More Culture, and a Moment of Peace

Last Saturday I took the Metro up to the last stop and walked onto the bridge over the Hrazdan Gorge. Along the hillside there's a lot of trash; once again I had to remind myself that in the U.S., the big anti-litter campaign happened in my lifetime. At least there's not a lot of trash in the city center. From the bridge, there's a good view of the city, encircled by a ridge. The circular street plan is really quite ingenious. Something else interesting about the city is that there are many businesses, restaurants and cafes below street level. In certain parts of Chicago, many entrances are below grade, because they raised the street level after the fire (if I remember my history correctly). Nobody has been able to tell me why there are so many things below grade here, but I'll keep asking. Peace Corps Armenia recently added Regional Managers to its staff - they will do a lot of the administrative work that the Program Managers were doing, so the Program Managers can focus more on the programming (Community and Business Development or TEFL). I met my new (Central) RM the other day. He told me that for his thesis he wrote about the transportation infrastructure of the Silk Road. We then looked at web sites about the Silk Road and about infrastructure - it took me back to the civil engineering days. The ancient Silk Road is actually not one route but a variety of them; Armenia is in a strategic position though, which explains its history of being conquered over and over from both the east and the west. The infrastructure exists for commerce now, but as long as the borders are closed - and they're closed on both sides - it's all just for the map, not for reality. I looked on Amazon for books about the Silk Road, and maybe I will order one - it'll be interesting to learn more. I have friends who were PCVs in the Philippines and have been traveling the Silk Road since they COSed - they are due in Armenia in a few weeks and I am looking forward to seeing them!

After the walk on the bridge, I had another Saturday work meeting, about another craft fair. This one is on April 2; Mother's Day here is April 7 - it is also the end of the Women's Month that started on March 8. PCVs are organizing the bulk of the fair and Homeland Handicrafts is just having a table - I think. I then met Gordon and Jeanne at the Matiros Sarian museum; he was a painter and is on the 20,000 dram bill. It's a house museum, containing many of his works and also his studio; his family still lives downstairs. He is known for vivid colors - I love the works that were exhibited. Early works show a lot of Middle Eastern scenes. He had a hard time during the height of the Soviet era but he kept painting. He was devoted to Armenia and many of his works are landscapes of Armenia. There are also some great portraits and still lifes. I recommend a visit to www.Saryan.am to have a look at the collection - it is beautiful. We then walked back to the Cascade through the Painter's Vernissage. Separate from the flea/craft market area, there are paintings for sale there on the weekends - displayed around a statue of Sarian. Brian bought a little painting one day. After visiting Bob and Linda's house on my way back from Morocco and seeing some Moroccan art on the wall, I wondered if I should have bought any art in Morocco. Maybe I will buy something here....

We climbed up the Cascade (using the interior escalator part of the way, not walking up all the stairs) and sat for a while, looking at Mt. Ararat looming over the city like a ghost. It really has a presence when you can see it - so close that you can touch it, yet forever unattainable, a reminder of the Western Armenia that was lost. Gazing at it, I felt at peace - and I realized that I haven't had many moments here that are that tranquil. I haven't been there for sunset yet, but I hope to catch more than a few of those - I hear the light is amazing.

There's a British film festival this week; free movies sponsored by the British Council here. On Tuesday I saw "Made in Dagenham," about women machinists at Ford Great Britain whose 1968 strike led to equal pay laws in many industrialized countries. Perfect movie for International Women's Day. I plan to go to a couple of the other movies, though they may be depressing (one is about the killing fields in Cambodia and one about a son and a grandmother who lost their father/son in Iraq). It seems that every English-speaker I've met so far in Yerevan was there. It really felt like an escape from life for a while, too - I used to see movies all the time but haven't seen that many since leaving for Morocco; a good movie can really draw you in. Music can draw you in as well. Last night I went to another concert at the Opera House - this one was a "Cine y Tango" concert featuring Astor Piazzolla music. One of these days I will catch up on my emails and post pictures, but in the meantime it is nice to take advantage of these cultural opportunities!