Armenia's South and Yerevan

Running a bit behind on blog, it seems. But we also have some travelling to do, of course :-)

In Armenia, our itinerary was roughly south-north, passing from Goris and nearby Tatev to Yerevan, onwards to Gyumri, Dilijan and Stepanavan, from where we crossed into Georgia.

Goris was very charming, with an old part of the town consisting of numerous caves that were inhabited in earlier times - and are now used to shelter cows and sheep. Nearby Tatev, a small hamlet with about 300 inhabitants, boasts one of the most interesting old monasteries in the country, with a particularly beautiful setting at the edge of a steep cliff. After a night in a very homely bed and breakfast, a rather frightening ride in a Soviet-era ramshackle bus (filled with people and bags of potatoes) brought us back to Goris, from where Yerevan was our next destination.

Yerevan has a very European feel to it, with swish shops and fashionably dressed people (mainly the women of course: black high-heeled boots seem to be the fashion now). The city isn't particularly charming at first sight: Soviet-style apartment blocks, squares and wide avenues, but hidden in various coutryards are some fine churches, markets and even a mosque (funded by an Iranian organisation).

The Yerevan opera was one of our highlights: we went to a ballet performance of Giselle, a very traditional ballet with plush outfits and lots of dancers on stage. With 7 EUR per person, it was a tad more expensive than in Tashkent, but this time we got to see the whole performance!