The road is bumpy, and I have difficulties concentrating on the book. It is hot. Like most locals we are travelling in one of those ramshackle vehicles called Lada - surviving legacy of the Soviet era. On the sideways people are selling fruits and vegetables. They come in astonishing variety: peaches, apricots, and apples, huge red tomatoes and gigantic watermelons. We’ve spent enough time in Armenia to know that you cannot be fooled by their appearance: under the thick layer of dust and dirt hide some of the most delicious fruits we have ever had.
Food in general is amazing – each and every restaurant visit always reminds more of a home-cooked feast. People are welcoming, and hospitable. They eagerly talk about their families, country, politics, history, relationships with Azerbaijan. They seem to have a stand on everything. They smile constantly. And in their eyes, their stories you get a short glimpse of real Armenia: poor but proud, stunning but undiscovered, and always – genuine.
- On our way to Yerevan.
- A rather typical Armenian picnic: young guys cooking meat – “shashlik” by the road.
- Typical Armenian meal – pilaf with raisins and apricots. Famous Armenian brandy is surely somewhere on the table.
- Narek – fruit vendor near Shinuhayr village.
- Armenian shop on the road to Karabakh.
- Yerevan at dawn – view from the Cascade.
- Nare selling ghata (sweet bread) at the gates of Geghard monastery. She has been doing this for years now – and her face is well-known now to the numerous tourists coming to visit.
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