Armenia is eleven time zones from Phoenix. This means I left our home in Phoenix a little after noon on Wednesday Aug. 26, flew to Houston, London and Vienna before flying here to Armenia and arriving at Hotel Shirak around 6:00 a.m. on Friday Aug. 28. The flight from Vienna was delayed about an hour, and there was no one at the airport from Fuller Center to meet me. I almost left the airport with the driver from Habitat for Humanity, due to our not having a common language. Also, even though I had set up the Global data plan with Verizon, they never turned it on - that was corrected by my texting Patty and her calling Verizon. Once Patty texted me the phone number, the airport info desk contacted Fuller and they coordinated a taxi for me. The hotel advertises itself as a moderately priced hotel located near Republic Square (in comparison to the Marriott Hotel which is on Republic Square). The hotel has free wifi, but it is not that fast and does not do a good job with uploading photos in the blog - so those will need to be added later (I have started adding some of the photos, but I am not done yet).
One of the first things I noticed was that the signs at the airport were in Armenian and English, and that most of the sinks, toilets and urinals were American Standard. I saw the same for the electric hand dryers.
Once I got to the hotel, I checked in, got settled, had breakfast when they opened the breakfast room at 7:30 and then went to my room for a rest. As I have aged, it seems my ability to adjust to jet lag has diminished some.
My room faces west, so it gets very hot in the afternoon. By contrast, the stair well is on the east side of the building and gets hot in the morning. Fortunately, the room has air conditioning that works well. Looking east, I have a view of the city. But looking west and a bit south, I can see Mount Ararat in Turkey.
Friday afternoon, I met up with Boots and Ramsay, team leaders for the Fuller Build - they were also team leaders for the build that Patty and I did in Nepal in 2011 - and we visited the Fuller Center office. I got to meet some of the Fuller Staff. Later, we also met up with John and Polly, two other volunteers and went out for dinner - it was not a very positive experience. The waiter had little English and although we got the food ordered using the multi-language menu, he did not write down the order. It came out correctly, just not in any sort of timely manner - my pizza came out, then Ramsay's soup, ten minutes later Polly got hers, another five or ten minutes each for John and Boots to get their dinners - such is life in Armenia.
Saturday was a day to adjust. I did go for an early morning walk before breakfast and got a nice view of the sunrise over Republic Square, as well as getting some familiarity with the local geography in the city center.
I also saw this statue of the the author Johannes Shirak - I think I know how the hotel got named.
I also observed that many places had signs in Armenian, Russian and English.
Much to my surprise, there were no shops or cafes open - I had to wait for the hotel's breakfast to start at 7:30. After breakfast, following the suggestion of Boots and Ramsay (this is their fourth build here in Armenia), I walked to the Cascades Center. This is a beautiful spot that includes a garden with all kinds of statues on a flat park area, and then like cascades, there are stairs and gardens and statues going up the hill - it was only 560 stairs to reach the top, which provide some beautiful views of the city.
On the way back, I stopped by the Opera House and saw signs advertising dance classes - it reminded me of all the trips I took to the Vermont Conservatory of Ballet for daughter Megan's ballet classes.
On the streets on either side of the hotel I found an interesting juxtaposition - the Prosecutor General's office to east, the Public Defender to the west.
On Saturday, John and Polly went to hike part of Mount Aragats - they did not have a great time, as it was too cold and they were hiking on snow, as they were at some 3,000+ meters elevation. The five of us met up for dinner and went to the Tavern Yerevan, about a block from the hotel. Excellent food and service, all at a reasonable price - plus there was live entertainment of traditional Armenian music including the tuduk (a flute like instrument) and other instruments.
On Sunday morning, there was a decent southwest view of Mount Ararat from my window. I could also see the Blue Mosque to the northwest.
After a relaxing morning, I went out in the afternoon to the Armenia National History Museum. It is a very good museum with artifacts and history of this area going back more than 4,000 years. It is one side of Republic Square - the square is loaded with fountains and each evening at 9:00 p.m., there is a big show with the different fountains, lights and music - we plan to attend next week.
I later visited the Blue Mosque - I believe it is the only mosque in Yerevan and is maintained by the government of Iran. I went into the courtyard and parts that were open as a museum, but only looked through the door into the mosque itself.
I have found that there are many Iranian tourists here in Yerevan, and many of them speak fluent English. Some we talked to in the hotel also spoke German and Russian - it makes me feel a bit stupid that I do not have more facility with foreign languages. We have seen cars with license plates from Iran, including one parked in front of the hotel - the frame around the license plate says: Touring and Automobile Club of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is definitely a different place to visit.
I have also seen some interesting graffiti. The "Defend Yerevan" protests are about the increase in price for electricity (actually a decrease in the government subsidy). They have had several protests here in Yerevan.
One of the first things I noticed was that the signs at the airport were in Armenian and English, and that most of the sinks, toilets and urinals were American Standard. I saw the same for the electric hand dryers.
Once I got to the hotel, I checked in, got settled, had breakfast when they opened the breakfast room at 7:30 and then went to my room for a rest. As I have aged, it seems my ability to adjust to jet lag has diminished some.
My room faces west, so it gets very hot in the afternoon. By contrast, the stair well is on the east side of the building and gets hot in the morning. Fortunately, the room has air conditioning that works well. Looking east, I have a view of the city. But looking west and a bit south, I can see Mount Ararat in Turkey.
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| Looking northeast, construction of the new Ministry of Finance building next door and a new hotel in the distance |
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| Looking due east on a cloudy morning so unable to see the sun |
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| Looking southeast over some older, Soviet era apartment buildings |
Friday afternoon, I met up with Boots and Ramsay, team leaders for the Fuller Build - they were also team leaders for the build that Patty and I did in Nepal in 2011 - and we visited the Fuller Center office. I got to meet some of the Fuller Staff. Later, we also met up with John and Polly, two other volunteers and went out for dinner - it was not a very positive experience. The waiter had little English and although we got the food ordered using the multi-language menu, he did not write down the order. It came out correctly, just not in any sort of timely manner - my pizza came out, then Ramsay's soup, ten minutes later Polly got hers, another five or ten minutes each for John and Boots to get their dinners - such is life in Armenia.
Saturday was a day to adjust. I did go for an early morning walk before breakfast and got a nice view of the sunrise over Republic Square, as well as getting some familiarity with the local geography in the city center.
 |
| Republic Square - every night at 9:00 p.m., they have a show with music, lights and the fountains shooting water in the air. |
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| Park area at one end of Republic Square |
I also saw this statue of the the author Johannes Shirak - I think I know how the hotel got named.
I also observed that many places had signs in Armenian, Russian and English.
Much to my surprise, there were no shops or cafes open - I had to wait for the hotel's breakfast to start at 7:30. After breakfast, following the suggestion of Boots and Ramsay (this is their fourth build here in Armenia), I walked to the Cascades Center. This is a beautiful spot that includes a garden with all kinds of statues on a flat park area, and then like cascades, there are stairs and gardens and statues going up the hill - it was only 560 stairs to reach the top, which provide some beautiful views of the city.
On the way back, I stopped by the Opera House and saw signs advertising dance classes - it reminded me of all the trips I took to the Vermont Conservatory of Ballet for daughter Megan's ballet classes.
On the streets on either side of the hotel I found an interesting juxtaposition - the Prosecutor General's office to east, the Public Defender to the west.
On Sunday morning, there was a decent southwest view of Mount Ararat from my window. I could also see the Blue Mosque to the northwest.
After a relaxing morning, I went out in the afternoon to the Armenia National History Museum. It is a very good museum with artifacts and history of this area going back more than 4,000 years. It is one side of Republic Square - the square is loaded with fountains and each evening at 9:00 p.m., there is a big show with the different fountains, lights and music - we plan to attend next week.
I later visited the Blue Mosque - I believe it is the only mosque in Yerevan and is maintained by the government of Iran. I went into the courtyard and parts that were open as a museum, but only looked through the door into the mosque itself.
I have found that there are many Iranian tourists here in Yerevan, and many of them speak fluent English. Some we talked to in the hotel also spoke German and Russian - it makes me feel a bit stupid that I do not have more facility with foreign languages. We have seen cars with license plates from Iran, including one parked in front of the hotel - the frame around the license plate says: Touring and Automobile Club of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is definitely a different place to visit.
I have also seen some interesting graffiti. The "Defend Yerevan" protests are about the increase in price for electricity (actually a decrease in the government subsidy). They have had several protests here in Yerevan.
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