armenia begins outside of yerevan | part 1 | padani

Armenia begins outside of Yerevan. Yerevan is the capital, but it's not the center of Armenian history, and culture.

For me, Armenia begins at the lachin cooridor, the only road which connects the land-locked republic of karabakh to the rest of the world. The battle to reclaim this land was fought at the expense of the blood of the youth (most of the soldiers were under 25). It was a long journey (one that was fought only 14 years ago) and one which many say was the catalyst of the deterioration of the Soviet Union.

I arrived from Armenia yesterday, and it's impossible to ignore the longing I have to return.

My thoughts are just as dis-jointed as my writing. A month is a short period of time to be gone, but the impressions which remain can't seem to leave my mind.

Here are some of the photos.

border checkpoint between armenia and karabakh //

armenian boy manning a rest stop cash register //

ambert fortress and adjacent church //

closeup of stone engravings //

truck transporting grass for herding //

life in shushi, karabagh //

vahe micayelyann church helper in gandzasar church in karabagh //

war-torn houses in shushi, karabagh //

the traditional armenian khatch-car (stone engraved cross) //

three old men in shushi, the one on the right is nick named Tigran the great, after the famous armenian king, but also because he's 97 years old //

ararat through sunflowers //

men playing cards in stepanakert, karabakh //

old man in datev village of armenia //

truck removing debris from a construction zone //

bridge built from stone in karabagh //

the pre-mass preparation room of the datev monastery //

the canyon at saghmosavan //

construction workers in stepanakert, karabakh //

church in areni //

old man in stepanakert, karabakh //

old woman during sunday mass at datev monastery //

woman and child on the way to gehart //

sunrise in the mountains by ararat //

a young herder in saghmosavan //

a girl walking near ruins in shushi, karabakh //