Kate (and Pam) on the Loose, Part 8: Jerusalem

My good friends, Kate and Pam, were in Jerusalem and Jordan before coming to Georgia. Kate started as a solo adventuress in Egypt. Now she is meeting up with Pam. From Kate's journal:


Ah sweet Jerusalem!  Jerusalem has several quarters - Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian.

The Lutheran Guesthouse was located in the Armenian section near the Jaffa Gate.

The old city within the ancient walls is made up of a labyrinth of cobblestone walk ways lined with merchants and their wares.  By the end of our four days we had figured out how to get from A to B.  The rest of the time we guessed or were lost.  But isn't aimless rambling the point of an adventure.

On our first morning we took the free tour offered by the Tourist Office.  He gave lots of history and tried to orient us, I was totally confused.  We did go to a small out of the way section of the Temple Wall and tucked a piece of paper with our prayer in a crack.

In the afternoon we went to the Dome of the Rock Mosque.  It is set on the top of a hill with a large garden and courtyard and of course the dome is covered in gold.

We of course went to the Western Wall of the Temple on Friday night and peeked through the wall separating the men from the women and watched the men sing and dance to usher in the Sabbath.  On the women's side it was lovely to see everyone dressed up with their children.  They would pray for awhile and then hurry home to prepare the Sabbath meal.  We also went to Vad Yeshem, the Holocaust Memorial. We spent four hours and it was one of the highlights.

The Church of the Sepulchre is very large and beautiful.  It is supervised by the Roman Catholics, the Greek Orthodox, the Coptic Church, and the Ethiopian Church.  While we were in the church the Roman Catholics had a procession to the Sepulchre, beautiful robes, incense, and magnificent organ music.  All the churches take turns worshiping at the Sepulchre.  The Ethiopian monks have been relegated to the roof of the church. Everywhere there is a pecking order.  I bought several crucifixes and laid them on the large stone designated as the place Jesus' body was  prepared for burial.

It was a special experience being in Jerusalem during Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week.  The Saturday before Palm Sunday a procession of Roman Catholic monks led a procession through the streets.  They were led by a man carrying a large staff and striking the cobble stone very loudly.  At another time the same day, Muslim men with their prayer carpets had spilled out of a crowded Mosque and were praying in the narrow street.  So many faiths in this holy city.

A large part of the allure of Jerusalem is the energy. Everyone bustling off to pray or do some work.  It is jarring to see young people in uniform or not, carrying guns, on the other hand a group of handsome young soldiers posed with tourists for pictures.  Security was high because of Passover and Easter.  I felt very safe.

There is a large German church, Redeemer, it was founded by Kaiser Wilhelmina around 1850.  On Saturday night before Palm Sunday we went to a concert performed by 28 young women.  The church is all stone, excellent acoustics, and beautiful voices.  Then went back on Palm Sunday for an 1 1/2 services in German.  It is worship all the same.  The pastor's 3yr son got away from his mother during Communion and proceeded to cavort around the altar the entire time.

Our accommodations at the Lutheran Guesthouse were very good.  We definitely had some stars. A big German/Arabic breakfast was included.  The German part was cold cuts and cheese.  The Middle Eastern part was hummus, olives, and pita.  We also had a meal of street food that cost $30, they saw us coming. When I questioned the price he said it was FRESH lamb, must have been a prized pet.  Oh well live and learn, ask the price before ordering.  Our last night in Jerusalem we found the Armenian tavern, a cozy quaint place with great homemade soup and good price.

KATE

Armenia: Scenes from the Road

Scenes to or from Armenia:

Mt. Ararat from Armenia

Armenia between Yerevan and Tbilisi

These views reminded me of White Sands, New Mexico. 

Armenia between Yerevan and Tbilisi

Last stop for Armenian bread!

Our marshrutka rest stop in Armenia

Mount Ararat from Armenia

Armenia road near Lake Sevan

Armenia road near Lake Sevan

Armenia: Yerevan and Thereabouts

Yerevan, Armenia

Kathy and I spent a day walking about Yerevan. It was chilly, but sunny for the most part.

Cascade detail, Yerevan, Armenia

 In comparing Yerevan with Tbilisi:

• Tbilisi is prettier than Yerevan. 
• Where Tbilisi can feel a little closed-in, Yerevan feels open and airy. 
• Tbilisi is hilly. Yerevan is flat. 
• Yerevan: Good customer service. Tbilisi: Very uneven. 
• Tbilisi pavements: Treacherous. Yerevan pavements: Generally in good condition. 
• Tbilisi dogs: Can be a problem, but mostly stay out of your way. Yerevan dogs: Packs seem more prevalent, and I saw some canine-to-human confrontations. 
• Both cities have lots of statues. Tbilisi's tend toward the classical; Yerevan's sculptural art is more diverse.
• Lovely parks and pedestrian walkways in Tbilisi. Yerevan's parks are a little scrubby. 
• Vehicle traffic pays more respect to pedestrians in Yerevan than Tbilisi. 
• More international variety in Yerevan's cafe scene than Tbilisi's. 

 Kathy and I had lunch at a Mexican restaurant. We liked the cool floor. 

We stopped in the Chocolateria near the Cascade:

Yerevan, Armenia. Chocolate.

Yerevan, Armenia. Chocolate. In the raw.

We worked our way up the Cascade, stopping every once in awhile to take in the changing perspectives as we climbed higher.

Yerevan, Armenia. The Cascade.

Yerevan, Armenia. The Cascade.

Yerevan, Armenia. The Cascade.

This was our room at the Center Hostel:

Center Hostel, Yerevan, Armenia

Center Hostel is in a good location, close to Republic Square. I'm not crazy about its being on the 4th floor, but Suzanne, the hostess, provides a heart to the hostel that makes guests feel they are at home. There's an eat-in kitchen, a cozy living room, free wifi, sunny rooms, and two good bathrooms with hot showers.

I liked what I saw of Envoy Hostel also, with its commodious community room that is on a separate floor from the sleeping rooms, the modern kitchen, friendly and professional staff, and good location. If I were to ding the Envoy at all, it'd be that the sleeping rooms are a little rabbit-warrenish. For example, in one area, there are three small, linked rooms that require inter-room traffic to get in and out. On the other hand, I loved that each bunk had its own tiny set of shelves. Each bunk room also had generous-sized lockers.

Envoy Hostel community room, Yerevan, Armenia

The Envoy Hostel has nailed customer service beautifully. It offers a daily, 2.5 hour walking tour of Yerevan - and anyone can come, regardless of where you're spending the night. Gevorg, one of the Envoy's staff members, was on our marshrutka from Tbilisi to Yerevan. He facilitated our way through customs and helped us get a taxi to the Center Hostel, letting us know what to pay and ensuring the taxi driver knew our destination.

The Envoy Hostel is opening a branch in Tbilisi. I imagine it will set a new standard for hostels in Georgia in regard to customer service and comfort. I also like that it will have a walking tour of Tbilisi, plus offer one-day tours within Georgia as it does in Armenia.    

Armenia: The Tour

Garni Temple, Armenia

Spoiler alert: Armenian churches are pretty much like Georgian churches. Which is to say that if you've seen one Georgian church, you've seen all Georgian (and Armenian) churches.


Kathy and I took the Envoy Hostel's Essential Tour, which has a focus on churches and monasteries. (Any tour in the Caucasus is going to include churches, monasteries, or perhaps in the case of Azerbaijan, mosques.)

In our little marshrutka-tour group were two Russians, a gregarious Irishman and his pre-school daughter, four women who work in Dubai but who are from the U.S., Canada, Malaysia, and Hong Kong; three Americans who are TLG teachers in Georgia, an American who works for the BBC in the Caucasus, the tour guide, the driver, and a tour guide trainee.

First stop: Lake Sevan and the Sevanavank Monastery. It was bitterly, brutally cold as we walked up the thousands of cold, gray, icy steps. Our cheeks burned from the freezing wind.

Sevanavank Monastery, Lake Sevan, Armenia

Under normal circumstances, I'd have waited patiently for my fellow tourists to be outside of the photo frame to capture the postcard beauty of the monastery, the lake, and the snowy surroundings, but one can only do so much for one's art. It was so cold ... what was that English idiom I meant to teach my police class? ... as cold as a witch's tit in a brass bra.

The two women in the pretty, white coats were in Armenia from Dubai (which, right now in this very moment, is enjoying the most perfect balmy weather), but they came to Armenia to see the snow and, I guess, to experience the novelty of shivering.

Lake Sevan, Armenia

Sevanavank Monastery, Lake Sevan, Armenia

Armenians (and Georgians) like to joke that the one thing Armenia has plenty of is stone.

2nd stop: Another church. Made of stone.

3rd stop: Noratus Cemetery in a large village (~ 9000 people). I'd have loved to have spent more time here, but the cold and snow made wandering around not so enticing. The cemetery is famous for the stories the tombstones tell about the lives or deaths of those buried here. The cemetery dates back to the 9th century.

 

Khachkars (stone crosses) at Noratus Cemetery, Armenia

Death story at Noratus Cemetery, Armenia

Khachkars (stone crosses) at Noratus Cemetery, Armenia

4th stop: Bathroom stop and lunch.

Garni Temple, Armenia

5th stop: Garni Temple. A sweet gem. Built on the edge of a scenic river gorge.

View of river gorge from Garni Temple, Armenia

A visual palate cleanser from the typical Caucasian spiritual architecture, Garni Temple is allegedly the only pagan temple allowed to remain standing from prior holy wars against ungodly structures.

Garni Temple, Armenia

Garni Temple, Armenia

Garni Temple, Armenia

From Garni Temple, we marshrutka'd to the last tour stop, Geghard Monastery, which has an Indiana Jones vibe in the interiors.

Geghard Monastery, Armenia

Geghard Monastery, Armenia

Geghard Monastery, Armenia

Two priests prayed:

Can you smell the frankincense?

Geghard Monastery, Armenia

Armenia: The Four Things You Must Try

Dinner at Afrikyanneri Pankok restaurant in Yerevan

Before I went to Armenia, I was told by Georgians there were four things I must try:

1. Tolma
2. Cognac
3. Sujuk or basturma - types of sausage, with the latter being quite peppery
4. Go to Lake Sevan

None of these Georgians had actually been in Armenia, mind you, but they had their recommendations nonetheless.

On our first day in Armenia, Kathy and I were able to tick three things off the list:

Yerevan is filled with basement restaurants and clubs. By chance, we selected the Afrikyanneri Pandok restaurant, which has been in business since 1829 or so.  At least according to a sign.

Dinner at Afrikyanneri Pankok restaurant in Yerevan

The interior was castle-ish and intimate. An oxymoron, I know.

There were musicians.

Dinner at Afrikyanneri Pankok restaurant in Yerevan

A variety of bread was served. I thought it was just so-so, though it looked delicious.

The tolma tasted good, though I find the Georgian version, whether wrapped in grape or cabbage leaves, to be just as fine.

Kathy deemed the hummus the best she'd ever had. 

Dinner at Afrikyanneri Pankok restaurant in Yerevan

The salad Kathy ordered had a delicious yogurt-and-cheese dressing that I thought was the best part of the entire meal. But we both loved the fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and parlsey. Winter in Georgia makes one long for such garden-brightness. Locavority be damned sometimes.

Kathy and I finished our dinner with two different kinds of cognac: Ararat and Ani. Not being a connoisseur, my humble opinion is that they tasted like a very smooth tcha-tcha, with a pleasing amber color. For my money, I'd just go with a good tcha-tcha. 

After dinner, we walked back to Center Hostel, noting that Yerevan's pavement was not as treacherous as that in Georgia.

We stopped at a corner market.

Corner market in Yerevan

I bought a sujuk, which the proprietor sliced for me.

Sujuk from Armenia

I also bought a smallish bag of tiny spiced crackers and two of what Kathy and I thought were dried fruit - maybe peaches or oranges.

Herb in corner market, Yerevan

We climbed the four floors to our hostel and chatted awhile with the warm hostess, Suzanne. Kathy speaks some German and so does Suzanne, so they were able to communicate fairly effectively, Kathy keeping me apprised of the conversation. I shared some of the Gori wine I'd brought with me (which Mariami had given to me on that glorious, rainy day where we picnicked in a Fiat), and we cut into the dried fruit.

Which turned out to be a peach packed with sugar and chopped walnuts. To me, it was like eating a tablespoon of sugar (not a tasty experience), but Kathy, who loves sweets, liked it.  I'm still not sure how all of this sugar/walnuts got into the peach, but I think it involved boiling the peach for a long time, and then .... I dunno.


Presently our tasty day was complete.  We got into our respective bunk beds, under the most soothing-swaddling of duvets and the simple pleasure of not having to wear socks to bed! What freedom!

Armenia: Flexibility in the Caucasus

Back in January, Jennifer, Sandy, and I settled on this past weekend to go to Armenia. This is because Jennifer had returned from her winter vacation to a whopping high electric bill in Dmanisi and had to stick close to home for awhile to save money.

.... ohhhh, wait. That was the trip to Kutaisi that we scheduled for the last weekend of February because of the above situation. But then Jennifer fell on the ice and messed up her knee so she had to cancel, and Sandy and I went without her.

So, anyway, back to Armenia.

When I learned that International Women's Day was a really big deal in these here parts - a day off from school! - I called Sandy and Jennifer with the idea of going to Armenia.

(By the way, IWD around here seems to be a day that women receive flowers and gifts from the men in their lives. Women without men in their lives feel a little sad on this day. There's something so not about womanly empowerment in this concept.)

"Yes!" said Jennifer.

"Yes!" said Sandy.

We weighed the pros and cons of getting to Yerevan, Armenia, via train, marshrutka, or shared taxi. We looked at the hostel choices. We moved our schedules around to free up Friday so we could have a full, four-day weekend. Oh, it was going to be grand!

Jennifer called a few days before the trip. Her knee had not healed; she was in a lot of pain; she had to cancel. Sandy and I were disappointed that Jennifer couldn't come, but we were still on. We booked the hostel for three nights. We reserved our places on an all-day tour to Lake Sevan and other Armenian highlights.

Sandy felt a little bummed because she had caught a cold, but she was confident it'd clear up by the time we left on Thursday morning. [Yes, this is more foreshadowing.]

On Wednesday evening, another colleague, Kathy, called and asked if it was too late to join us. No, that'd be great! We are flexible here in the Caucasus!

I reserved an additional spot on the Saturday tour. I contacted the hostel and asked for a room change to accommodate three people instead of two.

Thursday morning! Finally here! Up early and ..... beep beep beep! my phone text signaled.

Poor Sandy. She'd taken a major turn for the worse and had to cancel.

Flexibility was feeling a bit tiresome at this point, but I sent an email to un-reserve the third spot on that Saturday tour. I emailed the hostel to please make the switch back to a private, two-bed room instead of the larger space. 

Sandy and I had earlier settled on taking the marshrutka down to Yerevan, and Kathy and I stuck with that plan. We met at the Ortachala Bus Station, intending to take the 9:00 marshrutka to Yerevan (for 30 lari or $18), but we got there just as that marshrutka pulled out (before 9:00 a.m.). It was full. So we got into the 10:00 marshrutka and waited around for it to either get filled or the clock to reach 10:00 a.m., whichever came first.

We were lucky in several respects. 

• We had several empty seats at 10:00 a.m., so things felt roomy rather than cramped. 
• There was another TLGer and a Peace Corps volunteer on board, doubling the potential for interesting conversation.
• A manager of the Envoy Hostel in Yerevan was also on board, returning from a visit to the soon-to-open Envoy Hostel in Tbilisi. He spoke excellent English. 

Let the adventure begin!





 

Armenia: "There's Nothing There"

I'm not in Armenia yet - will go next weekend.

But when I shared my upcoming trip with my adult students, they said, "Why are you going to Armenia? There's nothing there?!" Out of approximately 20 students, only one had ever actually been to Armenia - once. Another had even worked on the BORDER between Georgia and Armenia, and had never been. And another THOUGHT she'd been to Armenia, but remembered that, no, that was Azerbaijan.

I have heard this kind of talk before from Georgians (and TLGers) about other places in Georgia. At a meeting with TLG bloggers last week, a colleague and I talked about instituting a "Nothing There" tour, where we visit nothing-there locations in Georgia and either confirm or deny the allegations. 

Notwithstanding the upcoming trip to Armenia, which I'm sure has one or two things of interest, my first nothing-there tour will be to Gardabani.

So stay tuned.

Georgia: The Human Sex Ratio

In an English class yesterday, I wondered aloud: Why do there seem to be so many male police officers who are married versus so many female police officers who are unmarried?

I think the explanation is a function of several variables, but the police students in this class (all unmarried women) said that the gender ratio in Georgia = one Georgian male per seven Georgian females.

I knew already that Georgia has negative population growth. Some of this is due to a declining birth rate and some is due to an economic diaspora of Georgian adults to the U.S., Greece, Italy, Spain, Germany, and other parts. Georgia's Patriarch, the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, is so concerned about the population's decline that he has exhorted Georgian women to have more children, promising that he will be the godfather of all third and fourth children in a family.

So when the police women claimed there was only one Georgian man for every seven Georgian women, I wanted to check it out.

Whoa. I stumbled on a South Caucasus anomaly that researchers have been looking at recently.

Georgia is second only to China in its ratio of boys-to-girls in the under-15 population. Georgia has 113 boys to 100 girls, while China has 117 boys to 100 girls. There is a similar situation in neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan. (Note: In the U.S. the ratio is 104 boys to 100 girls.)

Other data show there is an even more marked disparity when one looks at birth order in Georgia. For every 100 girls who are the third-born in a family, there are 150 boys born who are the third-born in a family. 

Such a large gender disparity in the under-15 age bracket puts Georgia on a par with societies infamous for practicing "gendercide," including China and India. The Council of Europe published Prenatal Selection in September 2011, in which it presumes, albeit without direct evidence, that the disparity in Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan is primarily a function of pregnancy selection, aka abortion. 

It's important to note that, notwithstanding the under-15 disparity, in the 15-64 age bracket, Georgia is in the bottom 25 of the world for the number of men-to-women. In this cohort, there are only 93 men to 100 women. (Note: In the U.S., there are 100 men to 100 women in the 15-65 cohort.)

A 2000 World Bank report noted there were 124 Georgian women per 100 men. Unfortunately, the report didn't define the age range for these figures.

You never know what you're going to find when you start looking under rocks.

Where to Go in 2012

The New York Times proposes this list of 45 places to go in 2012.

On my short list for 2012 are: 

• More of Georgia (Svaneti, Kazbegi, Vardzia, Davit Gareja, Batumi, Kutaisi)
• Turkey (Istanbul)
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan (if I can afford the $200+ visa for Americans, which is what we charge Azerbaijanis to come to the U.S.)
• Iran (if things quiet down to the default level of tension)
• Albania
• Mexico
• Guatemala
• New Mexico

Some time ago, I wrote about:

• Least-visited countries in the world; and 
• Syria as a destination

I can't get enough of this video on Syria. I love when people mix incongruent features in their art, like when Blind Boys of Alabama sing Amazing Grace to the melody of House of the Rising Sun. In the case of the video below, the creator mixed Syrian images with a Creedence Clearwater Revival song. It works.





And as a lagniappe, here are the Blind Boys of Alabama singing Amazing Grace. I heard them live at the first Roots 'n Blues Festival in Columbia, Missouri. 




What's on your domestic or international travel list?