Kyle’s Journey in Armenia

As most (Christians) know, Mt. Ararat in south-eastern Turkey is the supposed location of Noah’s Ark. For the Armenian people, it is also their national symbol, and is a token for the vast empires of the past and a beacon of hope1 for their future. Plus, it just looks really great in the background of pictures of Armenian churches and Yerevan. For all these reasons, along with some much needed vacation time, we left Armenia on September 2nd for a hike up the biggest mountain in Europe.

Six of us, all PCVs, went on the hike. We left Gyumri early in the morning via chartered mini-bus, and arrived at the base of the mountain a mere 14 hours later (covering a net 30km from the closed Turkish-Armenian border). The hike was to take 5 days, and after our last (and first, really) night with hot showers and comfy beds, we set off for the mountain. Ararat is composed of two mountains, the baby, Sis (or Kuchuk Agri in Turkish), and Masis (Buyuk Agri), the 16,700 ft monster we were to climb. Climbing required a guide and permission of the government, and we worked with a local agency called Tamaza Trek (highly recommended!). They provided us with all of the food, tents, etc and really made the hike a great experience.

The first three days were spent hiking up and down from the first camp, located around 3200m as acclimatization hikes. During that time, we met a lot of great people from other countries, including my first experiences with native Iranians. Everyone was genuinely nice and especially interested to meet Americans, who they rarely see in this part of the world without a military uniform on. The Iranian group was hiking parallel to us (as in, would summit the same day) and kept everyone entertained (or wearing headphones) most of the day with their songs. Certainly the most entertaining and kind “Axis of Evil” members I could hope to meet.

The fourth day, September 8th, would be the big day to summit. We left at 2 in the morning (which isn’t such a big deal when you’re going to sleep at sunset – 7pm – every day), with the Iranians in the lead by about a half hour. Being good Americans, we shoved our way to the front and reached the summit around 5:30am, right as the sun was rising over snow-capped peaks. Words are tough to describe it, but I think “beautiful but bitterly cold” about sums it up. We were in full mountain gear, long underwear and all, but even with that the wind was overwhelming. We stayed on top for 30 minutes, took as many cheesy pictures as possible before frostbite hit, and began our decent down to the first camp. It was a very long, but certainly unforgettable day.

The last day we woke up bright and early (again, 5am) so that we could do some tourist things in the area. Since there was one more group going up that day, our guide decided to stay and sent the cook to take us to the vans. The cook was a great guy – Kurdish, very lively, and many songs about guerrillas – but I’m pretty sure he’s not all there. He insisted on singing for the first hour until he got noticeably quieter. Puzzled, we soon learned he had taken a wrong turn and we were now over 5 miles off-course from the road. The next 4 hours were much more somber as we climbed rock faces, hurdled ravines and trudged into a Kurdish village, where the greatest development tool of them all, the cell phone, saved the day once again.

Once we finally made it off the mountain, we visited the Ichka Pasha Palace, which overlooked the Silk Road in Byzantine times. It was nice, but we really wanted to see the old Armenian capital city of Ani. We managed to arrive outside of the city gates at 4:55, a mere 5 minutes before closing time. After some begging, pleading, and maybe slipping a Lira or two in the guard’s pocket, they gave us one hour to “power tour” the city.

Ani is a very interesting place – it was the Armenian capital until about 1100 AD, when it was ransacked by everyone from the Byzantines to the Mongols. It once stood as a center of commerce, trade and religion for Armenia (they call it the city of 1000 churches), and about 100,000 people lived there. Today, it is no more than ruins with a few signs, but would certainly be an archeologists dream.

Overall, the trip was great and we had a wonderful time. All of our Armenian friends are proud that we made it and glad that we were able to learn so much about Armenian history in the process. So am I! I have posted most of the good pictures in the photo album page, and my friend Laszlo also put his account and pictures on his webpage. And to answer your burning question: no, we didn’t find the Ark.

Now I am back at site, ready to resume work until November 2nd, when I leave to run the Athens Classic Marathon! Today I ran 16 miles, a new personal best for me. I would also like to thank everyone who has contributed to my “Push to the Finish” campaign – so far we’ve raised almost $1,000 for people with disabilities!! Keep it up and please pass the word to your friends and families so I can reach my $2,000 goal.

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