Yerevan - a history buff's paradise

Advantages: Lots to see, lots to learn, khorovats
Disadvantages: Unfriendly people, horrendous bus stations

...Armenia is a country I had wanted to visit for some years and I finally got the opportunity during my trip around the Black Sea; strictly speaking we shouldn't have gone at all since Armenia is not on the Black Sea but I did not see the opportunity presenting itself in the near future. I had spent ages imagining Armenia as a country where sad old ladies wore black and kept up a vigil for sons lost in the war in Nagorno Karabakh or perhaps sent to fight for the Russians in Afghanistan. I supposed it to be a country where folk musicians played at on holidays and the whole village would join in the plaintive songs. What I found, at least in the capital Yerevan, was a different story altogether. We arrived by ovenight sleeper from Tbilisi, the Georgian capital. We were tired and filthy and without accommodation. The trusty Lonely...

fizzytom 28.02.2007 · Read review
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Review of Yerevan

A place to stop and remember

Advantages: Important historical sight, easy to understand, dramatic architecture
Disadvantages: Difficult to find on first visit

...the Armenian genocide was designed by architects Artur Tarkhanyan and Sashur Kalashyan and artist Ovannes Khachatryan.and is situated in Tsitsernakaberd (Swallow's Fortress) Park which is a heavily wooded area that was until the 1950s waste ground on the edge of the Armenian capital Yerevan. On the summit of the hill is the striking memorial and beside it a museum and visitors centre. The monument is not easy to describe but I shall try. It is in two main sections: the first is a series of basalt slabs arranged in a circle that lean inwards at the top around an eternal flame and they are meant to symbolise figures bent over in mourning. This is known as the 'Temple of Commemoration'. The floor of this part is one and a half metres below the walkway. The steps that lead to the eternal flame are very steep so that visitors have to bow their heads...

fizzytom 07.07.2008 · Read review
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Review of Armenian Genocide Museum, Yerevan

What happens if I pull this?

Advantages: Central location, comfy rooms, pleasant staff
Disadvantages: Not very organised, poor breakfast

...'s getting better, more people do make an effort, but it is still a hope rather than a reality! Of all the hotels in Yerevan, the Hotel Yerevan is not my favourite, but it is the best hotel of its size and location. I've stayed there five or six times over the past couple of years. The Hotel Yerevan was completely rennovated and reopened in 2000 (give or take a few months). The rennovation was done by the Italian company Renco, who now run the hotel. A hotel run by Italian builders sounds like a recipe for diaster, but it's not! The rennovation has been done quite well and other than the reception area, which is a little small, it does feel light, airy and has a Mediterranean feel to it. RECEPTION Most of the people at reception are cheerful and friendly. Check in is quite quick, but check out can be slow. Note than names...

Vodkaboy 25.12.2004 · Read review
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Review of Hotel Yerevan (Yerevan, Armenia)

Flying over the Caucasus

Advantages: Quick, great views, better than driving
Disadvantages: Little in flight service, little space on board

...The Caucasus republics comprise Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, nestling in the Caucasus mountains. Although close together, not far apart, travelling between them has always been time consuming. A drive from Tbilisi, Georgia, to Yerevan, Armenia, takes around five hours assuming good weather through the mountains; the train takes twice as long. From Baku, Azerbaijan to Tbilisi the drive is seven hours, or an overnight train. There is no way to get between Tbilisi and Yerevan as the border has been closed for ten years owing to the conflict over Nagorno Karabakh. So getting between the Caucasus republics is a royal pain in the bum. There used to be a twice weekly service between Yerevan and Tbilisi but that has not operated for years. There is a thrice weekly flight between Baku and Tbilisi flown by Azerbaijan Airlines operated by...

Vodkaboy 06.11.2003 · Read review
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Review of Caucasus Airlines

There is hope for Armenian aviation!

Advantages: Western aircraft, clean and tidy, movie
Disadvantages: No smiles, substandard meal, only one plane

...Armenian International Airways was set up in 2002 and took over a few routes from the government owned Armenian Airlines, which had been struggling for years and was getting close to collapse. They have just one aircraft, an Airbus 320, which they operate from Yerevan to Paris and Dubai, and have recently added flights to St Petersburg, Kiev and Larnaca. I flew with them in October this year from Dubai to Yerevan in Economy class. CHECK IN The first thing, if you are flying to or from Dubai, is to know that they don't use the main terminal; they use Terminal 2, which is round the other side of the airport, which is where most of the airlines from the former Soviet Union operate from. It's smaller, easier to get around, much less walking, but the duty free is limited and the chances of getting something to eat even less! There...

Vodkaboy 25.11.2003 · Read review
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Review of Armenian Airlines

Vanadzor - an Armenian adventure

Advantages: Nice scenery, good base for sights, cognac
Disadvantages: Poor eating places, nothing to do in evenings

...Vanadzor ? so small and insignificant in international terms that you probably haven?t even heard of it. Until I went to Armenia, neither had I. We chanced on Vanadzor, needing somewhere to break up the long journey between the Armenian capital, Yerevan, and Tbilisi, capital of Georgia to the north. In fact, Vanadzor is the third largest city in Armenia with a population of either 76, 000 or 175, 000 depending on which source you believe. Personally, having now been there, I?d be inclined to go for the latter figure. Amongst Armenians, Vanadzor is regarded as a rather nice place ? not quite up there with the capital but still given nicknames like ?Sanatorium City? or ?The Beauty of Lory? (after the Lory region it is in). Unfortunate then that our first view of the city was the massive chemical plant on the outskirts. Only a small...

fizzytom 09.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Vanadzor, Armenia

Majestic, beautiful, wondrous, breath-taking...

Advantages: Gorgeous pieces that make you want to cry; very low price.
Disadvantages: One or two tracks can really only be enjoyed in specific moods.

...I was introduced to Ludovico Einaudi on Classic FM on morning, when Simon Bates said soothingly, "And now time for something to make you stay warm under the covers just a few minutes longer..." There followed a simple, yet beautiful piano piece, which was accompanied perfectly by a cello. I was enthralled at how marvellous and soothing the music was, and when it was announced that Einaudi had composed and played "Due Tramonti" - "Two Sunsets", (the aforementioned piece), I decided to look for a CD of his. In an HMV store near Oxford Road in London, I found the CD for a mere £4.99! I was a little taken aback at first, but paid the small sum and listened to it when I got home. The only way I can describe how wonderful the music was is to give a track-by-track analysis. 1. Yerevan (2:24) A perfect beginning to a soothing...

storpey 15.05.2004 · Read review
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Review of Eden Roc - Ludovico Einaudi

Break-up of the Level 42 Family

Advantages: Level 42 at their most commercially accessible.
Disadvantages: Level 42 at their most commercially accessible.

..., and to my greatest regret, my friends and I descended on Armenia, and instead of immersing ourselves in her culture, we brought our own with us and surrounded ourselves in a little bubble of Americana ? from our aviator sunglasses and OP tee shirts, down to our surf jams and Converse All Stars, we were like little mall rats, constantly on the prowl for booze and a party. In essence, we sleepwalked through our experience and surfaced at various, but peripatetic intervals to mix with the locals ? but always on our own terms. ?We are all sleepwalkers, we only see the things we want to see?? Freedom Someday My abiding memory of this song is sitting at the deserted open air roof bar of our hotel in Yerevan at the break of dawn. I had smuggled my friend?s boom box out of our room and set it up on a table. As the sun rose and the snow...

Hishyeness 25.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Running In The Family - Level 42

Air Arabia

Advantages: Cheap no frill airline covering the Middle East, N Africa and Sub-Continent
Disadvantages: Taxes often more expensive than the flight

..., such as Bahrain, has 2 flights daily from the UAE. Destinations: Ahmedarbad (India), Aleppo (Syria), Alexandria (Egypt), Almaty (Kazakhstan), Amman (Jordan), Assuit (Egypt), Astana (Khazakhstan), Bahrain, Beirut (Lebanon), Chennai (India), Chittagong (Bangladesh), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Damascus (Syria), Damman (Saudi Arabia), Doha (Qatar), Istanbul (Turkey), Jaipur (India), Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Karachi (Pakistan), Kathmandu (Nepal), Khartoum (Sudan), Kochi (India), Kuwait, Latakia (Syria), Luxor (Egypt), Mumbai (India), Nagpur (India), Peshawar (Pakistan), Muscat (Oman), Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Sana'a (Yemen), Tehran (Iran), Thiruvananthapuram (India) & Yerevan (Armenia) Price: Like many of the no-frill airlines they advertise a flight for as little as 20 pounds, but of course that is a single and frequently the taxes are more then...

lillygirl 18.07.2007 · Read review
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Review of Air Arabia

Yalta - you really oughta!

Advantages: Good climate, cheap, lots to do, beaches, history, culture
Disadvantages: None really - just a long way away!

...decided it was best to head back to Yalta. The area around Yalta is home to several other important and interesting attractions such as the Vorontsov Palace which was built in a pseudo Gothic style and looks a little like a Scottish castle, the Massandra Wineries which was once the world's largest wine vault and, my favourite, the Armenian cathedral of St Raipsime which was modeled on the one at Echmiadzin near Yerevan in Armenia and which we had seen only a few weeks before. Transport links around the Crimea are excellent and you could easily base yourself at Yalta rather than move around. Yalta has plenty of places to eat and lots of accommodation in comparison to other towns which could solve a lot of practical problems for independent visitors. It would certainly take a long time to exhaust the bars and eating places here...

fizzytom 20.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Yalta, Crimea