Pampers and Paklava

I heart Armenia

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When summer turns to fall, my heart longs for Armenia. I made four trips to Armenia in the fall, and when the air begins to feel crisp and leaves on the trees trim their edges with gold and red, I reminisce: Vines laden with ripe grapes drape trellises outside people’s homes, hills are dry and brown and the mountains feel moodier as clouds start to enshroud their peaks.

As I looked through photographs I took during our visits, pictures with hearts stood out. Here are a few.

Chidlren waving flags

Yerevan Armenia

Heart graffiti Armenia

fruit leather for sale in Armenia

The heart of Republic Square in Yerevan Armenia

Armenian peach pit bowl

heart vernissage yereven armenia

Heart grill on window in Poloz Muckuch in Gyumri

Angel heart at Echmiadzin Armenia

Armenian gorge

Take the road less traveled, Beth

Never forget: Commemorating the Armenian Genocide

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Genocide Memorial in Yerevan

April 24 commemorates the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923, where it is estimated that 1.5 million Armenians perished. April 24 was chosen as the starting date for the genocide, because, on this day the day Ottoman authorities rounded up and arrested some 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders.

Eternal flame Genocide Monument

During our trips to Armenia, we made several visits to Tsitsernakaberd, a memorial dedicated to the Armenian Genocide on a hill overlooking Yerevan, Armenia’s capital city. We also visited the Armenian Genocide Museum, a sobering testimony to the atrocities of genocide.

 Genocide Memorial in Yerevan Monument

Armenia’s genocide is one of many ethnic genocides our world has seen. Ninety-nine years have passed since that time. The farther we get from such atrocities, the easier it is for people to forget what happened. And we should never forget, lest we continue to repeat history.

And the spirits of all the dead, tonight,
Through my own eyes and soul,
Are awaiting the dawning of the light,
So that, to humanize the cruelty
Of our inhuman lives,
Perhaps from above a drop of light
May fall upon the murdered and the murderer alike

Armenian poet, Siamanto (1878-1915)

For more information about the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian National Institute (based in Washington, D.C.) provides exceptional information about the genocide including a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ page, which you can find here.

The Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute website is another great resource. The link to the museum is here.

Armenian flag

Take the road less traveled, Beth

Happy Armenian Christmas

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 Armenian Christmas by Sareen Akharjalian

Armenian Christmas cartoon by Sareen Akharjalian

Happy Armenian Christmas! Why is it that Armenians celebrate Christmas on January 6, rather than on December 25th with the rest of the (Christian) world? Since the exact date of Christ’s birth had not been established (nor recorded in the Gospels), all Christian churches celebrated Christ’s birth on January 6th until the fourth century.

According to Catholic sources, the date was changed from January 6th to December 25th to override a pagan feast dedicated to the birth of the Sun which was celebrated on December 25th (which Christians, at that time, also observed). In an effort to subdue pagan practice, the church hierarchy designated December 25th as the official date of Christmas and January 6th as the feast of Epiphany.

Because there were no such pagan practices in Armenia, the country was not affected by this change. Remaining faithful to the traditions of their forefathers, Armenians continue to celebrate Christmas on January 6th.

In Armenia, the Christmas Eve meal often includes dishes such as rice, fish, a yogurt-wheat soup called tanabur. Desserts include dried fruits, nuts, and rojik (whole shelled walnuts threaded on a string and encased in grape jelly), bastukh (a paper-like dessert made of grape jelly, cornstarch and flour). And most houses are ready with lots of food and sweets because anyone might knock on the door and come in for a party!

Big Papa, Baby Bird and I celebrated with relatives last night (it was already January 6 in Armenia since they are 12 hours ahead of Seattle time). We lit our Armenian (tuff) candle and filled our table (and our bellies) with dried fruit (including dried apricots we brought back from Armenia…delicious), nuts, hummus, pomegranates, dolma and pakhlava–of course! And we toasted to our daughter’s homeland with a bit of bubbly mixed with Armenian pomegranate wine.

Armenian Christmas feast

Revah Pomegranate wine

 

Two weeks in Yerevan

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After leaving Gyumri, the three of us spent two weeks in Yerevan. We stayed in a large apartment on Tumanyan Street which was very close to the center of the city. In between applying for a passport, a visa and trying to secure a flight home, we walked all over the city. It was my fifth visit to Yerevan, Big Papa’s fourth and Baby Bird’s first visit to the capitol of Armenia.

Our reflection in Yerevan

 

We visited parks, many of which had playgrounds.

Swingside in Yerevan

 

We shopped.

Shopping in Yerevan

 

We listened to the enchanting duduk.

Listening to the duduk in Yerevan

We ate a lot of lahmajun and drank a lot of tan.

Lahmajun in Yerevan

We chatted with our favorite artist, Sergei (from whom we’ve bought a number of paintings)

With Sergei in Yerevan

We avoided the sharp horns of the metal bull (this sculpture is one of my favorites, particularly since Baby Bird is a Taurus!).

Checking out the metal bull in Yerevan

We checked out fantastic art at the Children’s Museum.

Children's Art Museum Yerevan

We rode the many escalators at the Cascades (and walked down the 572 steps).

Going up the Cascades escalator

We took in the view at Erebuni.

At Erebuni Yerevan

And I took a lot of pictures (which is why I’m rarely in them!).

Beth in Yerevan

Exercise and culture in Yerevan

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The Cascade and Cafesjian Center for the Arts572 steps and 991 feet. That’s how many steps you can climb if you head to The Cascade in Yerevan, Armenia. Your reward? A great workout, amazing views, and incredible art.

The Cascade and Cafesjian Center for the Arts

The Cascade is a huge white stairwell built into a hillside in Yerevan. Reminiscent of a natural cascade in a river or stream, the many flights of stairs lead to various levels with sculpture and fountains. If you reach the top, you’ll have an unobstructed view of central Yerevan and Mount Ararat. The Cascade links the downtown Kentron area of Yerevan with the Monument neighborhood. Inside the Cascade, underneath the exterior steps there is also an escalator going the length of the complex (if 572 steps sounds too daunting). Inside the complex there are gallery rooms connected to some of the landings along the escalators which comprise  Cafesjian Center for the Arts.

The Cascade and Cafesjian

The Cafesjian Center for the Arts is dedicated to bringing the best of contemporary art to Armenia and presenting the best of Armenian culture to the world. Inspired by the vision of its founder, Mr. Gerard L. Cafesjian, the Center offers a wide variety of exhibitions, derived from Mr. Cafesjian’s own extensive collection of contemporary art. Having celebrated its grand opening in November 2009, CCA continues to exhibit unique works of modern art and offers a diverse program of visiting lecturers, films, concerts, and numerous educational initiatives for adults and children. In 2011 the Cafesjian Center for the Arts had over 1,200,000 visitors.

chihuly in Yerevan at CafesjianDuring our trips to Armenia, we visited the Cascades many times and we also explored the galleries and art inside the Center for the Arts. As a girl who lives in the Pacific Northwest, you can imagine my surprise and delight to see a glass sculpture from our hometown boy, Dale Chihuly, at the entrance to the museum!

The Cascade and Cafesjian Center for the Arts Sculpture outside

Cafesjian Center for the Arts-Blue Man

Cafesjian Center for the Arts-Big Cat

Want to see more cool stuff? Check out Delicious Baby Photo Friday!

Gutter art: the ornamental downspouts of Gyumri, Armenia

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Gyumri is a place of unexpected beauty. The Kumayri historic district in the center of the city has more than one thousand 18th and 19th century buildings, and is also one of the few places in the Republic of Armenia with remnants of authentic historical Armenian urban architecture. Nearly all the buildings in the Kumayri district have survived two major earthquakes, in 1926 and 1988.

Almost every morning during our week-long stay in Gyumri, we took walks up and down the streets, and discovered wondrous details—my favorite being the intricate designs of the gutters and downspouts. They were simply breathtaking. Bird and flower cutouts perched and carved out of simple sheet metal. An art form like I’d never seen before.

Gumri downspout with bird detail, Armenia

Gyumri downspout with bird, Armenia

Gyumri downspout, Armenia

Gyumri downspout with stork, Armenia

Gyumri downspout detail, Armenia

Want to see more artistic flights of fancy? Check out Delicious Baby Photo Friday!

Where is Armenia?

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Sheep on the way to Gyumrifruit leather, Geghard, ArmeniaMy very first Pampers and Pakhlava post in April of 2009 was titled: “Where the heck is Armenia?” Three-and-a-half years later I can say I know exactly where the heck Armenia is, because I’ve been there. Five times.

When I started this journey to adoptive parenthood, I never imagined I would travel so many times to a country so far away. But travel I did: 11, 540 miles–to be exact– the distance from Seattle, Washington to Armenia and back again, twelve hours time difference and 15 hours of flying time.

Candles in Armenian churchArmenia is small in square footage, a diminutive country the size of Maryland, sandwiched between Turkey, Iran, the Republic of Georgia and Azerbaijan, but there is a lot to see in Armenia’s diverse landscape. Mountainous and arid in some regions, lush and green in others. I have been fortunate to visit a few cities and a several historical sites.

And while my knowledge of Armenia’s ancient language may only be only a few phrases and a handful of words at this point, I have grown immensely fond of the cuisine, have deep respect for the country’s history and feel immense pride that our daughter has roots in a country with such a rich culture.

I look forward to sharing it all with her, and can’t wait to bring her back to learn about her birth country and see the stories come alive–with her own eyes.

These days if you ask me, “Where is Armenia?” this is what I’ll tell you”: It’s half-way around the world, and always near my heart.

Geghardm, Armenia