Day 29 Armenia - Yerevan with Levon's Devine Underground

After a hearty breakfast, I went to visit my Armenian acquaintances. I had parked the van there in June. Surprisingly, it was still in the same corner and started very well. As far as I could tell, it had also been driven during my absence, as there was a black mark under the exhaust, indicating some 'professional' ignition/warm-up attempts. Later, it turned out that the van had been used for several transport missions in my absence.

After having a chat in the courtyard with my acquaintances and taking a tour of the area, we took the van to the hotel and then drove to Levon's Devine Underground. It is a small private museum on the outskirts of Yerevan.

Levon was a man who was supposed to build a small potato cellar for his wife. Once he started, he couldn't stop. And so, over a period of 23 years, he created a cave system about 21m deep, entirely on his own with a hammer and chisel. After work, he would spend up to seven hours a day working on it, often with only three hours of sleep.

He believed that one day many visitors would come to admire his creation and pay admission. He opened it in 2000 and passed away in 2009 at the age of 67. He worked on it until his last day.

His family never believed in his idea and therefore did not help, as the present daughter told us openly. Today, his family earns good money from entrance fees and the sale of various handicrafts, etc. Many visitors come every day. So what is the moral of the story?

In the evening, we went to have dinner in Yerevan and then spent a nice evening with my Armenian acquaintances. There was plenty of delicious finger food and vodka served in classic wine bottles. Very discreet, a good idea...

It was a wonderful evening...

We only drove nine kilometers today, but that's okay too.