When you mention Armenia, most people know two things, Kim Kardashian and genocide. Two words that seem to fit together like Ham and Cheese.  I hope there is more. Armenia was once huge.  Unfortunately being stuck between the Persians, Ottomans, and Russians has never been a place where you are guaranteed a quiet life. At various times in between rising and falling empires you were left alone, but that was more the exception than the rule.  Slip  forward a couple of millenia, after everyone has had a bit of a go at wiping you off the face of the earth, we get to now.  A small landlocked country, Iran, and Georgia on opposite sides, Turkey and Azerbaijan on the other. By the way your not talking to last two. As soon as you get independence from Russians, you invite them back again to keep your neighbours at bay. Cheap oil and Borsch, is the up side.

    Another day another border crossing. We meet our guide, and driver. As we drive through the hilly countryside, huge abandoned factories rust away, and sit vacant beside decaying blocks of soviet flats. Armenia was a producer of high tec  products when it was a part of the soviet union. Like all messy breakups, the fun stopped, and the local standard of living dropped like a stone. During the dark years of the 90's people left for anywhere else. Empty houses are plentiful here. It's not long before we get to our first church.  It is the world's first christian nation, and has the oldest christian religion. I think there might be a few more on the itinerary. We spend most of the day driving to the capital Yerevan. Being a small country, we are going to spend most of our nights here, doing day trips out. Yay no packing fo a couple of days.  Yerevan is a modern safe spacious city, thanks to the odd earthquake and soviet planning. It has nice parks, squares and restaurants. We spend our first day walking around, the best bits being Churchill's favorite brandy factory and the Yerevan Cascade. An unfinished grand statement that runs a mile from the war memorial to the city. Don't worry about the odd unfinished section here and there, the walk down the thousands of steps gives you great views of the city, and Mount Ararat. Modern sculptures, non working fountains, and a museum, are there to check out on the walk down. At night we walk into town to the  main square, and it's musical fountains. Followed by  beer, and organized dinner with a bit of folk music. 

    The next couple of days are a blur of monasteries, museums, and mountains. Throw in the odd roman temple, and a 6KM cable car ride built by a rich american to attract people to his hometown. When we get close to Iran we see huge sanction busting trucks selling black market gas on the side of the road. Check out the pics, there was a lot of stuff there. My highlights were the evening barbie that our driver organized with his relatives, the veterans day parade, and our last night where Maria found a great outdoor restaurant. The meal started with a classical orchestra playing, followed by several singers and a band over the next couple of hours. Fine wine and three courses, fifty five bucks, split three ways. We left the locals boogying to doof doof as we had an early start the next day.

    On our last day we head back out the way we came in. After all the only other option was Iran, maybe next time.