Music
Discovering Armenia through Song
I first met Alin Demirdjian in a shared taxi bound for Gyumri. There was something about her that looked familiar to me – I was sure I’d seen those striking curls flash across my Facebook […]
Travel
Travel
First Impressions: Part III
My radar was up and running as I spent my days actively listening and looking for people who had the same last name as I do. Even before marriage was in my mind, I always […]
Travel
A Quest for Authenticity, Truth and the Origins of the World
Taking advantage of an unexpected interval between jobs, I decided to fulfill a dream and explore a rather remote part of the world where one of the most ancient still-surviving cultures was born and continues […]
Travel
First Impressions: Part II
If you read my first installment of my first-time impressions of Armenia in 2019, you will recall that I was in tears. A part of me felt like I had gone home. From Vanadzor, I […]
Travel
Inside Armenia’s Up-and-Coming Wine Industry
“In ten years, Armenia will be a totally different winemaking region, and have its own niche in the global wine market,” says Aimee Keushguerian, as we sip red wine, rich with the earthy flavors of […]
Travel
Travel
The Name of This Place
The Opening Over the course of ten months in 2014-2015, I traveled to Turkey three times. I went to reconnect with the land where my grandparents had been born and the places they had fled—my […]
Travel
The Armenian Town That Replaced Mining With Sustainable Development
In Armenia, the Amulsar debate continues, with the Minister of Environment calling for the examination of more data. The buzz surrounding the crisis has somewhat subsided, but traveling through Armenia this summer I saw the […]
Travel
Unseen Armenia: Herher and the Vayotssar Volcano Church
Herher is a village in Vayots Dzor marz (“Valley of Woe” province), not far from the town of Vayk. From the main highway, a road to Herher passes between scenic cliffs. When the Soviet-era reservoir […]
Travel
Unseen Armenia: A New Home for the Ship Cilicia
Karen Balayan, born and raised in landlocked Armenia, is a sea captain. He looks the part and speaks clearly with a calm, assuring voice; all I presume an asset for one who commands a ship […]