By Tathee Belga
The first thing I did upon arriving in Armenia, was to look for a local bus that would take me to the hotel where I was booked at. It’s not quite easy to find the right bus due to language barrier, but the people were helpful and assisted me.
Armenia, a former Soviet republic, is a land of monasteries, being among places of the earliest Christian civilizations.
As such, there is no shortage of ruins, centuries-old fortresses and cathedrals, too. Among must-sees is the Khor Virap Monastery, a pilgrimage site near Mount Ararat, a dormant volcano just across the border with Turkey.
Armenia is also the land of great food!
I can say no two days were different during myrecent stay.
Armenian food is lavishly full of flavours – lamb, eggplant and lavash (bread) are the staples.
What’s so unique about Armenian cuisine is that it was influenced by traders and conquerors from the Middle East, the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe, owing to the mountainous country being located at the crossroads of Asia and Europe.
And so, you have the ubiquitous lavash – a thin flatbread usually leavened traditionally baked in a tandoor just like what we have here in the alleyways of Old Dubai.
Or something resembling a kebab.
Among the best I discovered was the popular stuffed mushrooms with Sulguni cheese – super!
Of course, the yogurt soup with garlic and mini bread with meat inside is very delightful as well, and so is the Kiveyan cutlet, which has nuts and ground beef in it. Note that Armenians prefer cracked meat.
Lahmajo (or lahmacun) is also everywhere and reminded me so much of Dubai where you find them at supermarkets like Carrefour outlets.
This is not surprising at all because lahmacun is a Middle Eastern flatbread topped with minced meat and vegetables, herbs including onions, garlic, tomatoes, red peppers, and parsley – all flavored with spices like chili pepper and paprika, then baked. It also certainly looks like pizza! Yummy!!
The grilled Sturgeon paired with grilled potato also had me longing to go back to Armenia.
What is also equally great is that considering the currency exchange rate, Armenian food is not pricey at all. We spent AED150 in a restaurant and all five of us were stuffed!
All told, I will definitely be back to enjoy the good food in the company of good people at a place that takes me back in time.
Special thanks to Mr. Artem Mnatsakanyan, my tour guide with the Armenian Silk Road, who happily showed me around the country.
Insta: @armeniansilkroad FB: Armenian Silk Road. Tiktok: @tourguideinarmenia
(This is a contributed feature. — ed.)