The return of the Internet to Armenia...
Well, after one day of worrying that the internet wouldn't be fixed until I left Armenia, it's back! It's still not quite up to par - a bit slow, but alas, it has returned.
It's been a busy few days since I posted last. On Friday morning at 7am (I got up to shower at 5:30 since it would be the last one for a very HOT weekend) we piled into Birthright to get ready for our long journey to Karabagh. We got in the bus around 7:45 and didn't get to Shushi until dinnertime, so it was a long day. We did make a few stops along the way, though, so luckily we weren't driving all those hours.
We made a few pit stops, one of which was in Yeghegnadzor in this little market we stopped at sometimes between Habitat and home after a long day of work. It was so nice to be back in Yeghegnadzor! I don't think I realized how attached I got to the place - it's so beautiful! It was so nice to see it again before leaving Armenia.
Right before the crossing the border into Karabagh, we took a little sidetrip to Datev Monastery. We had to leave the big charter bus behind and jump into several smaller vans to navigate the winding mountain roads to Datev. It was a long hour of descending a mountain and climbing up another one, but the church and monastery were so beautiful it was worth it! On the monastery campus there is a large church and then several smaller buildings and nooks and crannies you can investigate. We ended up having a light lunch of watermelon, cheese, bread, etc. on the top of one of the thick walls overlooking the valley. It was gorgeous (and much cooler than the valley below!).
We then had to get back in the vans and return to the bus up and down the same winding road. It was another 2 hours before we reached Shushi, but it was a beautiful drive! The mountains are covered in forests - which I hear are stunning in the fall. The road itself into Karabagh is also very nice. It was funded by Diasporans and cost millions and millions of dollars - but I guess it was worth it since it signficantly cuts down the travel time to Karabagh from Armenia. There was also a very beautiful Armenian church in Lachin where we stopped to visit.
Once in Shushi we were greeted by many small local children in front of the Shushi hotel. I guess it is somewhat of a custom for them to greet visitors, but after spending a few minutes with them you realize they're trying to look sweet and cute so you will give them presents and money. It's really depressing. Within 5 minutes, 2 five-year-olds asked me for money. It's so sad. We had dinner at the hotel - a fairly new, but small 13-room hotel - and it was so nice not to be in a moving vehicle anymore.
The main city of Karabagh is Stepanakert, but we stayed in Shushi with families instead. This was a really interesting experience since Shushi is practically a ghost town now since the war really hit hard there. In the last years of the Soviet Union, this town had more Azeris than Armenians, and all of them fled the war and are likely living in refugee camps outside of Baku or possibly were lucky enough to get to Russia or other countries. Now, Armenians are the only ones inhabiting the town - maybe only 3,000 in a city that used to hold 30-40,000. It's very strange to be there.
I guess I should say for those of you who don't know that Karabagh is an ethnically and historically Armenian territory (well, depends on who you ask that question to) in Azerbaijan. There was a war in the early 1990s over this land since the Karabagh Armenians wanted to be separate from Azerbaijan. But, Azerbaijan doesn't want to let it go since it would mean losing a significant amount of its territory and infringe on its territorial integrity. There was a cease fire in 1994, but the issue remains unsolved to this day.
Ok, to continue, after dinner in the hotel we were taken to our host families to collapse into bed for the night. It had been a long, hot day in the bus and we had gone up and down in elevation all day in the mountains - that's enough to make someone very very tired. I stayed with 4 other girls from BR (no living with boys for the first time in a month!!!) in a large house on the south side of town. There was no running water or appliances of any sort. Our host mom brought water from the well so we could wash our faces and whatnot, and BR supplied us with bottled water to drink and brush teeth.
Saturday morning we had breakfast in the home and then met in front of one of the old mosques in town to get in the bus to go to Stepanakert to meet the president of Karabagh. Pifer and I had met him a few years ago when he came to UM, but it was interesting to see him here in his element. Afterwards we got back in the bus and visited the monastery of Ganzasar about an hour out of the city. We stopped at a the most random place I've seen in all of Armenia (and I've seen some random things!!!). Some guy who was from this small town came back and built a hotel with a water park. It's in the absolute middle of nowhere on the road to the monastery. You have just passed small farms and vast tracks of wheat fields and all of a sudden come upon a water park and hotel. WEIRD.
Ganzasar was absolutely amazing. The view is incredible! The priest is also a very interesting man. He has been at Ganzasar for some time, including during the war. When the Azeris were advancing up the hill towards the monastery, he held them off for 2 hours while he waited for the Karabagh army to come to his aid. Another time, during Badarak he had a feeling that the enemy was close. So he handed off the service to someone else, went outside, and saw 6 Azeris preparing to come in and slaughter everyone at Badarak. So, he shot a few of them and the rest scattered, then he went back inside and finished service. Whoa. The church and campus are really nice, and I guess they will be opening a seminary there very soon.
After Ganzasar we stopped quickly at the Babik and Tatik monument - the symbol of Karabagh - and then spent an hour sitting at cafes in Stepanakert. Then, we returned to Shushi to get ready for the KEF (big party) at one of the host families' homes. Me and two of the other girls at the house were disgusted with ourselves (it had ben 90-100 degrees for 2 days and we had been stuck in a sauna of a bus), so we found a bucket of water and helped each other wash our hair. It was hysterical. I have never been so happy to be clean in my life. That night we went to the kef and had a great time. A local girl was the DJ and we danced and ate all night long. Pifer and Alex had a bit too much tooti oghi (Karabagh vodka), but it was still a really fun time.
Sunday we took a walking city tour of Shushi, which was exhausting since it was already bloody hot and the whole city seems to be uphill. First we went to a beautiful overlook where a big battle during the war took place. Then we walked through town - saw a mosque - then kept walking to Badarak at the cathedral. This church is really beautiful, but really unusual since it's all white. This was a nice service to end our trip in Armenia since the singing was nice, it wasn't overly hot, and there weren't a gazillion people to push you around. After service we went back to the Shushi hotel for lunch and then headed home.
The drive home took about 6.5 hours and we were back by 9pm. We stopped a few times for ice cream or just a rest (really, it was probably for all the chain smokers...). But the bus was really hot and we were in there a loooong time over the course of the weekend, so I was ecstatic to see Yerevan again. I must say I was a bit cranky til I got to take a shower, then I was only a little cranky. But a good night's sleep fixed everything and now I can say I enjoyed the trip. It was really interesting to see the place I've learned so much about during my studies at U-M. I need to do some more thinking about how I really felt to be there and what I think about things now, but it definitely was an interesting trip.
On other exciting notes, only a few days left til I come home! Shant Korkigian also just arrived in Armenia, so it'll be fun to have him around for our last few days here. He knows so much about Yerevan from when he did Birthright! Work has also been really good. I've been working on some interesting things, and I also got to meet David Hotson in the flesh this week. He's here from New York seeing where the project is going. The next few days will basically consist of work and wrapping things up with Birthright and at home. I should probably do a test-pack to make sure I can get all my stuff in my suitcase!
We were supposed to go on an excursion with BR on Saturday, but I think Pifer, Alex, and I will stay in Yerevan to enjoy our last day together. Then, we're MICHIGAN BOUND! I'll be back late Sunday night - watch out! Miss you all! Can't wait to see you soon. love, sara :)
It's been a busy few days since I posted last. On Friday morning at 7am (I got up to shower at 5:30 since it would be the last one for a very HOT weekend) we piled into Birthright to get ready for our long journey to Karabagh. We got in the bus around 7:45 and didn't get to Shushi until dinnertime, so it was a long day. We did make a few stops along the way, though, so luckily we weren't driving all those hours.
We made a few pit stops, one of which was in Yeghegnadzor in this little market we stopped at sometimes between Habitat and home after a long day of work. It was so nice to be back in Yeghegnadzor! I don't think I realized how attached I got to the place - it's so beautiful! It was so nice to see it again before leaving Armenia.
Right before the crossing the border into Karabagh, we took a little sidetrip to Datev Monastery. We had to leave the big charter bus behind and jump into several smaller vans to navigate the winding mountain roads to Datev. It was a long hour of descending a mountain and climbing up another one, but the church and monastery were so beautiful it was worth it! On the monastery campus there is a large church and then several smaller buildings and nooks and crannies you can investigate. We ended up having a light lunch of watermelon, cheese, bread, etc. on the top of one of the thick walls overlooking the valley. It was gorgeous (and much cooler than the valley below!).
We then had to get back in the vans and return to the bus up and down the same winding road. It was another 2 hours before we reached Shushi, but it was a beautiful drive! The mountains are covered in forests - which I hear are stunning in the fall. The road itself into Karabagh is also very nice. It was funded by Diasporans and cost millions and millions of dollars - but I guess it was worth it since it signficantly cuts down the travel time to Karabagh from Armenia. There was also a very beautiful Armenian church in Lachin where we stopped to visit.
Once in Shushi we were greeted by many small local children in front of the Shushi hotel. I guess it is somewhat of a custom for them to greet visitors, but after spending a few minutes with them you realize they're trying to look sweet and cute so you will give them presents and money. It's really depressing. Within 5 minutes, 2 five-year-olds asked me for money. It's so sad. We had dinner at the hotel - a fairly new, but small 13-room hotel - and it was so nice not to be in a moving vehicle anymore.
The main city of Karabagh is Stepanakert, but we stayed in Shushi with families instead. This was a really interesting experience since Shushi is practically a ghost town now since the war really hit hard there. In the last years of the Soviet Union, this town had more Azeris than Armenians, and all of them fled the war and are likely living in refugee camps outside of Baku or possibly were lucky enough to get to Russia or other countries. Now, Armenians are the only ones inhabiting the town - maybe only 3,000 in a city that used to hold 30-40,000. It's very strange to be there.
I guess I should say for those of you who don't know that Karabagh is an ethnically and historically Armenian territory (well, depends on who you ask that question to) in Azerbaijan. There was a war in the early 1990s over this land since the Karabagh Armenians wanted to be separate from Azerbaijan. But, Azerbaijan doesn't want to let it go since it would mean losing a significant amount of its territory and infringe on its territorial integrity. There was a cease fire in 1994, but the issue remains unsolved to this day.
Ok, to continue, after dinner in the hotel we were taken to our host families to collapse into bed for the night. It had been a long, hot day in the bus and we had gone up and down in elevation all day in the mountains - that's enough to make someone very very tired. I stayed with 4 other girls from BR (no living with boys for the first time in a month!!!) in a large house on the south side of town. There was no running water or appliances of any sort. Our host mom brought water from the well so we could wash our faces and whatnot, and BR supplied us with bottled water to drink and brush teeth.
Saturday morning we had breakfast in the home and then met in front of one of the old mosques in town to get in the bus to go to Stepanakert to meet the president of Karabagh. Pifer and I had met him a few years ago when he came to UM, but it was interesting to see him here in his element. Afterwards we got back in the bus and visited the monastery of Ganzasar about an hour out of the city. We stopped at a the most random place I've seen in all of Armenia (and I've seen some random things!!!). Some guy who was from this small town came back and built a hotel with a water park. It's in the absolute middle of nowhere on the road to the monastery. You have just passed small farms and vast tracks of wheat fields and all of a sudden come upon a water park and hotel. WEIRD.
Ganzasar was absolutely amazing. The view is incredible! The priest is also a very interesting man. He has been at Ganzasar for some time, including during the war. When the Azeris were advancing up the hill towards the monastery, he held them off for 2 hours while he waited for the Karabagh army to come to his aid. Another time, during Badarak he had a feeling that the enemy was close. So he handed off the service to someone else, went outside, and saw 6 Azeris preparing to come in and slaughter everyone at Badarak. So, he shot a few of them and the rest scattered, then he went back inside and finished service. Whoa. The church and campus are really nice, and I guess they will be opening a seminary there very soon.
After Ganzasar we stopped quickly at the Babik and Tatik monument - the symbol of Karabagh - and then spent an hour sitting at cafes in Stepanakert. Then, we returned to Shushi to get ready for the KEF (big party) at one of the host families' homes. Me and two of the other girls at the house were disgusted with ourselves (it had ben 90-100 degrees for 2 days and we had been stuck in a sauna of a bus), so we found a bucket of water and helped each other wash our hair. It was hysterical. I have never been so happy to be clean in my life. That night we went to the kef and had a great time. A local girl was the DJ and we danced and ate all night long. Pifer and Alex had a bit too much tooti oghi (Karabagh vodka), but it was still a really fun time.
Sunday we took a walking city tour of Shushi, which was exhausting since it was already bloody hot and the whole city seems to be uphill. First we went to a beautiful overlook where a big battle during the war took place. Then we walked through town - saw a mosque - then kept walking to Badarak at the cathedral. This church is really beautiful, but really unusual since it's all white. This was a nice service to end our trip in Armenia since the singing was nice, it wasn't overly hot, and there weren't a gazillion people to push you around. After service we went back to the Shushi hotel for lunch and then headed home.
The drive home took about 6.5 hours and we were back by 9pm. We stopped a few times for ice cream or just a rest (really, it was probably for all the chain smokers...). But the bus was really hot and we were in there a loooong time over the course of the weekend, so I was ecstatic to see Yerevan again. I must say I was a bit cranky til I got to take a shower, then I was only a little cranky. But a good night's sleep fixed everything and now I can say I enjoyed the trip. It was really interesting to see the place I've learned so much about during my studies at U-M. I need to do some more thinking about how I really felt to be there and what I think about things now, but it definitely was an interesting trip.
On other exciting notes, only a few days left til I come home! Shant Korkigian also just arrived in Armenia, so it'll be fun to have him around for our last few days here. He knows so much about Yerevan from when he did Birthright! Work has also been really good. I've been working on some interesting things, and I also got to meet David Hotson in the flesh this week. He's here from New York seeing where the project is going. The next few days will basically consist of work and wrapping things up with Birthright and at home. I should probably do a test-pack to make sure I can get all my stuff in my suitcase!
We were supposed to go on an excursion with BR on Saturday, but I think Pifer, Alex, and I will stay in Yerevan to enjoy our last day together. Then, we're MICHIGAN BOUND! I'll be back late Sunday night - watch out! Miss you all! Can't wait to see you soon. love, sara :)