Ch 41, Days 35-36: Western Armenia

 44.9
kms, July 2, 2021

Up
ahead is a stretch of road that, for the first time in his hike
through Armenia, the Traveler is really not looking forward to. It
looks pretty flat, hot, without a lot of of towns along the way or
lodging for the next 100 kilometers. So far he's managed to sleep in
a comfortable bed every night and usually is able to find a nice
restaurant to pamper himself every day, helping to balance out the
long stretches of hiking in the merciless sun.

Now...
he has to choose between looping back towards Yerevan once again, or
a 100 kilometer stretch of relative emptiness to the northwestern
city of Gyumri.

He
choose the latter, heading out early in the morning, grabbing a
coffee from the vending machine, and keeping a quick pace to take
advantage of the cooler hours of the morning. As the highway crosses
a viaduct over the railway, he gazes back one last time at Mt Ararat
and the wide open plains that surround it... a region that has felt
like home to him... But now it is time to continue on into the
unknown.

There
are a couple more farm villages as he approaches the edge of the
irrigated plains. He takes a quick detour through Hatsik,
following it's dusty streets and walled in family homes and
gardens, finding a bench along the highway next to two war memorial
pillars to pause for a little concert... then another quick walk
through of Myasnikyan, each town feeling a bit more isolated
than the last. Here, trees to sit and rest under are getting rarer
and rarer. It looks like, yes, this is going to be a pretty grueling
hike.

In
Dalarik, the Traveler can see more industrial ruins as the
villages start to feel a bit more empty—but not abandoned as some
of the villages of south Armenia. He then takes a short cut up a
rocky ridge to Karakert, where he finally finds a shabby
little kebab eatery where he can finally rest and get a proper meal
of a kebab and the ubiquitous tomato and cucumber salad—which he is
getting a bit tired of.

The
Traveler had gotten used to not needing to carry a lot of water, as
in south and central Armenia there are plenty of springs along the
way, often fixed up as a public drinking fountain/memorial of someone
who has passed away. The Traveler foolishly doesn't think that, in a
flatter arid area like this, these fountains are going to be rare or
non-existent, and doesn't bother to stock up on water for the next
stretch.

The
hike gets more and more miserable as he's hot, thirsty and tired,
following the shadeless road through the flatness—then as it climbs
up into the rocky hills where he does get a nice view of the Aras
River valley where the river separates Armenia from Turkey... then
around a bend into what looks like a plateau region. Here the
Traveler bids the Armavir Province goodbye, and finds himself back in
Aragatsotn Province.

Here,
the Traveler gets his second wind as he gets a glimpse of what looks
like the ruins of a castle wall up ahead. He forgets about how
thirsty it is, and clambers up the hillside to get a closer look.

He
comes to a series of wall that look like their used more for sheep
pens then defense fortresses, then reaches the main wall, which is
partially ruined—but still he can't find a way through to get
inside. So he heads back to the road to try to find a way in from the
other side. Here he reaches another rather shabby village of
Dashtadem—but, to the Traveler's pleasant surprise, there is
an official entrance to the Dashtadem castle that's nicely fixed
up—with a couple cheery cafes to welcome him!

He
sits down for a very refreshing cold drink. It's been days since
he's seen anything the slightest bit “touristy”, so this is very
nice to see—and there are actually a couple of Armenian tourists
coming here to appreciate this off the beaten track piece of history.

What
there isn't is an entry fee, which the Traveler has mixed feelings
about. Yeah, it is nice to enjoy a touristy site without spending
money... it would make more sense that whatever funds were spent to
restore this castle should be recovered somehow...

The
Traveler enters an imposing gateway into the castle of uncut stone.
Inside, is a “castle within a castle, but this one is tall and
somewhat narrow, of cut stone with bulging towers on the side, some
curved and some with right angles. It doesn't have a clear, defined
shape that he is used to seeing in a castle. It looks quite different
from anything the Traveler has seen here in Armenia. Around the inner
tower are various ruins, including a stone arch, as well as a still
functioning chapel.

As
the Traveler wanders around, he wonders, why does this place look so
different? Although he doesn't see it, later he learns there's a
discreet engraving on the wall in Arabic giving credit to Sultan Ibn
Mahmud, a Kurdish Sunni ruler who is titled “the Glorifier of
Islam”. He was the last sultan of the Shadadid Dynasty who ruled
a good part of the Caucasus and present day eastern Turkey in the
1100s.

This
comes as no surprise to the Traveler. Everyone knows that many
different kingdoms and empires have ruled over what is today known as
“Armenia”, each one leaving their mark on this country. What
does surprise the Traveler a little bit is that, it seems, the
Armenian government (or someone) has invested a little bit in
restoring some ruins that aren't distinctly Armenian. It strikes him
that almost all the restored ancient sites he has visited clearly
highlight the Armenian identity “this is the land of Armenians and
always has been”. This is not an accident. It gives the Traveler
the sense that there's a subconscious fear that, if Armenia
highlights too much the non-Armenian segments of their history, it
might inspire their neighbors to want to reclaim this land as their
own.

This
castle is an exception—although, with an Armenian chapel inside it,
and an Armenian flag flying atop the gate are there to remind
visitors that, yes, this is Armenia.

The
Traveler will later notice a contrast when he explores Andalusian
Spain. There, Spaniards, despite their disdain for their former
Moorish rulers, has spent a lot of money to meticulously restore
Moorish historic sites—even restoring them better than most Muslim
countries have!

… But
then... Spain doesn't have any reason to worry that the Moors are
going to try to “take over” again. Maybe Armenia does have
reasons to worry. Or maybe Armenia carries a lot of blame in
creating the mess that it's in now. The Traveler isn't quite sure.

He
continues across what feels light a plateau. The landscape is still
treeless and quite arid, but a stream in a ravine next to the road
seems to bring some life to this area. On the way, he spots some
more ruins beside the road. The remains of what was once a
caravansary--a “hotel” for the days when folks who traveled did
it in large groups with a lot of beast of burden that needed food and
water. Caravanaseries like this dotted this part of the world, they
were clearly not just rustic campsites, but grand stone structures,
which people clearly invested a lot into with the confidence that
there would be free movement of people and goods for a long time.

This
site is not fixed up for tourism. Still the Traveler clambers about,
imagining the days when caravans moved freely across the Aras River
between what is now a closed border between Turkey and Armenia.

Night
at the Fire Station

Not
far away is Talin, the first bigger town of the day. Here, according
to Google, there is one hotel, so the Traveler hopes he'll be able to
spend the night here. It's a quiet, off the beaten track sort of
town, with walled in single family homes and some intriguing looking
chapels with beautiful kashkhars lined up outside. There are
quite a few people out and about, and the Traveler wonders, what kind
of jobs do people have in a place like this?

He
reaches where the hotel is supposed to be, but no hotel, just a fire
station.

A
group of fire fighters, sitting at a table in the yard ask the
Traveler what he's looking for. No... there's no hotel here... but
they gesture that he can stay the night at the fire station if he
wants. Then they insist that he join them where they are sharing a
cake together.

And
so begins one of the Traveler's more unusual “couchsurfing”
experiences. They are a jolly bunch, some younger, some older...
some married, some not, who work at this station which covers Talin
as well as the surrounding region. Since houses are of concrete or
brick here, it doesn't they get a lot of work, but it does seem they
are dedicated to their job. They show him the station where the fire
trucks are nicely painted, but look like antiques from the 1940s...

The
Traveler wonders how much these guys are getting paid. Probably very
little. But they seem to be content with their lives as first
responders in the off the beaten track town of Talin, Armenia.

It's
a enjoyable evening, trying to chat the best they can, despite the
language barrier. It's the first time experiencing “full
hospitality” here in Armenia, and the Traveler really appreciates
the experience... and they seem to really enjoy the music and having
this unusual visitor bring some variety to their otherwise pretty
boring day...

Day
36: The New Highway

31.6
kms, July 3, 2021

The
next morning the Traveler enjoys a coffee with his hosts, and
continues on his way. Here he passes the remains of a 7^th
century cathedral, a reminder that this off the beaten track town was
probably once much more important than it is today.

North
of Talin, the landscape gets a bit more mountainous, but still
treeless. To the east the landscape gradually climbs to over 4,000
meters at Mt Aragats. However, its not the jagged mountains like in
Southern Armenia, but a slow gentle climb. The Traveler is just a
little tempted to turn in that direction... but no... it's not
time to get back into the mountains yet.

Around
a bend and tucked in between some barren hills is the village of
Mastara. Here, several older folks ask the Traveler where
he's going, and when he says “Gyumri” they try to point out that,
no he's headed in the wrong direction. It's a bit hard to explain
that he actually just wants to wander around their village as well.

He
finds a shortcut up the mountainside to the north along what looks
like was the old road now abandoned, as he climbs higher and higher,
reaching yet another plateau and entering Shirak province.

Later
he will learn that this region is known as “The Siberia of Armenia”
with long, brutal winters—even though the relatively balmy Black
Sea coast is just a few hundred kilometers away. So it does seem a
little ironic to come across a fancy new motorway being built. This
is the first true motorway the Traveler has seen here in Armenia,
with multiple overpasses—some of them look like they're for a dirt
cowpath, nothing more!

The
Traveler enjoys being able to walk along the still unused motorway,
with a the overpasses serving as pretty much his only shade along the
way. It's a surreal contrast with the very rustic village of Lanjik,
which feels pretty abandoned without even a shop where the
Traveler can get something to drink.

So
why is a motorway being built here? Later he learns that in recent
years there's been a big push to develop the Gyumri region, a region
devastated by an earthquake back in 1988. Apparently this motorway
is a part of that development, connecting Gyumri and Yerevan,
however, he's told it's been under construction for many years now.

The
Traveler encounters one lone construction worker who gladly joins the
Traveler in the shade of a sole tree as he takes a break and pulls
out his guitar for a strum.

Maralik
is a welcome sight. It's a
full size town of about 5,000 people with plenty of folks out and
about—including a group of young fellows who join the Traveler in
the park for a mini-concert. He asks them what their plans are for
the future.

“I
want to go to Yerevan to study to be a chef” one of them tells the
Traveler. It does seem that most young folks who want to improve
their lives are looking to move to Yerevan or move abroad.

The
Traveler continues on. But he's pretty tired of walking in the hot
sun, and decides to hitch a ride to Gyumri to get rested up, then
come back and finish his hike tomorrow.

A
fellow in a nice car picks him up. He's a dentist, with his own
office in Gyumri. “I used to live in Yereven, but I like it better
here”. He does hope to travel to the US—but only as a tourist.
Things seem to be going well for him here in his own country.