With 90% of the territory above 1,000 m, the landscapes are varied and hilly! Leaving Yerevan in the morning, I crossed the steppes before joining the ancient Silk Road. If trucks trading between Iran and Georgia have replaced mules and camels, the view of the valley from the Selim pass (2,410 m) remains spectacular. Buzzards then chase our vehicle, we come across “gauchos” leading their herd, then arriving on Lake Sevan, fishermen come to sell salmon trout, crayfish or smoked whitefish by the side of the road. After the Sevan pass (2,114 m), a new change of scenery:the pine forests undulate, the houses become chalets... The next day, waking up in Haghpat, at the gates of Georgia, completes the trouble. The Qefilyan hotel overlooks the green gorges of the still misty Debed river… Welcome to “Armenian Switzerland”! It's hard to believe that we left the quasi-desert expanses and bare mountains the day before...
The first country to adopt Christianity as its state religion in 301, Armenia is full of churches and monasteries that are worth visiting for their architecture and for the landscapes. Gueghard, carved into the rock; Khor Virap, facing the mythical Mount Ararat, today in Turkish territory but forever Armenian in the hearts of the people; Noravank, emerging from a canyon; Sevanavank overlooking Lake Sevan; Haghpat and its khachkars (“cross in stone”); Akhtala and its Byzantine-style frescoes… Not forgetting Garni, the only pagan temple still standing, which overlooks the Azad River and its valley of basaltic organs:these secular sites marked me more than I expected. In Etchmiadzine, the “Vatican” of the Armenian Apostolic Church, where I was able to attend Sunday mass in a cathedral full to bursting, I even came face to face with the Catholicos, the Pope of the Armenians!
Water sports and swimming (in summer) in Lake Sevan, hydrotherapy, hiking or horseback riding, paragliding, canyoning, and even skiing... The diversity of landscapes allows everything, despite infrastructures still under development. Armenia is above all an unusual destination, with unclassifiable exoticism, between East and West, where each step leads to a new change of scenery. I was thus surprised to cross villages of Molakans (Russian Mormons who set up their isbas north of Lake Sevan), then Yazidis in the Spitak Valley.
Even if it still bears the Soviet architectural imprint, the capital reinvents itself here and there under its tuff facades. Built in the 1970s, the La Cascade monument has become a contemporary art museum which presents sculptures by Botero, paintings by Gorky and giant Svarowski suspensions on several levels (climb there, too, for a view of the city and Mount Ararat in the distance). And the Avenue du Nord, newly opened between Place de la République and Place de la Liberté, lines up the most beautiful luxury boutiques and terraces, now rivaling Rue Abovian and its 19th century facades. My favorites ? 1/ The Maténadaran museum, which brings together nearly 1,000 illuminated manuscripts from monasteries across the country. 2/ The Persian Goy mosque, for its enamelled earthenware and its garden, a haven of silence close to traffic jams. 3/ The population (1/3 of the country lives here). From Alina, my guide, to the crowd gathered at the foot of the Place de la République fountains this evening of the football match, everyone impressed me with their energy!
And how ! Mixed cuisine that bears the Turkish, Greek, Lebanese, Russian, Syrian imprint…, true gastronomy is best enjoyed with the family rather than in a restaurant. In Garni, I had lunch with the locals under the vine, at Sergueï's, after watching the making of lavach, traditional bread baked in ovens dug into the ground. Garnished with herbs and fresh cheeses, it is eaten with the many mezes:basterma (dried and spicy beef), vine leaves, beureks… Then come the dolmas, vegetables stuffed with meat or rice, khoravadz, meat skewers, then baklava or fruit (apricots, pomegranates, watermelons, plums, etc.). Not forgetting the “oriental” coffee, served very finely ground and cooked in a small tin or copper saucepan. No need to make me read the mark to know that I will be back here soon!
With the Saberatours agency, destination specialist. From €1,250 for the 7-day “Pearls of Armenia” circuit, meals and flights included. With visits to Yerevan, Sevan, Garni, Gueghard, Khor Virap, Noravank, Etchmiadzine; and from €1,700 the 11-day “Le Pays de Noé” circuit. www.voyageenarmenie.com, 01 42 61 51 13.
To sleep comfortably in Yerevan, Europe Hotel, www.europehotel.am. Very caring French-speaking staff.
To read:“Petit Futé” Armenia, €15.95. And “Armenian Cuisine”, by Nathalie Baravian, Actes Sud, €29.50.
Info:Embassy of Armenia, 01 42 12 98 00.
