Yerevan summary

The city is very pretty. There are many nice parks throughout the city, each with lots of outdoor cafes. There is also a lot of new construction in the center. Old buildings are being torn down and replaced with new, enormous and attractively designed apartment buildings. We were told that government officials buy apartments in these new centrally located buildings at very low prices and then sell or rent them at huge profits. People whose buildings are being torn down get little compensation for their apartments and can’t afford to live in the center any more. They are being forced out into distant suburbs.

There appears to be no or very little city maintenance. Garbage collection seems to be sporadic. Walking in the evenings in dimly lit streets can be hazardous to your health because there are holes in the sidewalks and quite a few missing manhole covers.

Yerevan is definitely an evening town. At 8 am there is no one outside. From 2 till 11 and later it is jumping.

We have eaten in several non tourist Armenian eateries. No English, no Russian. We had to order by pointing. We went to a place were everyone eats lahmajune (“Armenian pizza”). We ordered 2, but an order is 2 so we got 4 (for $1). A lady behind us ate 4 of them, and they are not small (the size of a 9 inch pizza, but the crust is much thinner. It is covered with a very thin layer of meaty substance with spices. It is served folded in half)

We also ate at an outdoor café. We had 2 bottles of beer, coffee, and 4 dishes for less than $10.

On one of our city walks, we walked into the American University of Armenia. After a few phone calls they arranged a tour for us and Diana, a PR person took us around. Turns out it is only a graduate university with no undergraduate programs. Diana introduced us via phone to her sister who works at Yerevan State University. The sister in turn introduced us to her boss, head of the linguistics department. As a result, we spent a very interesting hour in her office.

Traffic is horrible and so are the drivers. Lane markers mean nothing and traffic signals are ignored. Crossing with the green walk signal is dangerous.