great it is wonderful how a connection can be made just through a few words.  After dinner I jumped on the bus bound for Armenia!!

It was 10pm at night so read a book for a while then went to sleep. AT 2pm the bus stopped and I was told it was time for the border crossing.  Here is where the fun began.

I have two passports.  UK and NZ.  UK visas for  Armenia are only $30 whereas NZ are $60 so I planned to use my Uk passport to enter. We hauled our bags off the bus and one at a time we filed through passport control.  When my turn came the shit hit the fan.  I handed over my UK passport, it did not have the Iranian visa in it which confused them.  I handed over my NZ passport and explained I had two passports and that I wanted to enter with the UK one. They could not understand the ideal of dual citizenship and disappeared to make a phone call.  Half the bus was held up behind me but eventually the gaird decided to let them through.

I was taken away for an interview.  I was asked all about my time in Iran.  I told them about travelling with Matt Dodd.  As I told my story I realised how implausible it sounded.  I flew in from Malaysia, Dodd from Oman and we met in Shiraz.  When asked where Matt was I said he had gone to Iraq and that I was going to Armenia to meet a family who I had met 2 days ago on a train……

After about an hour with the whole bus waiting for me they let me through on the NZ passport.  The passport control guy had no idea what the cost of a NZ visa was.  After initially asking for $30 I said $10 and he agreed.  So after all the drama I saved $50 on the visa!

Fast times in Iran

Woke with the typical dry throat after sleeping in a hot climate.  Picked up my water bottle but realised I couldn’t drink a drop until 810pm – a very unpleasant realisation. This fast is a ridiculous idea - especially in the middle of an Iranian summer

I thought a refreshing shower might help out the situation but alas the Isfahan water shortage measures had kicked in which means rolling water outages around the city.  Iran, like much of the world, is short of water.  In New Zealand we lucky to have only the occassional sprinkler restriction in suburban Waikanae. 

After watching Dodd devour his breakfast we headed into town on the bus. One thing I have not talked about is the apartheid-like restrictions on woman in society.  This extends to the buses with woman sitting at the back – very awkward when a husband and wife travel together. 

An example of the divide is the separate praying rooms at all airports and bus stations. 

We obviously caught the wrong bus and ended up in an unfamiliar area of town.  We asked for directions and ended up meeting Ashkan – Iranian 3000m steeplechase champion! The conversation predictably turned to sport and he mentioned two interesting things.  Firstly that professional athletes do not have to fast for Ramadan which shows the Quaran can be interpreted to fit ones needs. Secondly that male athletes can wear shorts when competing despite having to wear pants day to day. Women on the other hand, compete in full robe with no skin showin apart from their face.  Very inconsistent.

Ashkanand I taking a stroll down Chahar Bagh street

On the way we passed florescent coloured ducklings.  The seller dyes the ducks to encourage kids to buys them but the colour washes off within two weeks...

As quickly as Hussain disappeared on his bike, another character turned up. Very memorable because his name is pronounced ‘woman’.   Hooman had some very interesting insights into Iranian life, especially the political situation. We first talked about the water-fight arrests in Tehran.  The arrests were because boys and girls were playing together rather than because it was a water fight. Children are separated at an early age and Hussain remarked that separating the sexes is the reason for low moral standards in Iran.

Next he talked about Ramadan.  Girls are considered ‘woman’ at just 9 years old.  Conversely boys become ‘men’ at 15. Another consistent facet of Iranian culture/law.  Thank goodness Helen Kelley (president of NZ Council of Trade Unions) does not live in Iran.  If she thinks a pay gap of 5% is something to worry about, she should check out this neck of the woods…

At one point in the conversation, Hooman’s face darkened and sadness gripped his face.  His brother was a protester during the 2008 election debacle. The government employed spies to march in the protests and gather details of those taking part.  Everyone who participated faced serious problems, not at the actual protest, but away from the cameras.  Hooman’s brother was sent packing back to Denmark (where he had joint-citizenship), his Iranian citizenship was revoked and Hooman has not seen his brother for 3 years.  It is near impossible for Iranian 's to travel so Hooman will likely never see his brother again…

 

Hooman and Dodd at a shoe mall:  A perfectly competitive market with 20 identical shops with identical product.

We left Hooman and proceeded into the shelter of the Bozorg Bazaar so Matt could look at some carpets.  It was about 2pm and I was feeling miiiiserable with no water.  I didn’t feel hungry the whole day but I constantly was aware that my mouth was drier than the Zayande River.

Si-O-Seh Bridge and Zayande River

Matt's lunch  - a gooey eggplant dish.  The consistency was that of playdough

Unfortunately we arrived at the bazaar in the middle of the 5 hour afternoon siesta . We saw a door ajar and heard some noise so poked our heads in. There were 6 men crowded around a carpet playing cards.  I sat down next ‘Ali’, whose daughter works in New Plymouth!  Little English was spoken but the political situation again took a forefront.  At one point ‘Ali’ rose off his seat, started dancing and chanting ‘no fun, no money, no dance, no sing, no drink, no sex OR’ – he did a NZ haka throat slitting action.   Hilarious but sobering.

Ali and the secret card players

Matt ended up buying a carpet from a nearby dealer after lets called it some ‘competitive’ bartering…

 

We were picked up by Mehdi, a friend of Eli.  We visited a spot with a great view of Isfahan.

For the remaining 3 hours of my fast, every second lasted an hour.  Muhhamad warned me that I would not know thirst until I have done a fast in 38C+ in Iran.  This particular fast is the worst possible timing being mid-summer.  Every year it moves 10 days earlier.  It is hard to describe but I realised I had a new worst possible way to die.  Thirst.

8.09 – waiting and ready

After downing about 3 litres of water and some dinner it was time to pass the evening smoking shesha with new danish couch surfers

Late in the evening we headed up the Isfahan gondola.  All around were families enjoying the park, kids playing in the quad and couples enjoying the serenity.  According to Muhhamad all the ‘social police’ go to sleep at night so the parks become festive.

A couple more sights