Cognac
Country
Buildings hewn from pink volcanic rocks, lapis lazuli lakes,
honey-hued liquor -Armenia offers many enchantments
From a vertiginous 1,476 feet, the almondcoloured cityscape of
Yerevan, Armenia's capital, looks bewitching. A 572-step stairway has
transported me to the Mountain Terrace of Cascades, a contemporary art museum
and sculpture garden, from where I am soaking in a panorama of
terracotta-roofed houses, statuesque buildings and green pastures stretching
out to snow-swathed mountains. Above it all soars Mount Ararat where Noah's Ark
is believed to have landed, every bit as mighty as its biblical status.
Bucolic locations, monasteries set in tumbling landscapes,
gurgling streams, lapis lazuli lakes -Armenia is picturepostcard turf. One of
the cradles of civilisation, the pint-sized country was also the first in the
world to officially adopt Christianity as state religion in AD 301.With doughty
neighbours (Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran) hemming it in, the
nation is also at a geopolitical and cultural crossroads.
Much of that eclectic heritage is on view at the city's numerous
historic sights. At Matenadran, the museum of ancient manuscripts in Yerevan,
we inspect fascinating memorabilia, including scroll upon scroll of medieval
parchments and complex documents expounding on everything from geometry and
cosmology to theology and poetry.
As the world wakes up to the charms of this Caucasian nation of
3 million people, tourism is galloping -at about 25% per year. Effervescent
eateries, cafes and malls are mushrooming and stylish hotels are replacing
vapid, Soviet inn-type accommodations.
Yerevan -located 12 km from Turkey -is where Armenia's heart
beats. It has street art-splashed alleys and leafy boulevards sprouting olive,
cherry and mulberry trees. Cafés and wine bars remain open till early morning
as punters hold chinwag over coffee and gelatos. Locals and tourists stroll
along promenades or congregate around musical fountains prancing to classical
tunes.
Buildings hewn from pink tuff (an igneous rock, formed from the
debris ejected by a volcano) give Yerevan a pink glow as well as its moniker,
the Pink City.The majestic Republic Square is studded with buildings. I take it
all in one evening from a cafe on Abovyan Street while nursing my soorj, the
Armenian coffee prepared in a long-handled, bronze jezve coffee pot that
derives its name from the sound of slurping made by a contented coffee drinker.
Volatile Past
Despite its cosmopolitan facelift, Armenia's turbulent past still lingers. Roiled by bloody invasions by Romans, Persians, Ottomans and the Soviets, the scars of vicious ethno-territorial conflicts and economic despair remain.
A visit to the Genocide Monument in Yerevan is a stark reminder
of a mass extermination -the Armenian Genocide that killed 1.5 million Ottoman
Armenians between 1915 and 1923. Set on a hilltop, the spot also houses an
underground gallery recreating the horror. Outside, a spartan memorial stands
over an eternal flame. There's also a garden of trees planted by
representatives of various nations that recognise the genocide, includ ing the
UK, US, France and Russia.
Not all of Armenia's troubles are in the past.The country is
still bedevilled by the NagornoKarabakh conflict with Azerbaijan that has left
it with closed borders. Human rights issues and wrenching poverty add to its
woes.
“Today, over two-thirds of Armenians live outside the country
and have settled as diaspora communities,“ says our guide Sira. The country's
most famous surname must be Kardashian -the socialite Kim Kardashian's family
escaped from Armenia to America in 1913 but they still have strong ties to the
country. In 2015, when the Kardashians went on an eightday tour of Armenia, it
created quite a kerfuffle in the tiny nation.
Magic Mountain
The image of Mount Ararat is a leitmotif in Armenia. Though the
mountain was ceded to nearby Turkey in 1923, it continues to be the country's
cultural signature, adorning everything from chocolates to wine bottles to
apparel as well as Yerevan's coat of arms.
The mount isn't the country's only enchantment though. As I
travel through dramatic, photogenic gorges and canyons which carve their way
across the Caucasus Mountains, monasteries hewn out of tuff rock, pagan
temples, glutinous lakes and churches nestling in desolate locations add to the
visual delight.
From the Khor Virap Monastery, on Turkey's border, I take in the
view stretching from vineyards to Ararat's 5,137-m-high summit. The monastery
-lying 30 km south of Yerevan -is a popular, out-of-town retreat. It was in a
snake-filled pit below this monastery, the story goes, that St Gregory the
Illuminator, who brought Christianity to the region, spent 12 years.
The Tatev monastery, a ninth century shrine located on a large
basalt plateau, stands on the precipice of a deep gorge of the Vorotan River.A
Unesco World Heritage site, it played a pivotal role in the region's spiritual,
political, cultural and educational history. The trip to the monastery isn't
for the faint-hearted though.We huddle into the world's longest reversible
cable car line, a 5.7 kilometre engineering feat that spans a spectacular
gorge. The car line runs from Halidzor village, connecting Yerevan to the
village of Tatev, within walking distance of the monastery.
As we glide over an eye-popping landscape -misty mountains,
bridges and glittering rivers -the guide explains that the $18 million cable
car was mostly funded by private donations. “It is part of a $50 million
public-private project to develop tourism at Tatev and in the surrounding
region, one of the 15 provinces of the ancient kingdom of Armenia,“ she adds.
From Tatev, we drive through a mountain bowl at an altitude of
about 2 kilometres above sea level to Sevan. The Alpine lake is one of the
largest in the Caucasus region and located 1,897 metres above sea level. Its
pristine beauty and powdery beaches are a big lure for tourists, especially the
Russian oligarchs who land here discreetly in private jets. Also known as the
Armenian Riviera, the lake's chameleonlike transformation -from azure to mystic
dark blue in the span of a few hours -is mesmerising. From the seaside
promenade, merely gazing at the waters and beyond is a meditative experience.
Cradle of Wine
You know you are in wine country the moment you land at the
Yerevan airport where a 20-ft-tall inflatable wine bottle greets you outside
the terminal. Armenia, along with Georgia, Azerbaijan, northern Iran and
eastern Turkey constitute what is called the Cradle of Wine in the Caucasus
Mountains. Winemaking supposedly originated here in biblical times. The
meticulous Armenians have kept re cords of viticulture since Noah's time when
the biblical patriarch planted the first vineyard at the foothills of Mount Ararat.
Some of the highest wine-growing regions in the northern hemisphere, diverse
microclimate and rich, volcanic soils lend distinct flavours to an array of
indigenous grape varietals.
Armenia is also known for brandy production. Driving around the
country, the advertisements for Ararat brandy are everywhere. I take a tour of
its factory located in an imposing brick building on a hill overlooking
Yerevan.Here, I learn all about the production of the country's favourite
tipple. Though fruit brandies from apricot, black plums, apples and other
fruits grown in orchards are quite popular, seasoned Armenian vintners stick to
grapes, the guide explains, as we amble down Charles Aznavour Alley stocked
with “President's Barrels“ dedicated to presidents of various countries who had
visited the factory, and which were being aged until a president asked for
them. The guide goes on to narrate an apocryphal story about Armenian brandy:
during the Yalta Conference in February 1945, after dinner, the host and
Russian leader Josef Stalin asked British prime minister Winston Churchill if
he wished to have a drink. “I'd like a brandy with my cigar,“ boomed Churchill.
Stalin then offered his guest Ararat Dvin, the best Armenian brandy. So
enamoured was Churchill of the honey-hued liquor that Stalin instructed that
Churchill be presented with a case of Ararat every month. Thereafter, Armenians
say, Churchill swore by the three Cs that made his life worth living -cognac
(Armenian), cigar (Cuban) and coffee!
Neeta Lal
ETM 11JUN17
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