There are two things that you should know before visiting Yerevan: don’t ask for a Turkish coffee or about Kim Kardashian.
No one is very impressed with the reality-show star, or the rest of her attention-seeking family, no matter how much they proudly proclaim their Armenian roots. And Armenians have their own, slightly lighter yet just as delicious version of the silty brew, called soorj, so there’s no reason to insult anyone by bringing up an ever-present and painful subject in such an insensitive manner.
Any visit to this capital or its environs will be steeped in the unpleasant and enduring memory of the genocide at the hands of the Turks circa the First World War, which included the loss of more than a million people, as well as top intellectuals and creative minds, and launched a vast and dedicated diaspora from those who fled the violence.
At the moment, it seems all of Yerevan is gearing up for the 100th anniversary of this heartache next April, when an expanded and refurbished Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute will open and a crush of visitors are expected for a series of ceremonies marking the loss – which, as you will hear repeatedly upon visiting, Turkey has yet to officially acknowledge.
The Armenian capital is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, originally a fortress dating back to the eighth century. It’s rich in history and a monument to survival, at the heart of a land consistently fought over through the centuries and variously subjected to harsh and violent Turkish, Persian and Russian rule.
All that is barely perceptible today, with Yerevan’s many public spaces and parks teeming with life, creating the sort of quirky, accessible and walkable urban space that true travellers will love.
While making my way through the tree-lined downtown neighbourhood of Kentron one morning, I pass small parks full of people out enjoying the sunshine, getting the feeling from all the warm greetings I witness that everyone seems to be running into old friends. When the famous Armenian poet and singer-songwriter Ruben Hakhverdyan stops to say hello to a street musician playing some mellow blues on his electric guitar, it becomes apparent why there’s little tolerance for Kardashian-style attention-seeking in these parts. Although Hakhverdyan, who’s a stocky singer with a gravelly voice, is revered by Armenians, no one paid him any mind. When I later see him perform in a mesmerising show at the funky underground club Calumet, located at Pushkin 56, he’s equally unassuming.
Elsewhere, stark, Soviet-style cinder-block apartments stand beside small wonders, such as the tiny medieval Holy Mother of God Kathoghike church dating back to the 13th century that somehow survived Ottoman rule. Keeping one’s eyes open is constantly rewarding: whether it’s spotting a gorgeous mural of Edgar Allen Poe painted in an alley off a main street or some stuffed roosters announcing a restaurant below street level.
Even better, Yerevan has been mostly unspoilt by western consumerism. I spy just one KFC, no giant Zara or Nike stores and nary a Starbucks (although several cafes do proudly proclaim serving their brews, the first sign that the American behemoth is on its way). Instead, the tree-lined streets feature charming little outdoor coffee shops and stalls selling beautifully stacked roses.
The city is so compact, it’s possible to stroll around to many of the main attractions, and it’s easy to hop into one of the reasonably priced metered taxis if your feet get sore or you need to go a little farther.
Much of the neoclassical architecture in Yerevan is the work of the St Petersburg-born Alexander Tamanyan, who spent a decade designing and modernising the city after Armenia gained its independence in 1918. While his work and legacy permeate much of the core, the most dramatic and unusual evidence has to be the Cascade, which is essentially a giant staircase and garden linking the city’s cultural centre up a mountain to the northern, residential neighbourhood of Monument.
Tamanyan’s vision, however, proceeded in fits and starts that continue to this day. The project was largely abandoned until the 1970s, when much of the staircase was constructed, then left again for decades. It appears to have been renewed, because near the top of the mountain there’s a giant construction pit where work has been recently under way. It’s utterly worthwhile, however, even while breathless from the climb, to keep walking around the pit to the left for several minutes. The trip is not for the tall, ugly monument to the Soviet Union at the top, but to turn around and gaze at the city spread out down below. Lucky visitors, on a clear day, will get a glimpse of the majestic Mount Ararat, once such a vital part of Armenia, but for decades now just out of reach in Turkey.
The trip down can be made via an escalator inside the mountain, which houses the Cafesjian Centre for the Arts, a gallery where most of the work is from the private collection of the late Gerard Cafesjian, a United States-born member of the Armenian diaspora. Even if you don’t have time to stop and see the exhibits, take the escalator down to street level. It’s free, and you can glimpse some truly eclectic pieces, including a giant tube of lipstick and a silver-plated car.
A lovely place to visit during the evening is Republic Square, another Tamanyan project and a buzzing public space, where the post office is beautifully illuminated and each night the fountains feature a two-hour musical show. Swan Lake, so named for its proximity to the Tamanyan-designed opera-and-ballet house, is another gathering area nearby, notable for the flamboyant statue of the Armenian composer Arno Babajanyan. In the winter, the lake becomes an ice rink.
Eating in Yerevan is faintly exotic but mostly familiar, because of Arab and Turkish influences. Lavash, a thin bread, is a staple, while Armenians favour bulghur over rice. Our guide explains that a very special ritual meal for Armenians is khash, in which the belly and leg of cow are boiled all night in garlic and water; lavash is added to the mix and the entire thing is consumed with chasers at 7am, before everyone goes to sleep. It’s worth a visit to a local market to marvel at rows of plump, enticing dried apricots, peaches, berries, figs and dates. The most peculiar to an outsider, but a common sight, are long strands of walnuts wrapped in a glutinous sheath made from grapes. The vendors are generous with their free samples, so watch out: it’s easy to get excited and overindulge.
The Matenadaran, or the Institute of Ancient Manuscripts, is marked at the entrance by a sculpture of Mesrop Mashtots, who is revered for creating the sophisticated Armenian alphabet. It houses 22,000 documents and books dating back centuries – many that have been restored and others that have become petrified over time. The largest, at 604 pages and weighing 28 kilograms, is in two pieces because it was torn in half and carried to safety by two women during the genocide. Among the smallest is a tiny calendar dating back to 1436. The pieces are safe beneath glass display cases centuries later, still bound by glue made from garlic juice, while rich browns and brilliant reds, inks made from walnut and cochineal insects, remain unfaded.
There’s still time to plan a trip to this quirky, unspoilt cosmopolitan capital before snow falls, when the air is more crisp than cold. Though it’s less than a three-hour flight from Sharjah, this ancient city feels a world away from the UAE.
amcqueen@thenational.ae
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Ferrari
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Michael%20Mann%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Adam%20Driver%2C%20Penelope%20Cruz%2C%20Shailene%20Woodley%2C%20Patrick%20Dempsey%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
Huddersfield Town permanent signings:
- Steve Mounie (striker): signed from Montpellier for £11 million
- Tom Ince (winger): signed from Derby County for £7.7m
- Aaron Mooy (midfielder): signed from Manchester City for £7.7m
- Laurent Depoitre (striker): signed from Porto for £3.4m
- Scott Malone (defender): signed from Fulham for £3.3m
- Zanka (defender): signed from Copenhagen for £2.3m
- Elias Kachunga (winger): signed for Ingolstadt for £1.1m
- Danny WIlliams (midfielder): signed from Reading on a free transfer
The Energy Research Centre
Founded 50 years ago as a nuclear research institute, scientists at the centre believed nuclear would be the “solution for everything”.
Although they still do, they discovered in 1955 that the Netherlands had a lot of natural gas. “We still had the idea that, by 2000, it would all be nuclear,” said Harm Jeeninga, director of business and programme development at the centre.
"In the 1990s, we found out about global warming so we focused on energy savings and tackling the greenhouse gas effect.”
The energy centre’s research focuses on biomass, energy efficiency, the environment, wind and solar, as well as energy engineering and socio-economic research.
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
Brief scoreline:
Crystal Palace 2
Milivojevic 76' (pen), Van Aanholt 88'
Huddersfield Town 0
UAE SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Adel Al Hosani
Defenders: Bandar Al Ahbabi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Mohammed Barghash, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Hassan Al Mahrami, Yousef Jaber, Mohammed Al Attas
Midfielders: Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Majed Hassan, Abdullah Hamad, Khalfan Mubarak, Khalil Al Hammadi, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Harib Abdallah, Mohammed Jumah
Forwards: Fabio De Lima, Caio Canedo, Ali Saleh, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Players Selected for La Liga Trials
U18 Age Group
Name: Ahmed Salam (Malaga)
Position: Right Wing
Nationality: Jordanian
Name: Yahia Iraqi (Malaga)
Position: Left Wing
Nationality: Morocco
Name: Mohammed Bouherrafa (Almeria)
Position: Centre-Midfield
Nationality: French
Name: Mohammed Rajeh (Cadiz)
Position: Striker
Nationality: Jordanian
U16 Age Group
Name: Mehdi Elkhamlichi (Malaga)
Position: Lead Striker
Nationality: Morocco
RESULTS
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Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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FA Cup quarter-final draw
The matches will be played across the weekend of 21 and 22 March
Sheffield United v Arsenal
Newcastle v Manchester City
Norwich v Derby/Manchester United
Leicester City v Chelsea
Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 6 Huddersfield Town 1
Man City: Agüero (25', 35', 75'), Jesus (31'), Silva (48'), Kongolo (84' og)
Huddersfield: Stankovic (43')
SERIES SCHEDULE
First Test, Galle International Stadium
July 26-30
Second Test, Sinhalese Sports Club Ground
August 3-7
Third Test, Pallekele International Stadium
August 12-16
First ODI, Rangiri Dambulla Stadium
August 20
Second ODI, Pallekele International Stadium
August 24
Third ODI, Pallekele International Stadium
August 27
Fourth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
August 31
Fifth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
September 3
T20, R Premadasa Stadium
September 6