Armenia
Armenia is one of those surprises on the Silk Road. A beautiful landlocked country that is often overlooked by travellers or only used as transit route to Iran. We got to explore most of Armenia in a month. From the amazing food to disturbing past and from great churches to meeting the kindest of people. Armenia is a gem!
MYlights
Fun Facts
Armenia Profile
The local currency is Dram.
Here you find the current exchange rate.
Armenian Apostolic 92.6%, Evangelical 1%, other 2.4%, none 1.1%, unspecified 2.9% (2011 est.)
Armenian 98.1%, Yezidi (Kurd) 1.1%, other 0.7% (2011 est.)
Armenian (official) 97.9%, Kurdish (spoken by Yezidi minority) 1%, other 1% (2011 est.)
Where is Armenia?
Armenia is located in the southern Caucasus and is the smallest of the former Soviet republics. It is bounded by Georgia on the north, Azerbaijan on the east, Iran on the south, and Turkey on the west.
Is Armenia Safe?
Armenia is overall safe to travel to, with considerably low crime rates and even pickpockets not being that much of an issue.
However, at times it’s better to avoid the borders with Azerbaijan. In 2020 the war in Nagorno-Karabah (Artsakh in Armenian) made the borders very unsafe to travel to.
Do I need a visa for Armenia?
It depends on the country you are from. Check here if you need a visa to travel to Armenia.
Stories
The border crossing into Iran
While Yuri is being ushered in by one of the many men at the border, I am waiting in the van. I'm the only woman who is currently making the crossing and therefore get quite a lot of attention. I also look a bit too cheerfully dressed for the occasion, but at least...
A last goodbye
While the Dutch exuberantly celebrate King's Day, we have prepared ourselves for the next adventure. And that adventure is called Iran! After many months of waiting and even a return to the Netherlands, the time has finally come. But not today.Happy Kingsday!What we...
Ready for part two
After being sick for four days, not eating at all, and having to go to the garage with Alexine we are finally ready for part two of the Silk Road Advanture. A good start is half the beginning, but so is a bad start, innit? The abandoned textile...
A not so smooth reunification
For a couple of days we've been reunited with each other and Alexine but things don't go as planned, neither do they go so smoothly. FoodpoisoningWhile I sit here after five days of struggling with food poisoning (thanks to Royal Jordanian Airways), Yuri...
Staying at a 700 year old caravanserai
We are staying at a caravanserai tonight. A hotel / restaurant where travellers would spend the night, giving their camels and horses some rest and catch up with other travellers about the way ahead. This Caravanserai is the best preserved one in Armenia and was built...
Religion, war and waste management
The morning sun is a welcoming guest high up in the mountains. We are now at almost 2500 meters above sea level and the wind carries the cold air into the van. Great for sleeping, a little less for cooking and living outside. But, we are Dutchies, thus no cold air can...
Continuing our Armenian advanture
After five days at the beautiful campsite of Sandra and Marty (3Gs - check it out) we got waaaaay to comfortable with the swimming pool, two kitchens and a washing machine. Not to mention the showers, toilets and incredible wifi. You can imagine, it was time to...
From temple to church
Finally exploring again. We love visiting cities and staying in a hotel, guesthouse, airbnb for a while but we love it even more to explore the roads with Alexine and drive towards unknown destinations. Not knowing where we will sleep that night, but enjoying the wind...
Fixing Alexine and our vaccination
“If there was wisdom in beards, all goats would be prophets." - an Armenian proverb. And even though we have visited about 20 churches already, Yuri is still no prophet. Neither am I. But yeah, 14 days in Armenia and already 20 churches! Oh my. We don't visited...
The annihilation of the Armenians
Exactly 82 years ago Adolf Hilter said "...who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?" Let's proof Adolf Hilter wrong and talk about it. The definition of genocide To understand what happened in Armenia it's good to know the definition of...