Exploring culture in modern ways

by Ksenia Korotkova (Russia)

Making a local connection Armenia

Initially, my friend Lera and I had only one idea: to bask in the sun and appreciate Georgian hospitality. But Jewish roots and thirst for consumption played a role - we went in transit through Gyumri and Yerevan, because it’s cheaper and you can visit two countries at once. Part 1. Spies At the passport control at Gyumri Airport, we felt like migrant workers: we took photos and videos without looking at the screen, pretending to just keep the phones. The inscription "Welcome" is printed on some banner, similar to the sign "Do not enter. Strictly Secret "near the military base . Here it seems that you returned to the Soviet Union of the 60s straight from the present. A secret mission was assigned to us, but the past creates obstacles to the goal. I didn’t live then, but I can imagine just that: gray high-rise buildings, shaking buses and cars produced 30+ years ago. Eternal rain, despondency and painfully suspicious persons. The city center resembles the courtyards of the edge of Moscow. Part 2. The true center Yerevan. 15 minutes walk from the main square. No entry signs. The situation is like after an earthquake. And only on the first floor there is one decent door. Decent in every sense - a modern door to the apartment, with a number and a bell and, of course, locked. As it turned out later - even with the owner. Above are several spans with fallen rails and unmarked floors with holes in the floor and walls. Suddenly, dogs started barking loudly at us. As soon as I went up several steps, the only door opened and the owner appeared. A gray-haired man came out to us with a “telescope” in his hands - he clearly did not like undue anxiety. In an urgent search for cover I vigorously inquired about what happened here, heading towards the exit. The master with a stone face slowly said: "Nothing happened." I did not specify the details. "Nothing? I see, thanks,”- still smiling, we quickly went out into the street so that, secretly, from around the corner, we would again direct the cameras towards the house. Then we learned that the earthquake had nothing to do with it - it did not directly affect Yerevan, although it claimed thousands of lives. The cause could be a gas explosion. Perhaps old age is to blame. But why then is someone still living in it? Does it really cherish memory? Or is he just a guard? On one story on Instagram, we received dozens of responses from local people, but no one could say for sure. Part 3. Excursions from the local How to spend an evening in an unfamiliar city, if a number of traditional attractions have come to an end, but you don’t know good places? We turn to local help. No, not to random passers-by, but to the good old Couchserfing. Misha told us about people in Armenia: here the society is divided into the conservative side, strictly observing the former orders, and modern youth, who really allow everything. He, of course, belongs to the progressive part of society - it was unlikely that it could be otherwise with the Tinder user. We spent a party, roaming on two sides of the life of the capital. We started with an Armenian restaurant, where we looked at with the last tourist goal - to taste the national cuisine. Here our company was completely out of the crowd. Moreover, the "masses" were not there - a few dignified Armenian couples and respectable men who contemplated being. “It sucks,” remarked Misha, who poorly tolerated conservatives who did not recognize youth movements. There was a choice of bars - everything was different in «Kalime». It worked out a balance between hippies and hipsters, and this balance created an incredible atmosphere of permissiveness. The circle of advanced youth in Yerevan is not too large (they say about 1:10 relative to all residents of the capital), so the bar had many friends of Misha. Finally we left old Yerevan with a cascade of gray houses, stray dogs and men throwing suspicious looks at two lonely blondes. Bye, Yerevan!