Armenia, an outsiders view.

Armenia, an outsiders’ view.

 

Over the years my thoughts have often dwelt on Armenia and my desire to visit strengthened over that time. This interested goes back to my paternal grandmother, father’s mother who never learnt to speak English and I suppose for cultural reason never really got on with my mother, or for that matter members of her family. My father at the time of his death possessed in his library a book written by his brother Petros Creet about George V. After his death a few weeks before end of the second world war, my Mother’s decided to migrated to Australia, so that I lost contact with the Armenian side of our family. Apart from the   occasional letter from his elder brother Leo and my grandmother,  I would never have realised that I had any Armenian heritage at all.  Later I discovered that the book about George V, who was the Supreme Catholicos of All Armenians, from 1911-1930, during that dark stain on Armenian history the 1915  Genocide. He attempted to aid and organizes relief for the thousands of people driven from their homes, no small task.  As an added bonus he was the person who appeared in our family photo album,  naturally I felt curious about his life. When I decided to visit the country I had no idea who he really was or why my Uncle had written the book.

 

                                                           George V and Uncle Petros.

 During my recent visit I decided to attend a High Sung Mass held at St. Echmiastsin Cathedral outside of Yerevan Armenia's Mother Church,  the service was wonderful, both the male and female parts lead by great singers was an experience in itself. After the service, I decided to  show the photo in my uncle’s book to a priest asking whether he knew who this person was, and it was only then that I discovered his true identity.  Much to my surprise he told me he was buried right next door to the Cathedral entrance and showed me the grave. He was a much loved bishop and as Supreme Catholicos during the Armenian Genocide of 1915 had the task of organizing relief for the refugees and wounded soldiers and their families.

 

                                                    His grave is the second on the left in the front row.

The city of Yerevan itself proved to be an even greater surprise, not the typical grey Soviet style city suggested in guide books, but instead I was confronted with what seemingly on the surface at least was a modern city of wide tree lined boulevards, smartly dressed citizens, and extremely attractive young women searching the shop windows for the latest Parisian fashions. All this did not equate to the guide book description of a very poor country with a very low wage structure, nor did the description equate with the packed street café and restaurants. It would appear that the city has somehow reinvented itself since the collapse of the USSR. New building everywhere in the soft pink Armenian stone embellished with relief sculptures for which the country is famous. An abundance of parks, squares and fountains all created a very pleasant experience. One of the most satisfying aspects was the recognition of Armenian song birds, the poets, artists, composers and creative former intellectuals with the erection of memorial sculptures and statues to pay homage to them.

 

                                                        Heather relaxing at a street café.

                                                         Public Sculpture, Yerevan.

                                                               City Fountain.

 

Over the next few weeks I was able to explore this inner city and its many surprises. I have been lead to believe that a lot of this development is due to the Diaspora Armenians living all over the world who offer financial support. The development of the Cascade an extraordinary construction of galleries and Centre for the Arts built by Gerald Cafesjian offers a good example of this generosity, this American diasporan philanthropist has set  a high standard. Not only did he complete an abanded project at the time of independence in 2001, but contributed many of the art works. At the foot of this structure is a large plaza with several dozen sculptures running down each side. Fernando  Boleros’  Cat and Roman Warrior being two.

 

 

 

 

                                                   Lower Fountain Cascade. Yerevan.

 

Yerevan is blessed with many fine restaurants, both indoors and out, while its parks and squares provide many sites for fountains. I was privileged to attend several concerts at unbelievable prices. On a more critical note it is hard to understand why Russia striped all the factories of their equipment at the time of the collapse of the USSR. When you drive out into the country side the onlooker is confronted with rusting buildings and machinery that no doubt was too heavy to carry way. In order to overcome unemployment many government institutions are over employers. At the airport some twenty girls were on duty to look at a hundred odd passengers’ passports . Armenia not being blessed with oil is a somewhat poor cousin in this part of the world. Having no land corridor to the outside world other than Iran and Georgia has made exports difficult. Much to their credit the Armenians are developing a medical tourist industry. The general option in the street is that a lot of corruption still exists.  A few years ago I think around 2003 a gunman walked into parliament shot three members of parliament  and casually walk out how is beyond reasonable explanation!

 

There are many issues that I shall try to explore over the next few weeks, but one of the greatest qualities of the Armenians is the glue that binds them together. Their culture, language and religion seem deeply entrenched. Whether the ability of the six to eight million Armenians living aboard will be able to hold together over the coming years as their descendants grow up in other cultures remains to be seen. Many modern day Armenians feel the Genocide has bounded them together in a new way. For the moment I shall leave further comments for a later blog as there are so many issues that need examination.