Armenia : Strolling around the Pink City of Yerevan (part 1)

I initially had a lot of apprehensions before deciding to go on this trip to Armenia, mainly because its not on the main tourist or backpacker trail and I don't know much about the place except that it has the best cognacs/brandies in the world and that the Armenian Genocide killed 1.5 million ethnic Armenians.

I was in for a surprise though. The Armenian people are one of the warmest, most generous and kind-hearted locals I have ever come across in my travels. They are not so jaded and opportunistic yet towards the tourists, maybe because they just recently opened their country to tourism and the city have not been too commercialized yet. The streets are so clean and safe (even at night, when we arrived). What I love the most is how beautifully turned-out their women are, from cherub-faced kids to the fashionable ladies in high heeled boots to the classy old ladies with their matching accessories. I love it! Everyone just looks fabulous!

I made sure to have a very colorful OOTD also! So I can blend with the locals hahaha

The pink city Yerevan (dubbed the "Pink City" because of the pink-colored stones used in its old buildings) is a very compact city with most of the tourist sites just within walking distance from the city center. Central Yerevan is mapped out into grids and blocks, from Cascades you can walk down to the Opera Square and just go round the different poghots or streets laid out in a circular manner. We were very lucky to stay in one of the quieter poghots which is just a few blocks walking distance from Cascades.

Here are some of the places to visit (especially if you are pressed for time and have only a short itinerary):

1. Cascades

This is where we started our Yerevan walking tour --- Cascades is an open-air museum with a lot of sculptures from local and international artists. From the sculpture park, you can climb up the Cascades (or you can take the escalators lol) and have a fantastic view over Yerevan and possibly do a stop-over at the Cafesjian Museum.

2. Republic Square, National Art Gallery Museum

The Hanrapetutyan Hraparak or Republic Square is the main square in Yerevan (formerly named Lenin Square during the Soviet era), during summer tourists flock to this area for the dancing fountains with its fantastic sound and lights display.

Some of the finest buildings in Yerevan can be found here. The square is flanked by huge yellowish (National Art Gallery is an example) and pinkish (Government House, Ministry of Finance, etc) colored buildings and even five star hotels.

3. Vernissage Market

Taken from the French word - vernissage - meaning a private showing or a preview to an art exhibition. The open air market is home to a cornucopia of items, it can be artworks (paintings, carvings, etc), carpets and rugs, new and used books, and of course, some Armenian souvenirs to take home (aside from cognac, lol). I couldn't buy much (as I normally do when I'm in Asia hahahaha when I hoard everything) coz its too expensive here.

4. Blue Mosque

Armed with my city map, we walked on towards the Mesrop Mashtots Poghots (with Chatru asking me where and what exactly do I intend to go --- oh well, me and my travel itineraries) to look for the Blue Mosque. Coming from the Middle East where mosques are fabulous architectural marvels, I was surprised to see a blue mosaic door with a brass-plated sign saying its the "Central Mosque (Blue) of Yerevan".

The mosque is the only surviving mosque in Yerevan (or in Armenia?) after the secularization during the Soviet era. Built in 1765 by the Persian Governor Hussein Ali Khan, the mosque symbolizes Yerevan's colorful past --- from the 14th century till late 18th century, the region was under Muslim rule and even used to be a province of Iran hence the establishment of the mosque by the Persians.