The most beautiful church in Armenia, part 2

First part can be found here, or you can read both together.

Yerevan - NoravankAfter meeting the Azeris at Yeraskh things got even more chilly and so did the weather. We enjoyed our candy bars and started climbing the mountains to finally get to Noravank.

At the final intersection we turned right across the small bridge to the narrow road that is perhaps my most favorite road section to ride in the south. It is a worn tarmac secondary road through a narrow gorge the color of the sun, and while the colors of the scenery resemble those of the Barrens in World of Warcraft (especially around summertime), the blooming trees, the wide expanse of the sky and the light tarmac all add fantastic bright shades, making the road a lot more like fantasy than any zone in World of Warcraft can be.

In Noravank it was already unpleasantly cold and windy. We parked in the small parking lot, locked the handlebar and headed to the churches.

Parking lot at Noravank

Architect Momik’s masterpieces were magnificent and beautiful as ever!

I insist that the crosses on the following photo signify the number of people who have died falling down the narrow stairs with no handrail. The crosses on each level signify the number of people who fell down the particular stair on that level for the given day. After the day is over, the priest registers the deaths in his statistics journal and carefully wipes the crosses using his Holy Armenian Apostolic Sandpaper. As we can see, higher stairs cause more deaths. I understand that this was Momik’s Evil Plan of Taking Over the World by slow and systematic kills over the centuries. Resistance is Futile!!

Sometimes the sandpaper does not wipe the crosses very well, and the priest has to swap the stones with cleaner ones from the other side of the church!

This is a very awesome illustration of Mary, Jesus Christ and two Angels (I think the one at the left is St. Gabriel) posing together.

After observing the churches and taking photos, we took a rest at the nearby cafe and warmed ourselves up with some tea. There was a heated discussion at the next table where two priests were explaining to some fellows that there is no such a thing as an Azerbaijani nation. Despite the scientific arguments, it sounded pretty odd after our recent encounter.

After a few minutes of walking, we realized that every minute spent at Noravank meant the way back was going to be colder. We headed back to Yerevan. The section from Noravank to Yeraskh was immensely cold, but after Yeraskh the air got warmer. Riding over 140km/h along the Most Boring Highway of Armenia (MBHA, aka M2), I was thinking about launching an awareness campaign for saving the innocent lives taken away by the absent railing of the narrow stairs.

First part can be found here, or you can read both together.

The most beautiful church in Armenia, part 1

Second part can be found here, or you can read both together.

Yerevan - NoravankSunday was the first ride of the Season and it was decided that we were going to Noravank. Comprised of two XIII century churches St. Astvatsatsin and St. Karapet, I consider the whole monument on top of the gorge one of the most beautiful and St. Astvatsatsin perhaps the most beautiful church on the territory of the present Armenia.

Weather.com predicted a high of 16°C for the day and we figured it would be tolerable for a ride of ~260km wearing sweatshirts. There were some morning showers reported, so we decided to head out of Yerevan past noon. The air itself was so chilly in the wind that at some point we contemplated turning right to Khor Virap, which would slash our trip, leaving less than a quarter of the planned mileage. However, at the crossroads to Khor Virap we decided to stick to the plan.

Something that I just discovered near Khor Virap is that along the M2 road there are many stork nests built on top of the lightposts. The nests are huge and they look like hats for the wooden posts, and there is a stork standing in almost every one of them—looks awesome! The storks gave me a pleasant flashback to my childhood when they were somehow directly associated with Armenia in my perception, albeit being a child in Yerevan I had never even experienced a real encounter with a stork!

So we rode all the way to Yeraskh, which is of course the standard rest point where we took a Snickers & Bounty candybar break. I was eager to find an ‘extra large’ Snickers instead of the regular size, so we started traversing through all the local stores (which are really just old cargo containers turned into shops by cutting windows and doors into them).

And here we witnessed something extraordinary! There were other tourists taking a break in the area besides us, who I presumed were from Iran and were returning back after celebrating Novruz in Yerevan. Among these were two tan guys in mid twenties in one of the stores where we were looking for the large Snickers, and as all Iranians do in Armenia they were shopping for alcohol. These two in particular were going for some scotch and a bottle of Armenian brandy. While choosing and checking their goods out, they were chatting to the store owner, an old woman in her 70ies. A foreign speech catches anyone’s ear, especially if you are standing within half a meter of the speech source in a long–lost rural area in Armenia, and so I was trying to figure out how could that old woman speak Farsi so fluently, when it suddenly struck me—the speech sounded a lot more like Turkish than Persian! The guys paid for the goods and left, leaving an atmosphere of excitement in the dirty cabin and a sincere melancholic smile on the old woman’s face who obviously didn’t smile that often. I was already pretty shocked, and so I followed:

“Would you give me a large bar of Snickers?” I asked suspiciously.

After a short pause, the old woman replied with a mildly nostalgic voice, “I don’t have the large ones… You can have these, which are smaller…” At this point I realized the woman had a thick Baku accent. She seemed super nice, too.

“So, what’s up with those guys?” I tried to sound casual and careless.

“Ah, young Azerbaijanis… Came to visit from Iran. I used to live in Baku, before coming here… [pause] Still remember the language… not so well.” The woman too sounded suspicious but casual. “Had to check the amount by writing it down on a paper to avoid a mistake…” At this point she kept smiling like a kid who knows he’s done something wrong and yet enjoyed the experience.

“Thanks!” I replied.

I was feeling pretty confused. We walked out of the container and I told Nariné, although she was standing by me all the way:

“Those guys were Azeris…”

Second part can be found here, or you can read both together.

Season 2009 and a Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all of my dear readers!

Season 2009 was truly an amazing motorcycling experience. Yerevan started really getting on two wheels. A lot of riding events took place. New dealerships, motorcycling clubs and pubs opened!

As 2009 goes into history, it leaves only wonderful positive motorcycling memories. This was my most intense riding season, I put about 9000 kilometers on my odometer and I’m planning to do nothing less in 2010! During the rides there were of course wonderful friends and ridemates to share the joy and the most wonderful places and roads to discover and explore! And of course I blogged a lot!

On this I want to wish us all a very happy, a very exciting and a very passionate 2010. Let’s ride through it on two wheels and be safe, healthy and excited in doing so! Vroom!

Some of my memories from 2009 are in these pictures, and they are clickable too! Muah!

My shiny CBF500 right from the dealership!
My shiny CBF500 right from the dealership!
The Abovyan Petrol Station is where most north-directed rides kick off
The Abovyan Petrol Station is where most north-directed rides kick off
First Ride Ever, Tsakhkadzor - Bjni Section
First Ride Ever, Tsakhkadzor - Bjni Section
Just arrived at Odzun
Just arrived at Odzun
Reckless Riding in Stepanakert
Reckless Riding in Stepanakert
Ed & Su Wedding Takeoff
Ed & Su Wedding Takeoff
Ed & Su Wedding Run
Ed & Su Wedding Run
An abandoned petrol station break at Metsamor
An abandoned petrol station break at Metsamor
Preparing to take off for Ijevan
Preparing to take off for Ijevan
Sardarapat
Sardarapat
Armenia-Turkey Border, a Watchpost
Armenia-Turkey Border, a Watchpost
A Turkish Mosque on the other side of Arpacay Reservoir
A Turkish Mosque on the other side of Arpacay Reservoir
Parachute Jump at the Arzni Military Airport
Parachute Jump at the Arzni Military Airport
Our Parachute jump Helicopter in the Arzni Military Airport
Our Parachute jump Helicopter in the Arzni Military Airport
Somewhere between Goris and the Karabakh border
Somewhere between Goris and the Karabakh border
White Shirt Riders!
White Shirt Riders!
Norayr & Vahe discussing CBF500 in Urtsadzor
Norayr & Vahe discussing CBF500 in Urtsadzor
Gyumri Downtown
Gyumri Downtown
Gyumri Main Square
Gyumri Main Square
Arzni Racing
Arzni Racing
Two more motorcycles arrive at the racing event in Arzni
Two more motorcycles arrive at the racing event in Arzni
Lamb barbeque in Haghartsin
Lamb barbeque in Haghartsin
Vardaghbyur-Stepanavan Offroad Section
Vardaghbyur-Stepanavan Offroad Section
Fellows posing on a truck in Berd
Fellows posing on a truck in Berd
Top of Selim, the highest motoring road in Armenia
Top of Selim, the highest motoring road in Armenia
Sevan - Shorzha, Vishapi Coast
Sevan - Shorzha, Vishapi Coast
Maneh & Zhirayr in Sevan
Maneh & Zhirayr in Sevan
Esther and Guido on Northern Avenue
Esther and Guido on Northern Avenue
My new helmet, the stylish AGV Dragon
My new helmet, the stylish AGV Dragon
Vardaghpyur - Stepanavan Middle Section
Vardaghpyur - Stepanavan Middle Section
They Painted It Red!
They Painted It Red!

The pictures are also available on my Picasa account for your viewing pleasure!

How much fun can you have during one weekend?

So, TGIF, the day is done and you’re pondering about the upcoming evening as well as the two upcoming days. Important: you have a motorcycle, and it is, afterall, a fun machine. So you want to have as much fun as possible during two days and an evening, to prepare for a wild biz week starting Monday.

Naturally, after a dinner you start with a visit to the Burnt Ministry (Varvac Ministrutyun, Վառված Մինիստրություն). You meet with the fellow motorized fun colleagues, discuss some motorbike–related topics and kick a sweet small ride across Yerevan and the suburbs, enjoying the dusk, the rumbling of the cruiser’s engine behind and the whizzing of the sportbike’s engine ahead.

You then schedule a ride to Ijevan for Saturday and go clubbing till 5 in the morning.

In the morning you pack and head out to start the Ijevan ride.

You move out at around 11, ride on the M4 across a freezing wind, and take a short lahmajo / tea break in Dilijan.

Then you warm up and start riding to Ijevan, around 40 kilometers.

In Ijevan you meet a friend who invites you to his house in Gandzakar, where you meet some very nice people.

And enjoy a freshly slain (sorry nature activists) lamb BBQ

With some home–produced vodka

And awesome stories.

You then receive a call from another friend who invites you to join him in Dilijan and ride a section to Sevan. So you ride back to Dilijan, join him with his car and his company, then on the Shorzha intersection you turn to stack up with more friends at Sevan.

You spend the night playing a guitar, watching the stars and the fire, and in the morning you swallow some wonderful omelet after watching a new boat being put into the lake.

Afterwards you receive a call inviting you to a racing event in Arzni, you pack again and head out to meet more friends

..and watch some outstanding fun action!!

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You watch some very fast cars

Meet some very fast motorcycles

And of course meet me who has incidentally been also doing exactly everything that was described above!

Then you ride with me to Yerevan for a coctail at a favorite cafe, go home for a shower and just when you want to go back to more clubbing, you drop dead sleeping.

Great weekend: [ SUCCESS ]

Recommended: Ejmiatsin — Ashtarak

I had a wonderful and spontaneous small ride with the guys today: Yerevan — Ejmiatsin — Ashtarak — Yerevan in the dusk, enjoying delicious roadside watermelon in the middle. The Ejmiatsin — Ashtarak road is fantastic in the dusk, so if you have two hours in the evening and want to have an immensely aesthetic and atmospheric experience, just hit the Ejmiatsin M5 highway then M3 then M1 (then have some chocolate ice cream at SQ1?).

You won’t regret it.

Trip: Odzun – Dilijan. Second Part. Ode to Jaguar.

In the morning we made more barbeque for our breakfast and started moving out. It was just about time because there were clouds gathering above and we thought we needed to outspeed the rain at all costs.

The first nasty thing happened just as I was riding out of the grain field — my bike slip off the edge and I hit a rock with the bottom of my oil tank, breaking two protectors. Fortunately no oil seemed to be leaking so we continued the way, though the incident really pissed me off.

We wanted to visit Haghpat on our way and take the Dilijan-Sevan road to Yerevan. So we headed for Haghpat and it was another amazing experience after yesterday – Alaverdi was such an amazing city with this heavy and addictive spirit of industrialism! Afterwards came Haghpat and the one word that came to my mind was — magnificent!

On the road from Vanadzor to Dilijan the rain started and it was pretty intense. This Vanadzor-Dilijan road, by the way, is great for some speedy riding: it is not straight and boring like the major highways in Armenia but with its minor curves it allows some nice pace. In Dilijan I was already pretty wet and had to take a cozy tea break with friends. But the rain was intensifying and the worst things lay ahead!

I changed my socks and got on the bike to ride the omnifamiliar Dilijan-Sevan-Yerevan sector. After thirty seconds I became as wet and uncomfortable as I was before my tea break. Then the rain got worse with more cars on the road and the trip became the wettest one in my life. I rode the Dilijan curves, up to the tunnel, then to the lake and just stopped as I physically could not ride no longer! My 50% waterproof leather coat completely gave up on the heavy rain and my shirt and pants felt like heavy cold water sponge all over my body. I was planning to just sit by the road and wait till the rain is over.

It was in this moment, when all hope had faded, that Jaguar, son of Alexander, took up his friend’s motorbike.

On the toughest part of the ride, with reported terrible storm and sheer cutting wind. Jaguar rode through it with no single piece of motorcycling gear except a helmet, leave alone any rain gear. The one thought that lingered in my mind at that time was that the bar of the capabilities of the human being are absolutely not where we foolishly think they are.

Through the insane conditions on the road and in the sky we finally made it to Yerevan for some shower and tea. The Odzun trip turned out to be an amazing experience and into amazing memories.