Maria Lapuk is the spokeswoman for the Russian “Odnoklassniki” social network. It turned out that Masha liked our country so much that she agreed to make a special project for us and tell people who have never been here about Armenia.

Maria is writing about places which have become quite habitual for people living in Armenia- Garni, Geghard, Sevan. But she tells her story so warmly and finds so interesting angles that many from our editorial staff expressed a desire to visit these places again.

We believe that after reading Masha’s stories many will decide to discover Armenia for themselves again.

To make Masha’s stories more vivid we have chosen the pictures of Alexander Tyagny-Ryadno, a Russian photographer who visited Armenia on Mediamax’s invitation in 2006. Following this trip, an exhibition of his photographs entitled “Hot Armenia” was organized in “Drevo” Moscow Art Gallery in November 2006.

Here is the first part of our special project “To leave Armenia to return again”.

Part 1: To try and to feel Armenia

I’m visiting Armenia very often on various occasions. Everything began from a business trip at the time when I was working at one of the Russian mobile operators. As far as I was not very much interested in geography during my school years, I always thought that Armenia was a situated somewhere very far away. But it turned out that the 2,5-hour flight was not that long, and wonderful things begin to occur to me as soon as I get in the plane to Yerevan.

Maria Lapuk

Photo: from the personal archive

Before meeting with my Armenian friends I didn’t know how to meet friends and relatives at the airport. Yes, it’s true. It should happen this way: the whole family is going to the airport. All the long-awaited flights are landing at “Zvartnots” at night: from Moscow, Vienna, Warsaw (these are the main transit routes to fly to Armenia from USA and back), Prague. If formalities at Yerevan airport (luggage, border) last about 15 minutes in the daytime, they may take up to an hour in the nighttime, but the wait is worth the picture you will see at the arrival zone.

The whole family is waiting for a guest with flowers, pies, songs- this is a striking scene. I assure you, I have never seen something like this anywhere else. I wish I were met this way, though habits in Moscow differ: for example a taxi driver at a dank Moscow airport is waiting for you with a placard. The other benefit of arriving at night is that you can see the subtle eastern half-moon. On my way from the airport to hotel I saw the silhouettes of mountains, the endless sky and the moon from “Thousand and one nights” tales. Well, how can you not fall in love with a country after seeing all this?

Photo: Alexander Tyagny-Ryadno

By the way, a few words about mountains: for me, Ararat has always been a mountain in Armenia. Imagine my disappointment when I learned that I won’t be able to make a tour to Ararat because it’s situated on the territory of Turkey. So ordered history, but many of my friends don’t believe it. For many Russians, Mount Ararat is the most Armenian mountain! And the view from Armenia of the snowy cap of Mount Ararat is also the most beautiful one!

So, deeply disappointed in the lack of a possibility to climb Mount Ararat and find the Noah’s Ark, you should go and see other attractions in Armenia. There is really a lot to see, to do, to try, to feel and finally to enjoy in Armenia.

For example, in winter you can go skiing and snowboarding; in august - swim in one of the world’s most high-mountain lakes, enjoy spa procedures, taste 100 mutton dishes, listen to true jazz, see the fantastic modern art, buy yourself a lot of ethnic jewelry, find ancient coins and other antique items for your collection and enjoy a breath-taking ride on the world’s longest ropeway. I have almost forgotten about the Armenian seagull  - you can find this beauty here, which can even appear in decorative makeup advertisements.

Photo: Alexander Tyagny-Ryadno

You can also learn everything about the world’s first country that adopted Christianity as national religion and understand how an alphabet can be used over 1500 years. This is it! You have a lot of things to do in Armenia during you next vacations.

Part two coming soon.

Text: Maria Lapuk – especially for Mediamax

Photos: Alexander Tyagny-Ryadno.