Sevan
ՍԵՎԱՆ
Church on Lake Sevan
August 5, 2005
We made it to the bus stop, which was little more than a bus parked on the side
of the road and asked if they were going to Sevan. After they responded positively
we asked when the bus leaves and they said when the bus fills up. We grossly under-estimated
how long this would take and an hour later we continued to wait for people. Once
the bus finally filled we left, me sleeping for much of the trip.
Upon arrival, the driver asked where we were going and we said the lake, he informed
us that we had to take a mini bus there so we got on up and headed to the nearby
lake. We paid at the end of the trip not the beginning, which seems to exemplify
the Armenian people's honest nature and their trust in the kindness of humanity,
which is unfortunately eating them away by trusting their corrupt government officials.
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Our entire time on the lake was short and the hill overlooking the lake, great.
The hill that makes up the peninsula consists of a couple churches and great views
over the lake. When the sun cracked the clouds the lake tuned an almost unreal bright
turquoise color in complete contrast to the cloud-covered blue of the rest of the
lake. The lake is surrounded on all sides by hills or I guess small mountains and
the churches are made of dark red and black bricks, a round steeple rising from
the middle and the base in the shape of a cross.
We asked another driver how to get back to Yerevan and he responded by mini-bus
then bus. He insisted on standing up when talking to a lady, which I found slightly
odd considering he seemed very comfortable and relaxed. Unfortunately, the man also
informed us that the last bus back was at 5:00 so we grabbed a mini bus into town
to catch the last bus.
After being pulled over by the police our trip continued, picked up a little old
woman, extremely tan with a large straw hat, and carrying a large bucket of sunflower
seeds. She was excessively happy and dominated the bus-wide conversation in Armenian.
Once she realized we were foreign she began giving us sunflower seeds and two Russian
women helped translate for us to participate in the bus-wide conversation. They
were all extremely nice and by the end of the five minute ride we seemed to have
been accepted by the people as their guests and upon exiting the bus, were invited
to the Russians’ house. As much as we would have liked to, we had not slept the
previous night and unfortunately the last bus to Yerevan was across the street.
We regretfully denied the invitation and jumped across the street to find the mini
bus full.
The people on this bus were again extremely generous and let us in, although there
truly was no space. I think I took the brunt of this problem myself, but it was
a sacrifice well worth the hassle of finding a place in Sevan for the night. On
this trip we were again welcomed as guests and two young girls who spoke some, although
very minimal English, who decided to practice their language skills as we struggled
to continue the conversation.
Lake Sevan with the sun peaking through