As a person who grew up in Turkey, Armenia had always been a distant country to me since the political problems between Turkey and Armenia are abysmal. However, I figure out in short that the cultural and social correspondences between the people of these two countries are quite visible even in daily life. After three hours of delay, I was finally able to land on Zvartnots International Airport in Yerevan on the sixth of July. After a short drive from the airport to the city centre, my landlord welcomed me in the outside of the house and offered me some local drinks as I began settling in the house. At this point, I began understanding how big is the Armenian hospitality even towards the people who were not always supposed as “friendly” by some quarters.
My stay in Armenia during the first week of the Persian summer school was fascinating. The courses had taken place in the centre of Yerevan around the place called “Republican Square”. As I was able to gather some information about the area, the square was designed by an Armenian architecture in 1924 during the Soviet era. Among the main landmarks in the city, I could find an opportunity to visit Yerevan TV Tower, Opera Theatre, Yerevan Cascade. In my opinion, more than twenty years after the independence of the Armenian Republic, one could still feel the strong socio-cultural influence of the Soviet Union.
Our program will arrange several trips outside of Yerevan in the following weeks. Therefore, I will be able to write about rural Armenia soon, focusing on Medieval and Ancient architectural heritage of the Armenian people.