Armenia
I have just returned from a press trip to Armenia, the term used for journeys organized by a national tourism board or an agency appointed by the country itself to promote tourism through travel features published in national media, in this case for an Italian audience. I rarely, if ever, take part in this kind of trip because traveling in a group doesn’t allow me the freedom I normally have as a photographer: getting up before dawn, which in summer means around 5 a.m. or making the most of the beautiful late-afternoon light, which unfortunately often coincides with dinner time. Since I had never been to Armenia before, however, I decided to accept the invitation, hoping I would at least have the chance to take a few photographs at the right times of day. I also saw it as a first introduction to the country, a reconnaissance trip before perhaps returning on my own in the future.
I was extremely curious, yet I knew very little about Armenia or its people. I was aware of its many Orthodox monasteries, but my knowledge went little beyond that. Armenia was part of the Soviet Union until 1991, when, following a historic popular referendum, it regained its independence. Even so, much of the Soviet legacy remains visible, both in the architecture and in the education system. For example, chess and music are still compulsory subjects in schools, and a great many Armenians speak and understand Russian.
The country’s history is a turbulent one, although I am certainly not the best person, or this the right place, to attempt a comprehensive account of Armenian history. Still, it is impossible not to mention the long and painful conflict with Turkey, its powerful western neighbor, responsible for the massacre of one and a half million Armenians in 1915. This tragedy is recognized as a genocide by many governments around the world, though not, of course, by the country that planned and carried it out: Turkey. One consequence is that the border between the two countries remains closed.
Equally impossible to ignore are the iconic twin snow-capped peaks of Mount Ararat, historically part of Armenia but now within Turkish territory. Identified since the Middle Ages as the mountain described in the Book of Genesis where Noah’s Ark came to rest after the Great Flood, Ararat is in fact a dormant volcano. It occupies a central place in the identity of the Armenian people, the first nation in history to adopt Christianity as its state religion.
The mountain rises majestically in what is now eastern Anatolia, in Turkey, the western section of what is still known as the Armenian Highlands, a vast region historically referred to as Western Armenia. Following the collapse of the great Armenian kingdoms of antiquity, Ararat passed under the control of successive empires. Throughout the latter half of the last millennium, its summit and western slopes were ruled by the Ottoman Empire, while its eastern regions belonged first to Persia and later to Tsarist Russia. What never changed was the continuous presence of Armenians throughout these lands.
That came to a tragic end between 1915 and 1917, when the Ottoman authorities destroyed centuries of Armenian life around Ararat in what Italy and 33 other countries, along with the overwhelming consensus of the academic community, recognize as genocide. The massacres and ethnic cleansing of the survivors continued during the Turkish War of Independence, which followed the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the First World War. When the borders of the region were eventually redrawn, Ararat became part of the newly established Republic of Turkey in 1923.
There is hardly a postcard of Armenia’s capital without the unmistakable silhouette of Ararat’s twin peaks rising in the background, more or less visible depending on the weather. One should also mention the ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan, Armenia’s other powerful eastern neighbor, although anyone interested can easily find more detailed information elsewhere.
Returning to the journey itself, a wonderful camaraderie developed among my fellow journalists. We had a great time together, enjoyed excellent restaurants, and discovered that Armenian cuisine places extraordinary emphasis on vegetables, prepared in countless delicious ways and bursting with flavors that, perhaps, we have partly forgotten. The fruit deserves special mention as well. Armenia is rightly famous for its apricots, remarkably sweet and generally larger than ours, but also for its cherries, mulberries, and many other varieties. Their flavor was exceptional, unlike almost any fruit I have tasted back home.
Our guide, Ani, spoke flawless Italian after spending many years studying in Italy, and she proved to be an invaluable source of information throughout the trip.
The photographs that follow offer only a brief glimpse of the journey. Many more are still waiting to be processed and carefully edited before they are published in September on LatitudesLife.
