Yerevan, Armenia in Photos

After three full days in Yerevan, I’ve taken too many pictures not to share. So here’s a haphazard photo essay!

But first, a few things about Yerevan. I really enjoyed this city. It was very walkable, had a ton of parks and tree-lined streets, and people were always out and about. I want to share a few observations:

People

Armenians dress well. Someone at the hostel remarked that they felt like a homeless person when they were outside, and while I wouldn’t go that far, I definitely felt people’s eyes on me (and my strappy leather sport sandals) as I wandered around the city center. Young people wear crisp shirts, colorful dresses, and accessorize well. You can tell that older folks make an effort too. Essentially, I was tempted to buy a long flowy dress when I was out so I could blend in more, but never bit the bullet.

Street life

There were so many people out and about, all hours of the day. When I arrived at my hostel after 11pm on Tuesday the streets were full of people walking, laughing, sitting in cafes. The cafe culture is strong here.

Anywhere you go you’re likely to run into vendors selling fresh fruit (apricots, strawberries, cherries, raspberries) out of big plastic tubs and milk crates. There are also a crazy number of flower sellers. I saw so many people carrying big bouquets of roses and lillies around. It was a totally normal sight.

Pedestrians take their job seriously. Armenians are pretty crazy drivers, and I saw the aftermath of more than one fender bender this week. When you step out into the street, cars are expected to stop, and they do (eventually). Though sometimes it felt like we had to band together to cross a busy street with just a zebra crosswalk and no light. The lights are great- many of them count down the seconds until you can cross the street before they tell you how much time you have left.

Architecture and Public Infrastructure

Oh, I had an amazing time photographing buildings, planters, railings, windows, murals, you name it. Formerly a part of the USSR, Armenia did not escape the deluge of modernist and burtalist art and archictecture. While some of the edifices, especially the “bloc” apartment buildings, are in poor shape now, they were still very cool to look at. Some buildings still have the common hammer and sickle emblem stamped on them.

Yerevan also had a number of unique water fountains. Always bubbling, you could stand by one for a few minutes and watch a half dozen people stop and take a drink. Necessary in this hot weather!

Yerevan has so many parks. I went to as many as I could fit in without having to trek out to the outskirts of town. There were plenty of fountains and statues sprinkled throughout them along with other great concrete-y things, but what most intrigued me was the amusement parks nestled into several of the parks. I walked past at least three, all probably built in the sixties and seventies and in varying states of working order.

Downsides

There were only a couple of things I didn’t particularly enjoy during my time here. One was the amount of smoking, inside and outside, and noticeable air pollution from traffic. For the first couple of days my throat itched a little bit but I’ve seemed to recover. Another was the drivers. It wasn’t uncommon to get into the back of a taxi to find the seat belt tucked away so that you couldn’t buckle your seatbelt. Yes, I know I’m being a public health nerd with my “complaints”.

Otherwise, despite the heat and sun, it was great to be there in the summer. People were out constantly and the produce was amazing.

Without further ado, a few photos!