Armenia reveals its secrets to the journalist "MK in Karelia"

So far, in the cities where Valeria Markelova set foot, there were no signs with the inscription “Here was Lera”. But that's not what matters to us. And that you can walk with her in authentic corners of the world. This time Armenia. As a tour guide... Well, you get it. Now we read, it's lunchtime. Anyway, Barev Dzez, Yerevan!

It has become my personal tradition to give myself a new birthday trip.

On my beautiful anniversary, I went to Armenia, which is especially beautiful in the autumn.

So did I. The lady's in the juice. Sorry, cognac. With 5 stars. Nothing less than that.

Maturity, endurance and the absolute right to enjoy life. Let's raise our glasses, friends!

Grapes with pomegranates ripened, the slopes of the mountains are wrapped in a juicy terracotta carpet, and summer still slowly cools in the air.

At least 25 in mid-October feels like a hot July in Karelia.

Armenians have a wonderful proverb that responds very much to me: “No longer does he know who has lived longer, but he who has walked further.”.

I learn to appreciate not the years, but the roads traveled, meetings and turns.

I have no idea how many more years my life will take, but as long as I'm given time, I'm going to keep trampling my shoes.

Especially when they take me to such amazing places on the world map.

I once wandered the streets of Yerevan with my children while waiting for a US visa at the US Embassy.

Then I had a lot of anxiety, fear and tension.

I'm here for other reasons now. And in a completely different state.

And to feel here in a new way after a while, I confess, very curious.

I keep building my fortress.

And the Armenian people know exactly the meaning of building materials and internal support.

Their temples have been standing for centuries, their houses are on a solid foundation, and I can already make legends about Armenian hospitality.

If you want faith and hope, it's here.

Will you tell your story, dear Armenia?

I will tell you all about it, but I have to finish the wine. Because a full open bottle here is a very bad sign. I will not disappoint the hosts. Cheers, friends!

After, a walk around the capital. Yerevan is simply created for hiking, during which you relax, admiring the local beauty, and learn a lot of new things from the world of art, architecture and, of course, cooking.

I love to alternate my active travels, diluting them with cultural and intellectual tourism.

You will be in the capital of Armenia, be sure to visit its legendary Cascade.

It is such a huge staircase with five outdoor terraces, fountains and flower gardens.

And all this amazing babble “stretches” along the slope of the Kanaker Hills, connecting the city center with the upper districts.

It looks very impressive, like a giant architectural composition.

But the Cascade is not only good in itself.

While you go to him through Tamanyan Square (the chief architect of Yerevan), you only have time to turn your head, considering a collection of unusual sculptures.

In short, the Museum of Modern Art in the open air.

The sculpture garden appeared here thanks to the generous American patron of Armenian origin Gerald Gafeschian.

And one can only applaud him, imagining how all these small objects were delivered to Yerevan from the United States and Europe.

What is the famous and, perhaps, the most replicated on the Internet “statue” of the Colombian sculptor and artist Fernando Botero “Smoking woman”!

Oh, my God, there's only tourists around her. After all, it is not for nothing that the “figure” of the most popular woman in Yerevan was cordoned off and guarded around the clock by the police.

A lush naked lady, and even with a cigarette in her hands, on public display in the capital of the country with Christian roots and traditions dating back centuries

Yeah, I agree, ambiguous. Many Armenians of conservative views are still perplexed, but tourists like it.

Immediately you can admire the Cat and the appetizing Roman warrior with a very dubious masculine dignity. The author is the same master Botero, whose work is thoroughly imbued with the ideas of bodypositive.

He himself emphasized that his bronze “characters” are not thick at all, but voluminous. You can't argue with that.

There is a textured lion in the park, made of recycled car tires, and a sculpture of a horse made of horseshoes, and a blue kiwi, and even an elegant openwork “Tea Pavilion” by Portuguese artist Joana Vaskelones.

The one who created a chandelier of tens of thousands of female tampons. You saw that?

From the uppermost observation deck of the Cascade there is an amazing panoramic view of Yerevan and Mount Ararat.

You can climb there as steps (a total of 572), but if you do not have cardio day, you can use the escalators inside the complex, at the same time inspecting the exhibition halls, which we also did.

Ascent, by the way, at an angle of inclination of 15 degrees is very comfortable! The calves are still shaking.

Well, at the end of this small march to the obelisk "Reborn Armenia" I recommend to take a breath and drink a glass of pomegranate chilled, and then go in search of authentic souvenirs.

I immediately suggest that the best of them can be found at the noisy Vernissage - a fair of various handmade products of Armenian craftsmen.

The market is located near Republic Square. To visit it, lay at least two or three hours, it is simply impossible to leave there empty-handed and without a heap of Armenian anecdotes and stories.

Carpets, paintings, musical instruments, chess, famous Armenian wooden noses, jewelry, ceramics, dolls..

We'll go to Dilijan soon. There is a completely different atmosphere: silence, mountains, clean air, saturated with needles and mountain herbs ... and let the whole world wait.