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Wednesday 26th September 2018
Although I went to sleep in the train in Tbilisi on Tuesday evening, I was supposed to wake up in Georgia's Second City, Gori. The train was scheduled to leave Tbilisi at three o'clock in the morning but it was actually around four when we left. With not much to see in the dark, I went back to sleep and, when I awoke at six, we were stationary in Gori station. Breakfast on the train started at 7.30 a.m., allowing me to watch the comings and goings on the other two platforms.
At nine o'clock, we walked the short distance from the train to the car park where our tour buses were lined up.
Gori Station: Georgian Railway
Gori was the birthplace, in 1878, of Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili better known as Joseph Stalin ('Stalin', from the Russian word for steel was originally a nickname alluding to his strong beliefs). The original one-roomed semi-detached house where Stalin was brought up remains, in situ.
Stalin's Museum, Gori, Georgia: The 1-room semi-detached rented dwelling where Stalin grew up. The basement formed his father's shoemaker's workshop.
Rather incongruously, this humble dwelling is now protected by a rather grand columned pavilion. All the other old houses which originally surrounded Stalin's house have gone and the area is now formal gardens.
Stalin's Museum, Gori, Georgia: The columned pavilion protecting Stalin's house, now set in formal gardens with a nearby statue of Stalin.
Adjacent to the preserved house, there's now a large museum building where Stalin's life is documented in great detail, in a Soviet, hagiographic style.
Stalin's Museum, Gori, Georgia: The model in the glass case shows a simple Dacha.
After achieving power in the 1920s, Stalin toured the Soviet Union by train and his private, bullet-proof, 12-wheel railway carriage is displayed in the gardens.
Stalin's Museum, Gori, Georgia: Stalin's private railway coach.
Stalin's Museum, Gori, Georgia: This painting shows Stalin addressing an admiring group of railway workers. The locomotives appear to be the ubiquitous 'E' class 0-10-0.
The museum build was started in Stalin's lifetime. He apparently objected to the term 'Stalin's Museum' and suggested 'Museum of the Revolution' but the museum was not completed until after his death and the name 'Stalin's Museum' was retained.
Stalin's Museum, Gori, Georgia: This photograph of Stalin shows the scarred chin resulting from smallpox at the age of seven which also left him with a slightly deformed left arm.
The buses then drove to the ancient Uplistsikhe cave settlement on the banks of the Mtkhvari River.
Uplistsikhe cave settlement, Georgia
The briefing notes admitted that walking uphill on slippery rocks to reach the caves might be difficult but I distinguished myself by tripping up on the modern flattish path before I'd even started the climb, producing abrasions on both hands and my left knee. I was impressed by the amount of blood dripping from both hands and my travelling companions were most concerned. I sat on a bench while the tour's doctors were summoned. We had two young doctors, Samantha and Edward, both in General Practice in England and keen to explore the world. After dressing the wounds, they accompanied me as I managed to complete the ascent to the remains of the caves and the more modern Christian church at the summit. The wind was very strong and gusty making even standing up difficult.
View of Mtkhvari River from Uplistsikhe cave settlement, Georgia
There's a Wikipedia article here.
Uplistsikhe cave settlement, Georgia: 3-nave basilica circa 9th century.
Back on the bus, we then took the E60 highway towards our final attraction for the day, Mtskheta.
Gori-Mtskheta via the E60 highway.
Before reaching Mtskheta, we stopped for lunch at a large, modern restaurant with carefully-manicured gardens. After our meal, we completed our journey to MtsKheta, where the coaches parked on a large car park near the town centre.
Mtskheta, a World Heritage Site, was Georgia's old capital before Tbilisi. We walked from the car park to the 11th century Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, running the gauntlet of numerous tourist shops lining the route.
Mtskheta, Georgia: Walking to the cathedral.
This historic and imposing cathedral, built in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, is now affiliated to the Georgian Orthodox Church. It has many interesting features and Wikipedia provides a good introduction here.
Mtskheta, Georgia: Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
My album here gives glimpses of the soaring nave, 4th century font, decorated ciborium, medieval frescoes, copy of the Chapel of Holy Sepulchre and gravestones of the World Heritage Site. Returning to our coaches, I took a picture at a shop selling the traditional Georgian snack Churchkhela. There's more in Wikipedia here. Similar snacks are also made in other countries.
Mtskheta, Georgia: Churchkhela - local snacks on sale.
After an interesting visit, our coaches took the steep, winding road to Jvari Montastery on top of a hill overlooking the main town and the confluence of the Mtkvari and Aragvi Rivers.
Mtskheta, Georgia: Jvari Monastery viewed from the town.
The historic Mtskheta Church of Holy Cross at Jvari, like the Cathedral earlier, was crowded with visitors. This, too, is a World Heritage Site. Built in the 6th century, its 4-apse design surmounted by a domed tetraconch influenced later Georgian church design. There's a Wikipedia article here.
Jvari Monastery and Mtskheta Chuch of Holy Cross, Georgia, showing the dome.
Outside, the view from the windswept mountain top across the rivers and the main town were stunning.
View from Jvari Monastery, Georgia showing the confluence of the Mtkvari and Aragvi Rivers with the main town (and its cathedral) on the right.
Our coaches carefully descended the winding road and rejoined the E60 highway, reaching Tbilisi after about 20 km. Whilst we were had been enjoying the day's sightseeing, our train had travelled back from Gori to Tbilisi and was waiting for us in platform 4 when we finally negotiated the usual city traffic. Our arrival was just after five p.m. and the 'Golden Eagle' train was supposed to leave Tbilisi at 17:30 to take us to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. However, the train was about an hour late leaving Tbilisi, presumably due to some 'operational reason' on the railway. I was able to take some 'railway' photographs for the first half-hour as we made our way south-east through the railway yards and the extensive suburbs of Tbilisi.
Georgian Railway: Suburbs of Tbiliisi, viewed from the 'Golden Eagle' train as we head for Azerbaijan.
After that, it became too dark to take pictures as we headed towards Gardabani, the last station before the border with Azerbaijan. The late departure meant that the carefully-choreographed timetable for passing through the Georgian border checks at Gardabani, taking dinner in the restaurant car and then passing through Azerbaijan Immigration at Beyuk-Kyasik fell apart.
Once immigration formalities at Beyuk-Kyasik were complete, we took a late dinner in the restaurant cars but our train was not allowed to proceed on its journey to Baku for some hours, by which time I was asleep.
Related posts on this website
This is one of a series of posts describing my 'Golden Eagle' Caspian Odyssey trip, starting with Travelling East.
Clicking on the 'Next report' link displays the post describing the next events. In this way, you may read about the trip in sequence.
Next report
Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Caspian Odyssey reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Caspian Odyssey reports.
My pictures
These albums include pictures of the above events:-
Stalin's Museum, Gori, Georgia.
Uplistsikhe cave settlement, Georgia.
Gori-Mtskheta via the E60.
Mtskheta, Georgia.
Jvari Monastery and Mtskheta Chuch of Holy Cross, Georgia.
Tbilisi, Georgia.
Georgian Railway.
Tbilisi area rail, Georgian Railway.
All my pictures taken in Georgia (except 'technical' railway pictures) are in the collection Georgia.
[Minor edits and links to pictures added 6-Oct-2018: Edits and pictures embedded 26/27-Oct-2018]
Tuesday 25th September 2018
It's an interesting experience sleeping on a train parked in the railway station of the capital city of a country. I slept well in our train parked in platform 4 of Tbilisi station and enjoyed the experience. Breakfast was served from 7.30 to 9.00 a.m. and I allowed a little time for observing the train movements at this busy station.
Tbilisi Station, Georgian Railway: Two imported modern Electric Multiple Units, one double-decked.
Just after nine, we all met on the platform and made our way to the coaches waiting outside the station. We'd been offered a choice of tours - I'd elected for the one outlined below and it proved a good choice.
The 'Golden Eagle' Train: Cabin in 'Day Mode', set up for working on my laptop computer.
The coaches took about two hours to reach our first destination - the Tsinandali Estate in the wine-making area of Eastern Georgia, Kakheti. The estate comprises a garden, park and former family home of Prince Alexander Chavchavadze (1786-1846) now turned into a museum with furnishings and effects either from the Chavchavadze family or similar. We had an interesting conducted tour of the house but I'm afraid photography was not allowed inside. There's a website here.
Tsinandali Estate, Kakheti, East Georgia
The coaches then drove us to Mosmieri's Winery, a modern establishment producing red and white wine using 'European' methods. One side of the factory building was glazed, allowing us to view the massive, gleaming tanks in which fermentation occurs. The winery also produces an 'amber' wine using the traditional 'Georgian' method. Normal white grapes are used but fermentation takes place in a number of large clay pots called 'Kvevri' similar to a Roman amphora, which are mounted underground and sealed. In this method, grape skins are also used in fermentation, producing a potent wine (around 13% proof).
There are interesting articles on Wikipedia on Georgian Winemaking and Kvevri (with yet further links for the oenophile). To make the Mosmieri Wine Centre a suitable destination for general tourists, wine tasting for parties is offered, followed by a Georgian-style lunch.
Wine tasting at Mosmieri Wine Centre, East Georgia.
After tasting the three varieties of wine produced there was, as you may imagine, a very merry lunch. The Mosmieri Wine Centre has a web site here.
The Restaurant at Mosmieri Wine Centre, East Georgia
We then drove to Signagi Royal Town and our briefing notes promised "breathtaking views of Kizikhi area". We stopped to walk around Sighnaghi Old Town. The briefing notes offered a "walk in narrow streets of the town in shadow of wooden balconies richly decorated with the lace of carved ornaments". They didn't mention the steepness of the cobbled streets but, despite that, I made it to a brick viewpoint tower built on the remains of an old church and battlements from which the views were, indeed, stunning.
Signagi Royal Town, Kizikhi, Georgia: View of the town from the car park where our coaches stopped. The brick viewpoint I walked to can be seen top right, built on stone battlements.
Signagi Royal Town, Kizikhi, Georgia: Looking across the town from the brick viewpoint.
With everyone safely back on the coaches, it took over two and a half hours to drive back to Tbilisi and our waiting train but we had all enjoyed the visits during the day and the weather had remained sunny and hot.
Related posts on this website
This is one of a series of posts describing my 'Golden Eagle' Caspian Odyssey trip, starting with Travelling East.
Clicking on the 'Next report' link displays the post describing the next events. In this way, you may read about the trip in sequence.
Next report
Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Caspian Odyssey reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Caspian Odyssey reports.
My pictures
The 'Golden Eagle' Train from Yerevan.
Tbilisi, Georgia.
Tsinandali Estate, Georgia.
Kakheti Vineyards and Mosmieri Wine Centre, East Georgia.
Signagi Royal Town, Kizikhi, Georgia
All my pictures taken in Georgia are in the collection Georgia.
[Signagi description corrected 4-Oct-2018: Links to pictures added 6-Oct-2018: Pictures embedded 24/25-Oct-2018: Winemaking references added 27-Oct-2018]
Monday 24th September 2018
I was already up when we arrived at Ayrum around 7.00 a.m. where Armenian customs formalities would take place. Crossing international borders is a serious business and our daily briefing notes to passengers asked us to wait in our cabin while customs officials went through the train. I noticed unthreatening-looking soldiers at regular intervals on the non-platform side of the train. The actual 'Exit' stamp was applied by a friendly, polite immigration official in the doorway of my cabin, after he checked a small laptop.
Armenia Railways: The well-kept station at Ayrum.
As each coach was completed, we were invited to go to the restaurant car for breakfast. The train set off again just before eight o'clock and arrived at Sadakhio about 8.20 a.m., presumably having crossed the legal border somewhere between the two stations.
As we arrived, there were no soldiers on security duties (at least, none visible) but I noticed a Georgian railways electric locomotive on the adjacent track which I correctly guessed would replace the Armenian locomotive which had brought us from Yerevan.
Sadakhio, Georgian Railway electric locomotive 10-931 (class VL10).
Once again, we were asked to remain in our cabin until formalities were complete. A party of three officials walked through the train and the senior one checked my appearance with my passport photograph before adding the passport to a substantial pile he'd already gathered. Within 15 minutes, the senior man returned and handed me my stamped passport. I was now in Georgia which, like Armenia, does not require a visa for British passport holders.
At 09:20, as scheduled, we were on the move again on the single line which would take us to the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi. It was a little after eleven when we arrived in platform 1 of Tbilisi station. The architecture of the station is modern and functional but already in need of significant renovation because of crumbling concrete.
Within minutes, we were making our way through the busy station to the road coaches for our city tour. Although independence has brought many problems, Georgia has been successful in attracting inward investment and the city now has a number of striking new buildings. As in many countries, the capital has acted as a magnet and migration from country districts means that around half of Georgia's population now live in Tbilisi. One consequence is congestion on the city's roads and it took our coach some time to drive perhaps two kilometres from the station to the Old City from where we continued on foot.
Firstly, we visited the Metechi Church with its two separate bell towers. This dates from the 12th century and formed part of the former royal residential complex.
Tbilisi, Georgia: Inside the Metechi Church as a devotion is performed, amidst clouds of incense.
Our guide, Dimitri, then led us down the narrow streets (now lined with restaurants), calling in to see the remodelled 17th century caravanserai. I knew the term as applied to a group of travellers, often traders, negotiating the great trade routes but the term also applies to the periodic stopping places, sometimes elaborate, where travellers could be accommodated.
Tbilisi, Georgia: Restored 17th century Caravanserai.
Crossing the nearby main road proved rather hairy, then our guide led us at high speed across the river bridge and up awkward steps to the Sioni Cathedral which was started in the 7th century.
Tbilisi, Georgia: Inside Sioni Cathedral.
View of Tbilisi, Georgia, from outside Sioni Cathedral.
Crossing back over the main road, we walked to the district with a number of bathhouses using local water which contains sulphur for which, apparently, Tbilisi is famous. We saw (from outside only) one Muslim-style and a number of Turkish-style bathhouses. The Turkish baths are subterranean, with only stone domes of various sizes showing above ground, reminding me of a some of the Star Wars sets showing desert villages.
Turkish-style Sulphur Bathhouses in Tblisi, Georgia
We took lunch in the large private dining room of a nearby restaurant. Naturally, it was upstairs (this isn't a just pattern - it's a conspiracy to show up my impaired mobility). The food was Georgian style and I've decided that I'd probably survive on Armenian/Georgian food although I'm noted for my limited food preferences. After a jolly, but noisy, meal we joined our coaches on the busy main road and were driven through the seemingly perpetual traffic jam in Tbilisi to the Janashia State Museum.
The Museum was opened specially for our tour to have a viewing of the 'Golden Treasury' exhibition. Research has shown Georgia to be one of the earliest sites of human development after Africa and the discovery of a large collection of gold and silver articles of early date and astonishing sophistication forms the basis of this remarkable exhibition.
Janashia State Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia: Gold Diadem with rhomboid plaques depicting fighting animals - a recurrent theme in Eastern and Greek fine-art of the period.
Janashia State Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia: Silver vessels, including Colchian phialai, situla, Achaemenid Persian vase and ladle were found in this burial.
Our bus struggled through the traffic again to return us to our train, now moved to platform 4, allowing guests time for a brief rest before going out to dinner at a local restaurant by coach.
Tbilisi Station, with the 'Golden Eagle' train in platform 4.
The popular Georgian Restaurant at the head of a wide, sweeping staircase, was a huge room with a large number of big round tables accommodating, I should think, a few hundred diners. The meal was Georgian style with lots of items in generous proportions. The meal was accompanied by music and dance, the music played very loud and with synchronised lighting effects. There was a pianist, two male vocalists, one female vocalist (all performing modern 'standards') and an amazing troupe of Georgian dancers.
Dinner in Tbilisi: The Georgian Dancers.
After the meal and the entertainment, we made our way outside to where our coaches waited in the darkness. Once back at Tbilisi station, a walk through the brightly-lit and still fairly busy concourse led down to platform 4 and my welcome cabin on the 'Golden Eagle'.
Related posts on this website
This is one of a series of posts describing my 'Golden Eagle' Caspian Odyssey trip, starting with Travelling East.
Clicking on the 'Next report' link displays the post describing the next events. In this way, you may read about the trip in sequence.
Next report
Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Caspian Odyssey reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Caspian Odyssey reports.
My pictures
These albums include pictures of the above events:-
The 'Golden Eagle' Train from Yerevan.
Railways in Armenia.
Georgian Railway.
Tbilisi Station, Georgian Railway.
Tbilisi, Georgia.
Janashia State Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia.
Dinner in Tbilisi, Georgia.
All my pictures taken in Georgia (except 'technical' railway pictures) are in the collection Georgia.
[Minor edits, links to pictures added 6-Oct-2018: Pictures embedded 22/23-Oct-2018]
Sunday 23rd September 2018
With our train standing in the platform at the derelict-looking Tsovagyugh station, breakfast was served in the two dining cars starting at 07:30, local time. Both dining cars have two clocks, one set to 'Local' time, the other to 'Moscow' time.
The 'Golden Eagle' train: One of two Restaurant Cars.
The make-up of the train depends upon the tour being operated and the loading. Up to Baku (where I left the train) the make-up was 17 vehicles:-
Generator Car
Staff Car
Coach 1 (Silver class)
Coach 2 (Gold class)
Coach 3 (Gold class - my coach)
Coach 4 (Gold class/Imperial)
Coach 5 (Gold class/Imperial)
Bar Car
Restaurant
Kitchen
Restaurant
Coach 6 (Gold class)
Coach 7 (Gold class)
Coach 8 (Silver class)
Coach 9 (Silver class)
Coach 10 (Silver class)
Staff Car
The day started dry but cool. We made our way from the train onto the single crumbling platform, giving me my first view of the locomotive which had brought us from Yerevan - a Russian-built 2-section electric.
Armenia Railways: The Russian-built 3 kV d.c. 2-section locomotive which hauled the 'Golden Eagle' from Yerevan.
The station building was a once-impressive concrete affair with a steel lattice tower topped with a steel fish. We descended to road level via steps and joined our tour buses at a large, abandoned-looking station forecourt of fractured concrete with prolific weeds and the occasional cow-pat.
Armenia Railways: Tsovagyugh station, road side.
Our buses made a short drive on a main road around the periphery of Lake Sevan (a main road with a herd of cows wandering along, foraging for reasonable grass) to a promontory called The Peninsula. Originally an island, it became connected to land after the disastrous drop in lake water level following the introduction of a large number of cascaded hydro-electric plants fed from the lake by the Soviet Union.
A tough climb to the monastic churches of Sevanavank at the peak of the peninsula followed. This involved over 200 stone steps with a handrail provided either left or right (at least, most of the way) as the path zig-zagged up the hillside. The views of the lake at the top justified the climb and there were two old churches to explore.
Lake Sevan, Armenia: View across the lake from the Churches on the Sevanavank Peninsula.
Lake Sevan, Armenia: St. Arakelots Church, Sevanavank.
I found descending not bad at all and after passing through a market of souvenir traders, I explored the lake edge where there were a number of cafes and jetties with trip boats offering 20 minute cruises. Rejoining the buses, we drove back along the road to Tsovagyugh station, pausing briefly for Golden Eagle staff to take a group photograph of their passengers at a viewpoint at the lakeside. We then made a toilet stop at a modern supermarket/café complex where we were given generous samples of fresh baked ‘thin bread’ and a sort of baguette filled with cheese. I found both delicious.
Just before Tsovagyugh, we turned off on the road which ran through rolling hills towards Dilijan. A road tunnel over one mile long emerged into a heavily wooded valley which I christened the ‘enchanted valley’. A number of passengers commented on the sudden change in scenery. Our guide, Dmitri, said that ‘jan’ was a special term of affection which he rendered as ‘heart of my soul’ suggesting that Dilijan and its setting is very dear to the Armenian people.
Dilijan, Armenia.
Our next visit was to the Haghartsin Monastery, hidden in the deeply wooded mountains reached by a steep, winding road. The buses had to park about half a mile short of the monastic complex and it transpired that we were to walk the rest of the way, walking on the road which became too difficult for large buses. I say 'transpired' because, although I'd enquired, I could get no sensible answer about the length and difficulty of the walk. Well, I set off optimistically but found the walk taxing. Fortunately, a small bus had been provided to accommodate those who didn't wish to attempt to walk and, when this caught up with me, I gratefully 'hitched a ride' the rest of the way. The group of buildings had been heavily, and I thought rather insensitively, restored and the location was rather busier with tourists than I'd expected but it was still a very worthwhile visit.
Haghartsin Monastery, Dilijan, Armenia
In the afternoon the weather turned very warm so, when we stopped for lunch at the 'Flying Ostrich' restaurant, I was happy to dine at one of the outside tables situated in the veranda area, rather than the gloom of the restaurant itself. The buses then took us to what they called the Old City of Dilijan and Old Shahamberyan Street "famous for arts and crafts". My jaundiced eyes saw a mixture of 'Disneyfied' and still semi-derelict and buildings selling tourist souvenirs.
Old Shahamberyan Street, Dilijan, Armenia
A party of 80 (including a group of about 20 from Taiwan) is uncomfortably large to manage in a small area like the Old City. We rejoined the buses and drove back to our train at Tsovagyugh station. The electric locomotive had run round the train during the day so it was clear that the train was to return the way we had come.
The train left around 17:15 and, with dinner not until 19:30, I was able to observe the journey back along the single electrified line for a while, although the design of the coaches and the double-glazed window units made it difficult to observe details of the railway (and take photographs).
Lake Sevan: Churches at Sevanavank, viewed from our train.
Soon after leaving, a tremendous rainstorm lashed the train for a while, after which a double rainbow could be seen behind the train.
The 'Golden Eagle' train: Double Rainbow viewed from our train.
The electrified branch from Dilijan trailed in on our right and the two lines continued side-by-side to Hrazdan station where we stopped at 18:30. A freight train, travelling in the same direction as our train, came to a stand on an adjacent line. On our left, I could see Hrazdan hydro-electric plant. A canal at high level delivered water to a Spillway and two huge Penstocks fed a large Generator House at the foot of the hill. The Spillway and Generator House discharged water into the Hrazdan River.
Armenia: Spillway and Penstocks of Hrazdan Hydro-electric Plant.
At 18:50, we set off again. I had dinner in the restaurant car so didn't pay particular attention as we made our stop at Masis. In any case, it was difficult to see much once it became dark. We made one more stop during the night at Gyumri but I was asleep.
The next morning, we would reach the Armenian/Georgian border.
Related posts on this website
This is one of a series of posts describing my 'Golden Eagle' Caspian Odyssey trip, starting with Travelling East.
Clicking on the 'Next report' link displays the post describing the next events. In this way, you may read about the trip in sequence.
Next report
Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Caspian Odyssey reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Caspian Odyssey reports.
My pictures
These albums include pictures of the above events:-
The 'Golden Eagle' Train from Yerevan.
Lake Sevan, Armenia.
Haghartsin Monastery, Dilijan, Armenia.
Dilijan, Armenia.
Railways in Armenia.
All my pictures taken in Armenia (except 'technical' railway pictures) are in the collection of albums Armenia.
[Minor edits, links to pictures added 6-Oct-2018: Pictures embedded 15-Oct-2018]
Saturday 22nd September 2018
After the glorious weather of Independence Day, it rained overnight and the streets were just drying out as I took breakfast with new friends in the Cucina Restaurant before checking out of the Marriott. The 80 passengers starting the Golden Eagle tour were divided between three 'Higer' luxury touring coaches and a people carrier. I was in coach 1 and we set off to visit Geogard Monastery, a medieval Christian monastery in the mountains 37km about an hour's drive from the city. We stopped at a viewpoint looking towards Mount Ararat in Turkey but poor visibility meant the view was not good. We continued to the monastery where we had a fascinating visit but too much walking on cobbles and climbing for my current mobility.
Geogard Monastery, Armenia.
We got back to the bus just as a spectacular thunderstorm started and drove to the Garni Temple site used by the Romans and later as a summer palace by the then Armenian royal family. There's an article on its complex (and sometimes disputed history on Wikipedia here. I was amazed how many tourists were there and the narrow roads delayed our arrival and still necessitated a fair walk (I think I see a pattern emerging).
The Temple of Garni, Armenia.
We were shown the making of the local 'thin bread' and invited to try the local 'snacks' made from the bread with cheeses and herbs. I enjoyed it.
The Temple of Garni, Armenia: Making 'thin bread'.
There was a very lively singing and dancing demonstration from a group of men and women in traditional dress. I usually dismiss this sort of thing as 'touristy' but they performed with such gusto that I enjoyed it, even when I became one of the guests co-opted into a simple 'ring' dance.
The Temple of Garni, Armenia: Traditional singing at dancing.
We drove back to Yerevan, catching up with the storm again. In the city, the drains were not able to handle the water and there was some flooding on the roads. We stopped at 'Tavern Yerevan', a large restaurant for an Armenian-style lunch. The thin bread and cheeses I'd tried earlier were provided and I ate a lot more, plus I sampled some of the other foods and finished off a wonderful fish fillet, perfectly cooked.
Yerevan, Lunch at 'Tavern Yerevan'.
Our coaches then took us to Armenia's Memorial and Museum of Genocide, commemorating the 'ethnic cleansing' of many Armenian people by the Turks in the first World War. Armenia's claims are not accepted by all countries but the evidence very professionally presented in the displays and outlined by the museum's lady guide seemed compelling. I must find out more and regret that my British education failed to alert me to this suffering, which has resulted in an Armenian Diaspora with far more Armenians around the world (at least 7 millions) than in Armenia (estimated at perhaps 2 millions). It was a harrowing but instructive visit.
The Memorial and Eternal Flame, Museum of Genocide, Yerevan, Armenia:
The museum was located on one of the tall hills around the centre of Yerevan, giving wonderful views over this interesting city and rather better views of the omnipresent Mount Ararat than we'd obtained earlier.
Mount Ararat in Turkey as seen from Yerevan in Armenia
Our last visit was to the Cascade Giant Stairway, a curious landmark turned museum started by the Russians and continued by an Armenian donor after Independence as a museum of modern art but still incomplete through lack of funding. A very odd place which fascinated me, even with the various fountains not working but still offering different vistas of Yerevan at each level.
Cascade Giant Stairway
Finally, we drove through the darkening streets to Yerevan railway station where we joined our 17-coach train.
Boarding the 'Golden Eagle' at Yerevan Station, Armenia: The triumphal Soviet architectural style of Yerevan station.
Almost immediately, an excellent dinner was served on board. The programme called for our train to depart around 2.00 a.m. Sunday for the journey to Tsovagyugh in Armenia and, after breakfast on the train there, we were to spend the day exploring Lake Sevan and Dilijan by coach, returning to the train at 5.15 p.m.
Related posts on this website
This is one of a series of posts describing my 'Golden Eagle' Caspian Odyssey trip, starting with Travelling East.
Clicking on the 'Next report' link displays the post describing the next events. In this way, you may read about the trip in sequence.
Next report.
Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Caspian Odyssey reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Caspian Odyssey reports.
My albums of pictures
Marriott Armenia, Yerevan.
Geogard Monastery, Armenia.
The Temple of Garni, Armenia.
Yerevan, Armenia.
Museum of Genocide, Yerevan, Armenia.
Cascade Giant Stairway, Yerevan, Armenia.
The 'Golden Eagle' Train from Yerevan.
All my pictures in Armenia can be found in the collection of albums Armenia.
[Minor changes, picture and picture links added: 3-Oct-2018]
Friday 21st September 2018
A circular from the Marriott in my room had advised that Republic Square and the adjacent streets would be closed on the 21st but didn't explain why. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Armenia held a referendum on 21st September 1991 and proclaimed its independence. There's a Wikipedia article here. So Friday 21st September 2018 was the 27th Independence Day and a National Holiday. 'Golden Eagle' had arranged a separate buffet breakfast for their group in the hotel's Cucina Restaurant. This was available from 6.30 a.m. and, although I didn't present myself until after seven, I'd finished before anyone else arrived.
The view of the square from the restaurant revealed that there were going to be some sort of festivities so after my meal I wandered round the square. It was quiet with a few pedestrians and smokers, plus a small group of presumably stray dogs. However, there were dozens of uniformed police and police cars with not much to do.
Yerevan, Armenia: Republic Square at 7.25 a.m. on Independence Day.
It was clear that music was going to form part of the show: there was some pretty serious loudspeaker equipment around (the flight cases they were transported in were marked 'PAL Line Array Bull Series Model 2D' which I think is equipment of Chinese origin).
Yerevan, Armenia: Some of the sound equipment in Republic Square.
There were a number of the portable stages as used at pop festivals and for a short while I watched one of these being erected.
Yerevan, Armenia: Stage being erected in the street for Independence Day.
It was eerily quiet with no through traffic. I assume on a normal day the area would teem with traffic. Certainly the wide roads with multiple lane markings suggested that. But, on this day, all was peaceful (until the audio engineers started doing sound checks). It all seemed very leisurely - some of the craft, food and drink stallholders were only just starting to set up their offerings. It was hard to believe that the event was happening today. I decided to go back to my nearby hotel, work on the computer or rest and return to the square later.
I was back in the square just after noon and the situation was transformed, now thronged with people (mainly Armenian as far as I could tell) enjoying the holiday, the 28 degree Celsius weather and the loud 'pop' music playing.
Yerevan, Armenia: Independendence Day 2018
So many scenes caught my attention: a large area of road surface had been given over to children and areas had been roughed out to allow chalk artistry to be practised. This was usually of a generally patriotic nature using the national flag (or its colours).
Yerevan, Armenia: Childrens' artwork, Independendence Day 2018
I was charmed by the rapt attention of the children and the obvious pride of the watching parents. At this moment, one of the ambulances stationed on standby found it necessary to slowly drive out of the square, over the artworks but nobody seemed to mind too much. The energy of the various young dancers appearing on the one stage to upbeat music also impressed me. After a short 'set', another group would take over or, sometimes, a single female singer. That stage always commanded a large, but varying, audience. There were other attractions, not least the food and drink stalls. Young artists were displaying paintings, presumably for sale. A large figure of a giant, manipulated by three people, posed for pictures with children, taken by friends and parents with the inevitable Smartphone. Some of the craft traders' stalls had demonstrators in what I assume is traditional ethnic dress. One stall demonstrated hand corn milling and the preparation of wool by a variant of 'carding'. Another stall showed spinning and weaving on a simple weaving frame.
I'll try to expand on this later but tomorrow morning we check-out and, after a day sight-seeing locally, board our private train. I'm not sure when I'll have internet access again so I may go silent.
Related posts on this website
This is one of a series of posts describing my 'Golden Eagle' Caspian Odyssey trip, starting with Travelling East.
Clicking on the 'Next report' link displays the post describing the next events. In this way, you may read about the trip in sequence.
Next report
Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Caspian Odyssey reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Caspian Odyssey reports.
My albums of pictures
Yerevan, Armenia.
Marriott Armenia, Yerevan
All my pictures in Armenia can be found in the collection of albums Armenia.
[Minor changes, pictures added: 3-Oct-2018]
