Day 22 Armenia - Yerevan and surroundings the Second

This morning I had an appointment with Mahi. You remember him, the Iranian guy I picked up at the border when I entered Armenia. We stayed in touch and had decided to travel around together for a bit. I met him in front of his hostel in Yerevan and we went for tea and coffee.

During our conversation, we passed by a big square where you can rent electric vehicles that have been modified for kids, which can go really fast and slide and drift with the attached rear wheels. It looks fun, but it's actually very dangerous, especially because the kids race through the pedestrians. But things are different here...

Then we went to a bank and tried to transfer a small amount of money to one of his friends. For Iranians, it's not possible because they are under some kind of embargo. It wasn't possible for me either because the bank staff were so slow that not only did we leave without any change after half an hour of waiting, but also several other customers.

Mahi is likeable and very intelligent, he will find a solution.

Then we decided to drive around the surrounding area today and see different things.

First, we went to a ruin of a cathedral in Swartnoz. Google Maps led us there through dirt roads, so we ended up, let's call it, at the back entrance. We left the transporter in the impassable terrain. Then we visited the cathedral ruin. Suddenly, a kind of guard approached us and asked for money. However, what he said did not match what he wanted to give us as change.

Well, we refused to pay and he sent us to the official cashier about 400 to 500 meters away. In an unobserved moment, we turned around, went back to the transporter through the countryside, and decided to leave. He was an unpleasant guy, I didn't feel like visiting anymore.

During the further drive through the countryside, we came across a vegetable market and spontaneously stopped. The fruits and vegetables were very cheap and delicious...

Then we went to a Yezidi temple. The Yezidi people have experienced multiple genocides throughout history, and there are several monuments and information signs in the area that commemorate that. The temple and the surrounding grounds were very magnificent, even the golden decorations on the towers looked like they had been polished. There we met a group of Kurds who now live in Bordeaux, one of the women used to live in Frankfurt am Main. It was a very interesting conversation, one of the ladies would probably have liked to marry Mahi, who is an Iranian Kurd. However, he is not ready for the opposite sex yet, he wants to wait a little longer.

Then we drove towards the Turkish border, Mahi explained to me that there is a border river there. Meanwhile, I stopped by the roadside again to take photos of Mount Ararat. Two young men drove past us in the opposite direction with a Lada Samara and greeted us friendly. Then they reversed, got out of the car, and gave both of us two or three handfuls of cherries from boxes on the backseat. Of course, I gave them a safety utensil as a response.

Later, we came across a wild barrier and a nice sign, that was the end. No border river, no photo, according to the locals who were hanging around there.

After turning around and accidentally taking a photo, a Russian off-road vehicle UAZ-469 with Russian identification suddenly came towards us. Neither of us knew that apparently the Russian army is also serving here to maintain peace.

We tried again at another crossing, but immediately someone in a multicolored uniform politely, but clearly told us that they do not appreciate tourist photos with the motive "dirty transporter in front of a barrier and prohibition sign". But asking doesn't cost anything.

During the rest of the drive, we were at least able to see the border strip. A strip of earth between two barbed wire fences, it reminded me of my childhood and the border between Thuringia and Bavaria in the Sonneberg area, except that there were occasionally dogs running around there too... So they seem to take guarding seriously here.

Along the way, there were not only bad roads and dirt roads, but also tracks with coarse gravel. That's when the playful side came out a bit, a little self-imposed dynamic driving instability here and there was fun... And the dust cloud we left behind was somehow amusing... That's how it must have been with Günther Willers and Franz Meersdonk back then, but that's another story and probably only understandable for insiders now...

The villages near the border also had their charm. For me, especially because there were over 30-year-old cars standing around in more or less good condition everywhere. But also the many, many stork nests were a special feature.

In one village, we came across a progress E302. Real peace goods from the old days, it still seems to be in use here. I wonder if it made its way here as part of brotherly assistance?

Later, Mahi and I went our separate ways. He wants to go to the south near the Iranian border. He will meet up with an acquaintance there and hitchhike around Armenia with her for a few weeks.

Mahi is a very pleasant and intelligent 19-year-old guy who has been earning a living during his multi-year journey through odd jobs and selling self-made photos and crafts. I gave him an old camera as a farewell gift, which I had taken with me for some reason, but never actually used. He will surely be able to make use of it.

If you want to follow his journey, here is the link:

https://instagram.com/stories/s_travel_lessons_2/2862509389279196227?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

Then I drove back to Yerevan. On the way, I saw a homeless person digging through a garbage bin with a huge pallet trolley carrying various equipment. That was exactly the chance I was waiting for, as I have various things in the transporter that could be put to good use before I return home. And he seemed like someone who could use them and had transportation capacity.

I gave him my camping utensils, various bowls, pots, blankets, tarps, a camping chair, and the sunglasses that hung from the rearview mirror, which used to belong to Opa Rudi. These are all things I had taken with me because you never know when you might need them at home, but here in exceptional cases (but almost never really) need them, so I didn't throw them away, but they could make life easier for other people. Especially the sunglasses seemed to make him very happy, Rudi wouldn't have minded. It was a relief for me that these things found a grateful recipient here, as I had been thinking several times in the past few days about what would happen to the contents of the transporter after I returned home. Problem solved...

When I arrived at the hotel, I was just happy to take a shower and spent my evening at the pool bar writing this blog. I also received the information that my application to enter Karabakh was not approved. No reasons were given. Well, honestly, I didn't really expect it to work out anyway. But you never know if you don't try.

I covered 107 kilometers today. It was a beautiful day with many great impressions...