Armenia: As Old As Time (Literally)
For many, the lure of travel is the promise of adventure. It is the act of collecting stories to share at dinner parties of close-calls on mountain tops, of hilarious miscommunications at a restaurant, or moments of clarity that dawn with a sunrise on a beach.
While booking a ticket to a new city or country stirs that sense of promise, there’s something sweet about knowing you are going back to a place you loved. This fall break, after flirting with other locals, we settled on a return visit to Yerevan, Armenia. Readers may recall details from our previous trip last October.
This time we settled into a familiar routine. Wake up. Donne our hoodies (after living in the desert it feels nice to be a bit chilly) and raincoats. Walk to breakfast. Meander down some side streets. Stop for coffee. Meander some more. Head back to the hotel for a nap. Hit the streets again for dinner and street food. The best part about revisiting a city you’ve experienced previously, is that you don’t feel any pressure to hurry up and “see all the sights” because you already have.
In the spirit of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” we booked again at the wonderful Phoenix Boutique Hotel, one block from a corner store, one block from the 24/7 Shawarma & Chicken joint, and 3 blocks from the best wine bar in the city, In Vino.
We popped by our favorite tour company One Way Tours, and selected a half-day trip “Garni, Geghard, Arch of Charents, and Symphony of Stones.” Although it poured rain most of the day, and the view of Mount Ararat was obscured by low clouds, we were not detoured and frankly, we enjoyed the respite from the (post-summer yet still not pleasant temps in Abu Dhabi.
Twenty-something Hope and Nate would've told you “if you've seen one monastery, you've seen em all.” In our 40s the historical weight of a 2nd century place of worship is beyond description. At one point, we thought someone was piping in choral tunes (and thought ,”boy, that's cheesy”), but as we turned the corner we saw the four person chorale. In. Real. Life.
At another point, our guide nonchalantly noted that much of the church was built by carving out solid basalt rock. Yes, you read that correctly.
If that wasn’t enough, the story of Garni Temple is equally epic. A nod to pre-Christian Armenia and designed in that Hellenistic style we often associate with the Parthenon, this pagan temple has seen some things. At one point, Christians decided to build a multi-story church–bigger and better than this temple. However, when a massive earthquake hit, only one of the structures really survived and the locals stole the construction stones from the church.
To close out the tour, we ended at the Symphony of Stones. Despite the pouring rain (we’re Washingtonians), we walked down a huge ravine ensconced by basalt columns. It was like walking inside a giant pipe organ.
Shortly after this, we dipped into a family restaurant, where 70 year olds were making Lavash. Arguably a cross between pita and a tortilla, this ancient bread is traditionally made in literally 900 degree below ground ovens. This woman has been making bread since she was SEVENTEEN. Her hands are like cinder blocks.
One surprise of this trip was the number of dogs we saw. That’s right. Armenian street dogs. Here’s a photomontage for all you dog lovers out there.
One evening, we woke up a little later than usual from our nap and decided to try out a restaurant we’d passed by a few times by Martiros Saryan Park . We walked gingerly down the stairs, past a cloud of smoking old men who nodded and continued reminiscing about the old days. Immediately greeted by a giant stuffed bear (see picture), the sound of piano music, and an intoxicating aroma, we knew we’d found our spot for the night. Tables were filled with plates brimming with meats, dumplings, salads, and lots and lots of lavash. Beyond the menus, there wasn’t much going on in English, but that didn’t deter us from ordering Georgian garlic chicken, beef soup, and a few other delectable dishes.
One new thing we did this year was dig into soups. You read that correctly, soups. “No one ever got fat eating soup” Nate declared one evening. So we decided to test his theory and are now working our way through recipes from The Armenian Kitchen.
On the way home we were joking about coming back next fall break. Yerevan is a special place.
From Dams to Dumplings
School years are cyclical, even remotely. You begin the year on an emotional high. But at some point and rather predictably, the buzz and newness wear off and everyone’s energy level dips a bit. The answer to this at our school is fall break. It’s like spring break, but ten weeks into the school year. Last year, we spent fall break in Istanbul, but thanks to the coronavirus (Ms. Rona, you really suck) like in our last post, we kept it domestic.
While our home emirate of Abu Dhabi is actually the largest emirate in the UAE, Dubai is by far the most densely populated (thanks to its popping metropolitan area) and it is home to not only a thriving city but some incredible natural sites. Hope plotted a perfect route via E11 to E102 which eventually dropped us down into the town of Hatta, situated in the Al Hajar mountains, just two minutes from the Omani boarder.
Whenever we go on a road trip, we have a habit of listening to audiobooks or extended podcast series. This summer we drove up and down the Puget Sound listening to Slow Burn: David Duke from Slate. The sweet spot is an engaging narrator and something that blends levity and social commentary (yes, we’re nerds). This go-round, we downloaded Eddie Huang’s Double Cup Love which perfectly filled our 5 hours of expected roundtrip drive time.
So we packed our roller bags (and yes, Hope did bring the kitchen sink because--why not when you aren’t limited to kg and overweight baggage charges) and hopped back in the Micra. As we rolled along, high rises soon gave way to sand. One of our favorite things about driving in the UAE is the stark contrast between the highly modern freeway system that divides the desert. The contrasts are wild. One moment, high rises, ten minutes later--camels!
En Route
Because Nate loves dams but hates research, I meticulously planned our route to Hatta to stop along 3 of the 114 dams in the UAE. What I did not anticipate was the fact that there might not actually be water in many of the reservoirs at the moment. Thus, my surprise when we found ourselves off-roading in our subcompact across a rocky dirt road to what Google declared a “tourist” site only to discover wandering camels and some palm trees.
Hatta
Al Hajar mountain range
After winding our way through the mountains, we dropped into the unassuming town of Hatta--a popular destination for domestic tourists. It reminded us of Moab, the town outside of Canyonlands National Park. Hatta offers an opportunity to camp, hike or enjoy water activities at Hatta Dam. For a town with a population of only 12,000, Hatta’s food scene is popping. From Syrian and burgers to Italian food, you can always find something delicious to eat.
Still feeling like 95F was a dash too hot for a hike we opted to drive around town noting the traditional-style grocery stores, a cultural heritage site, several beautiful mosques, and a Honey Bee Discovery Center.
As the temperature dropped, we climbed up a small hill at Fort Hatta and basked in that golden hour lighting.
Usually Nate hates water based activities, but on the last day I sweet-talked him into renting a shaky paddle-boat. He struggled because the seats were too close to the pedals, driving his knees nearly under his chin. We peddled our way across the reservoir, mostly laughing and secretly grateful for the lifeguards patrolling in their motor boats.
Dubai
Burj Al Arab
Unlike some places (where we may be citizens), the Emiratis take this Covid thing very seriously. In order to re-enter Abu Dhabi we needed a negative PCR test within the last 48 hours. So we went for a test and some quality time in Dubai. We stayed on the Palm Jumeirah, not realizing its massive size and how far away it actually is from everything else in the city. Think about that time you stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel in Vegas and realized you had a 25 min cab ride to get onto the strip.
The drive inland did not put a damper on our culinary exploits. The Secret Garden for a late lunch, Pai Thai for dinner, Puerto 99 for brunch, and eventually Hope crying over mutton xiaolong bao at Din Tai Fung.
Needless to say, we felt lucky to escape the grind for a few days, and grateful to live in a country with excellent healthcare and public health programs. Things aren’t normal—there is still a virus, but government competence and the levels of testing give us a modicum of confidence. It’s not life as usual, but we feel safe here and that’s priceless.