Travelfood

Sadly, every now and then your overall impression of a new country is defined by your arrival experience at the airport. Once again, this bad experience was by the taxi service at the Zardnots airport in Yerevan. Why cannot government officials see the need to improve a country´s tourism image by restricting taxi drivers’ possibilities for scams and frauds? In my case, the scam was turning an agreed price of local 500 money to 5000 and a sudden inability to speak English whereas the language had not been a barrier while negotiating the original price. Needless to say, I did a lot of effort in using public transport instead of taxis after that experience.  

Despite the barbaric taxi scam, Armenia has a rich, civilized history that is not as much taught at Western schools as that of Greek and Roman history, or Israeli biblical history. To know more about this, I strongly recommend the Museum of Armenian History as well as organized trips to the monasteries in the rugged countryside. It is also highly interesting to understand Mount Ararat’s influence on Armenia’s fertile soil and its tasty fruits, vegetables and nuts. My visit was in March when millions of apricot trees blossomed white in Ararat valley.  

The richness of agricultural products can be best enjoyed in sweets,  tarts and veggies are best enjoyed in salads or hearty pots. My choice was ghapama, pumpkin stuffed with all those goodies. Other typical Armenian dishes are lavash bread, khorovats (grilled skewers), kofta (boiled pork balls) and arishta noodles. Furthermore, one speciality is aveluk salad made of wild sorrel.  Those and other wild or grown herbs can be mixed with cheese and rolled into a lavash bread for a nice snack. Do not miss pomegranate for example in meals, mixed with red wine, or as condensed juice turned into snack bars.  

Armenia, Europe, food, travel, travel experiences