#80 Travelogue Armenia: Soviet Yerevan
▶️ Welcome to 🇦🇲Armenia, a landlocked country in the South Caucasus region. Landlocked countries and societies of mountain dwellers are usually more conservative and slower to develop. Armenia’s capital Yerevan is a vibrant city that offers all the modern comforts but doesn’t hide its Soviet past:
Architecture and ornaments
To honour the state and society, socialist architecture is all about extravagant buildings in city centres and boring standard greyish buildings everywhere else. Ornaments celebrate the big themes in small details.
A familiar metro
Like other Soviet-built metro systems, Yerevan’s metro is deep, dark, beautiful and has heavy machinery. It is so noisy that having a conversation during the ride is sheer impossible and the distance between stations is quite big.
Abandonment
Old iron stuff lying around? Like in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan people feel no hurry to get rid of it. Maybe they’re at peace with the past.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #armenia
▶️ Welcome to 🇦🇲Armenia, a landlocked country in the South Caucasus region. Landlocked countries and societies of mountain dwellers are usually more conservative and slower to develop. Armenia’s capital Yerevan is a vibrant city that offers all the modern comforts but doesn’t hide its Soviet past:
Architecture and ornaments
To honour the state and society, socialist architecture is all about extravagant buildings in city centres and boring standard greyish buildings everywhere else. Ornaments celebrate the big themes in small details.
A familiar metro
Like other Soviet-built metro systems, Yerevan’s metro is deep, dark, beautiful and has heavy machinery. It is so noisy that having a conversation during the ride is sheer impossible and the distance between stations is quite big.
Abandonment
Old iron stuff lying around? Like in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan people feel no hurry to get rid of it. Maybe they’re at peace with the past.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #armenia
#3 Travel Notes: Mount Ararat
▶️ Borders are weird sometimes. Mount Ararat is the national symbol of 🇦🇲Armenia although it is entirely in 🇹🇷Turkey. The sight of the mountain is truly impressive and graces (=make sth more attractive) the Yerevan cityscape (=landscape of a city), especially when there is less air pollution. The mountain is 5,137 metres high. Read more about it on Wikipedia.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #armenia #turkey
▶️ Borders are weird sometimes. Mount Ararat is the national symbol of 🇦🇲Armenia although it is entirely in 🇹🇷Turkey. The sight of the mountain is truly impressive and graces (=make sth more attractive) the Yerevan cityscape (=landscape of a city), especially when there is less air pollution. The mountain is 5,137 metres high. Read more about it on Wikipedia.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #armenia #turkey
#81 Travelogue Armenia & Georgia: European Cities
▶️ In 🇦🇲Yerevan and 🇬🇪Tbilisi I somehow felt like I was in Europe. But what makes a city feel European actually?
Pedestrians rule
European cities are walkable and as a pedestrian you have the power. Driving a car is a bad idea because roads are narrow, traffic is maze of traffic lights, zebra crossings and one-way roads, and finding somewhere to park your car is a major headache.
Art for the sake of art
Works of art in public places don’t have a purpose to honour the state, glorify heroes or celebrate the nation. It’s just art that makes a place more interesting and brings a smile to your face.
Old buildings
There is a sense that modern-day architecture is efficient but soulless. Old buildings are protected by law and are carefully maintained. They are usually much more expensive to buy or rent than new buildings.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #armenia #georgia
▶️ In 🇦🇲Yerevan and 🇬🇪Tbilisi I somehow felt like I was in Europe. But what makes a city feel European actually?
Pedestrians rule
European cities are walkable and as a pedestrian you have the power. Driving a car is a bad idea because roads are narrow, traffic is maze of traffic lights, zebra crossings and one-way roads, and finding somewhere to park your car is a major headache.
Art for the sake of art
Works of art in public places don’t have a purpose to honour the state, glorify heroes or celebrate the nation. It’s just art that makes a place more interesting and brings a smile to your face.
Old buildings
There is a sense that modern-day architecture is efficient but soulless. Old buildings are protected by law and are carefully maintained. They are usually much more expensive to buy or rent than new buildings.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #armenia #georgia
#4 Travel Notes: Culinary journey to 🇦🇲Armenia
▶️ New country, new food! Okay, I didn’t try all of these but which one would you like to try? I have three foods and three drinks for you:
1. Khinkali – dumplings filled with meat or cheese or both or other stuff. You hold them at the knob of dough which you shouldn’t eat.
2. Cheese bags – made of cheese with a cheese string and a cheese filling.
3. Chicken feet – I thought only Chinese people were into that.
4. Cones compote – something different!
5. Tesla – Armenia’s favourite energy drink.
6. Fizzy basil drink – why are Uzbeks doing so little with all their basil?
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #armenia
▶️ New country, new food! Okay, I didn’t try all of these but which one would you like to try? I have three foods and three drinks for you:
1. Khinkali – dumplings filled with meat or cheese or both or other stuff. You hold them at the knob of dough which you shouldn’t eat.
2. Cheese bags – made of cheese with a cheese string and a cheese filling.
3. Chicken feet – I thought only Chinese people were into that.
4. Cones compote – something different!
5. Tesla – Armenia’s favourite energy drink.
6. Fizzy basil drink – why are Uzbeks doing so little with all their basil?
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #armenia
#5 Travel Notes: Christian Armenia
▶️ Think what you want about religion but I find it fascinating to observe people at their most spiritual moments. 🇦🇲Armenia is situated in the mountains. Mountain dwellers (=people who live in the mountains) around the world have always been more likely to preserve (=keep) ancient traditions and not follow current changes around them. Visiting an Armenian church or monastery (=religious building where monks or nuns live) therefore feels a little bit like travelling through time as well. It is quite unlike anything you find in the hustle and bustle (=noise and activity of a crowded place) of Europe or America.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #armenia
▶️ Think what you want about religion but I find it fascinating to observe people at their most spiritual moments. 🇦🇲Armenia is situated in the mountains. Mountain dwellers (=people who live in the mountains) around the world have always been more likely to preserve (=keep) ancient traditions and not follow current changes around them. Visiting an Armenian church or monastery (=religious building where monks or nuns live) therefore feels a little bit like travelling through time as well. It is quite unlike anything you find in the hustle and bustle (=noise and activity of a crowded place) of Europe or America.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #armenia
#82 Travelogue Georgia: Ukraine is in Georgia
▶️ Everyone talks about Ukraine, so let’s do that as well! Many people support Ukraine but what you can see in 🇬🇪Georgia is really on another level. How come?
A troubled history
Despite being the home country of Stalin, Georgians see themselves as victims of Russian aggression. That’s mainly because Russia is controlling the two breakaway republics inside the country – Abkhasia and Southern Ossetia – and Georgians see how Russia is trying to do the same in Ukraine.
Wannabe Western
Georgia is somehow in Asia but it feels like Europe and Georgians are eager to join the EU. They are also heavily pro-American. Being against Russia is one way of expressing this. And as in Europe it’s also fashionable to show support for Ukraine even when you don’t care about it deeply.
Funny situation: A random young guy in Tbilisi comes up to us to ask where we are from. So we ask him back and the answer is …? – “I’m from f***ing Russia.” 😳
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #georgia
▶️ Everyone talks about Ukraine, so let’s do that as well! Many people support Ukraine but what you can see in 🇬🇪Georgia is really on another level. How come?
A troubled history
Despite being the home country of Stalin, Georgians see themselves as victims of Russian aggression. That’s mainly because Russia is controlling the two breakaway republics inside the country – Abkhasia and Southern Ossetia – and Georgians see how Russia is trying to do the same in Ukraine.
Wannabe Western
Georgia is somehow in Asia but it feels like Europe and Georgians are eager to join the EU. They are also heavily pro-American. Being against Russia is one way of expressing this. And as in Europe it’s also fashionable to show support for Ukraine even when you don’t care about it deeply.
Funny situation: A random young guy in Tbilisi comes up to us to ask where we are from. So we ask him back and the answer is …? – “I’m from f***ing Russia.” 😳
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #georgia
#6 Travel Notes: Old Town Tbilisi
▶️ Let’s take a stroll (=take a walk) through the less polished (=made shiny and beautiful, esp. shoes) neighbourhoods of 🇬🇪Georgia’s capital Tbilisi.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #georgia
▶️ Let’s take a stroll (=take a walk) through the less polished (=made shiny and beautiful, esp. shoes) neighbourhoods of 🇬🇪Georgia’s capital Tbilisi.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #georgia
#83 Travelogue Georgia: Where am I?
▶️🇬🇪Tbilisi is a hotspot of international youth culture and there are places in the city that make you feel like you’re in no particular country at all. You can’t even tell by people’s looks – they come from all corners of the globe. What are these places?
Co-working spaces
These are the natural habitat of digital nomads, i.e. where they get to “work”. Some old factories get turned into a co-working spaces, retaining a charmingly industrial atmosphere thanks to cables, pipes and rough concrete walls.
Hostels
Digital nomads and backpackers live on a modest budget and obviously don’t choose expensive hotels. Hostels have dormitories with bunk beds, and they can be really cheap, like $5 per night. They usually have a common area and shared kitchen where people can socialise.
Georgia can have these places because it is a very open country.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #georgia
▶️🇬🇪Tbilisi is a hotspot of international youth culture and there are places in the city that make you feel like you’re in no particular country at all. You can’t even tell by people’s looks – they come from all corners of the globe. What are these places?
Co-working spaces
These are the natural habitat of digital nomads, i.e. where they get to “work”. Some old factories get turned into a co-working spaces, retaining a charmingly industrial atmosphere thanks to cables, pipes and rough concrete walls.
Hostels
Digital nomads and backpackers live on a modest budget and obviously don’t choose expensive hotels. Hostels have dormitories with bunk beds, and they can be really cheap, like $5 per night. They usually have a common area and shared kitchen where people can socialise.
Georgia can have these places because it is a very open country.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #georgia
#7 Travel Notes: Wannabe Europe
▶️ 🇬🇪Georgia was recently hoping to become an official candidate country to join the 🇪🇺European Union but – oh no! – was refused. Maybe it will take another 10 years, who knows. That doesn’t stop Georgians from expressing their enthusiasm (=strong feeling of interest and enjoyment) for Europe.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #georgia
▶️ 🇬🇪Georgia was recently hoping to become an official candidate country to join the 🇪🇺European Union but – oh no! – was refused. Maybe it will take another 10 years, who knows. That doesn’t stop Georgians from expressing their enthusiasm (=strong feeling of interest and enjoyment) for Europe.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #georgia
#84 Travelogue Georgia: Oh My Dog!
▶️ If Turkey is a country of cats then 🇬🇪Georgia is for dogs. You can see dogs everywhere in the country. They don’t do much really and aren’t much of a nuisance but you do hear some howling at night. Most but not all of them are vaccinated and neutered by the government. Those dogs have a tag on their ears. Anyway, why dogs?
Laissez-faire
Georgia is a very liberal country. People are quite free to do and say what they want. Hence there is no heavy-handed policy about anything, neither drugs or crime nor street dogs.
Religion
Muslim countries rarely have a problem with street dogs because dogs are considered dirty animals in Islam. Christianity doesn’t say much about dogs but it does preach mercy and tolerance towards the weak.
Westernisation
Georgians have a deep dislike of their Soviet past and their big bully neighbour Russia. They are looking to the West instead and want to dissociate themselves from the cruelty of the East.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #georgia
▶️ If Turkey is a country of cats then 🇬🇪Georgia is for dogs. You can see dogs everywhere in the country. They don’t do much really and aren’t much of a nuisance but you do hear some howling at night. Most but not all of them are vaccinated and neutered by the government. Those dogs have a tag on their ears. Anyway, why dogs?
Laissez-faire
Georgia is a very liberal country. People are quite free to do and say what they want. Hence there is no heavy-handed policy about anything, neither drugs or crime nor street dogs.
Religion
Muslim countries rarely have a problem with street dogs because dogs are considered dirty animals in Islam. Christianity doesn’t say much about dogs but it does preach mercy and tolerance towards the weak.
Westernisation
Georgians have a deep dislike of their Soviet past and their big bully neighbour Russia. They are looking to the West instead and want to dissociate themselves from the cruelty of the East.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #georgia