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Armenia Travel Blogs

Armenia prides itself on being the first nation to formally adopt Christianity (early 4th century). Despite periods of autonomy, over the centuries Armenia came under the sway of various empires including the Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Persian, and Ottoman. It was incorporated into Russia in 1828 and the USSR in 1920. Armenian leaders remain preoccupied by the long conflict with Muslim Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily Armenian-populated region, assigned to Soviet Azerbaijan in the 1920s by Moscow. Armenia and Azerbaijan began fighting over the area in 1988; the struggle escalated after both countries attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By May 1994, when a cease-fire took hold, Armenian forces held not only Nagorno-Karabakh but also a significant portion of Azerbaijan proper. The economies of both sides have been hurt by their inability to make substantial progress toward a peaceful resolution. Turkey imposed an economic blockade on Armenia and closed the common border because of the Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas. To be updated

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By Dr Jenny
August 28th 2007

Travels to southern Armenia Asia » Armenia » West » Yerevan

Award to Dr. Armenian by the Catholicos

Marian and Tom in Armenia Marian and Tom have been here since August 16 I think. Their journey was one for the books—it took them almost 2.5 days to get here—this included a 12 hour stop in Vienna where they went to a spa and slept on lounge chairs in a city park until tune to head back to the airport for the flight to Yerevan. One of the first activities for us was to attend the presentation of the Armenian Apostolic Church’s highest service award to Dr. Haroutine Armenian (can you believe his last name?), the President of the [View Full Entry]

By Dr Jon
August 10th 2007

Curtain Call Asia » Armenia » West » Yerevan

Rapture

Playing house with Debra these past two weeks has triggered memories of my former identity as one of two. I am surprised by how distant these memories feel. Has my life really changed that much? Am I now officially "the single guy?" Of course I had to note the equal remoteness of my memories of my former wife. Life is strange. We've been to lots of concerts, restaurants, and parties. Despite the fun I noticed a curious melancholy in my emotional background. It took me a few days to realize that it was caused by the looming imminence of my departure [View Full Entry]

By Dr Jenny
August 6th 2007

Natural Armenia? Asia » Armenia » West » Yerevan

Lapwing

Hi all, I thought that this blog should be about the Armenian landscape. Armenia is just a tiny place, about the size of Belgium or Maryland, according to the guidebook Armenia and Karabagh, written by Matthew Karanian and Robert Kurkjian. But it is an incredibly mountainous place so that, like Nevada, the basin and range topography is a bit misleading. It takes a 6 hours of steady driving up and down the mountains to reach the border with Iran, for example. From Yerevan the big and small peaks of Mt. Ararat are in view, but they are actually in modern Turkey. [View Full Entry]

By Dr Jenny
July 13th 2007

Big City Living Asia » Armenia » West » Yerevan

RECOVERED

Second Blog from Yerevan I have had requests to see my apartment so I took some photos -- a bit tricky because the place is big—the ceilings are more than 12 feet high, for example. The reaction of every Armenian who comes to the apartment is that it is much too big and airy. It is probably the thought of winter heat bills that scares them. But the rooms is newly remodeled and is great for doing exercises because there is a great deal of space (note the dumbbells in one of the pictures). Two rooms and two bathrooms. Also included [View Full Entry]

By Dr Jenny
July 5th 2007

The first blog Asia » Armenia » West » Yerevan

RECOVERED

July 5, 2007 Hi all, I have already spent one month in Yerevan, Armenia, a place I had never heard of until my friend Lisa sent me a job announcement (she sends all the unusual announcements to me, she informs me) for the position of Director of the Environmental Conservation and Research Center (ECRC) of the American University of Armenia. The notice suggested that a working knowledge of Russian or Armenian was a big plus although AUA is an affiliate of the University of California, Berkeley so professors teach classes in English. It turns out that the Provost of the [View Full Entry]

By Dr Jenny
July 5th 2007

Between the Seas Asia » Armenia » West » Yerevan

American University of Armenia

July 5, 2007 Hi all, I have already spent one month in Yerevan, Armenia, a place I had never heard of until my friend Lisa sent me a job announcement (she sends all the weird ones to me she informs me) for the position of Director of the Environmental Conservation and Research Center (ECRC) of the American University of Armenia. The notice suggested that a working knowledge of Russian or Armenian was a big plus although AUA is an affiliate of the University of California, Berkeley so professors teach classes in English. It turns out that the Provost of the entire [View Full Entry]

By Dr Jon
June 26th 2007

Feastie Boys Asia » Armenia » West » Yerevan

Caro (aka Santa)

The Good Life "A toast to our beautiful lives." That's Suesue, the Persian-Berkeley Architect-Archaeologist toasting with David's special cognac. We had just finished a miraculous Persian feast she and some of the other girls had whipped up in honor of my visit to Erebuni House. That's the mansion on the far side of Yerevan where the Erebuni Seven (i.e., the Berkeley team excavating Erebuni) are headquartered. I had been invited to Erebuni House ostensibly to fix Felix's new laptop. He was trying to install Microsoft Office. Each time it prompted him for the product identificatio [View Full Entry]

By Dr Jon
June 12th 2007

Heat, Dust, Ruins, and MIGS Asia » Armenia » West » Yerevan

Solar lunch at AUA

Dream #115 Although I no longer need to take melatonin for jetlag, I still have weird dreams. I dreamed that I had a disease. The recommended treatment was that I be shot on Tuesday. I had a final conversation with my ex-wife, but she was speechless for one reason or another. Even in my dreams I can't invent words for her to say. On Tuesday I wasn't nervous about being shot. When the doctor pulled the trigger I awoke wondering if waking is death to the dreamer. The Diggers David Stronach made an appearance at the University earlier this week. He's [View Full Entry]

By Dr Jon
June 3rd 2007

Up and Running Asia » Armenia » West » Yerevan

The sacred and the profane

On the flight to London I have strange melatonin-induced dreams. I dream that I awake to discover that we have all been transferred onto the Chunnel. I didn't remember the transfer, perhaps I slept through it. But it strikes me as a brilliant idea because the train travels at the same speed as the airplane. Teasingly, the train dips into short tunnels that might confirm my Chunnel theory. Beneath the elevated tracks I see the detritus of Britain's WW II effort—old bombers, folded camouflage tarps. Heathrow is its usual gray, timeless haze. Zombies shuffle from one terminal to the nex [View Full Entry]

By Nebraska Nomad
April 28th 2007

Back in the USSR - Armenia Part III Asia » Armenia » West » Yerevan

Share the road!

The rest our journey was more precarious and I gazed at the broken guard rails strategically placed beside the worst curves. Some good they did. The snow fell furiously, Axel Rose screamed “Welcome to the Jungle!” which was remarkably appropriate for the chaotic traffic we kept engaging, and I watched the world drift on. The mountains are intoxicating in this region, not that we needed any more intoxication, and you really feel close to the earth. It is comforting. We made the final turns off the mountain and descended into the basin that cradles Yerevan. It was Genocide Day in [View Full Entry]

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