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 //

Sergey Khachatryan + Nairi String Quartet + Friends | Padani

It feels strange not to take a cab to the Komitas Chamber Music Hall to watch Sergey and the Nairi String Quartet practice or wait for a bus that will take us to another stop of the tour. For the last two weeks, I was the 6th man on the team (so to say) documenting both the concerts and the musicians. Of the 5-stop tour, the second to last concert performed in the culture and youth palace of Nagarno-Karabag-Republic in Stephenakart was my favorite. The energy of the audience, the togetherness of the orchestra, and the stage itself made the concert unforgettable.

Here are some photos from the tour.

sergey khachatryan taking a break from practicing in state drama theater in gyumri //

rehearsing in the komitas chamber music hall //

gexam mkrtchyan and liana smbatyan quickly interviewing sergey before boarding the bus //

viola player armen torosian of the nairi quartet demonstrating his strength //

armen and sergey after the concert in aram khachatryan concert hall in yerevan //

lilit mkhitaryan en route to karabagh //

practice session for the first concert in the komitas chamber hall //

lilit taking a break before the concert in gyumri //

hriar during a rest stop //

lusine aghababyan armen torosian and levon arakelyan during practice //

tigran matevosian at the end of the concert in yerevan //

the organ of the komitas chamber music hall //

gexam mkrtchyan and liana smbatyan interviewing hayk ter-hovhannisyan //

tigran matevosian during a rest stop //

sergey practicing against the backdrop of the beautiful komitas chamber music hall //

what the performer sees when on stage in the komitas chamber music hall //

sergey and karen harutyunyan //

sergey and lusine during rehearsal //

the chandelears of the komitas chamber music hall //

hriar on the bus towards karabagh //

sergey underneath the massive poster of the concert tour on the opera house in yerevan //

sergey and hayk ter-hovhannisyan //

sergey, lusine, and lilit in the state drama theather of gyumri //

Ira after the concert in yerevan //

post-concert congratulations //

levon arakelyan during practice //

armen torosian during practice //

lusine taking a break //

sergey and the niari string quartet rehearsing //

jemma abrahamyan after the concert //

sergey watching the children perform in gyumri //

tigran and lusine on the bus to karabagh //

sergey and levon at a rest stop //

the beautiful komitas chamber music hall //

lusine during rehearsals //

sergey's stradivarius //

lusine and sergey after a concert //