One thing that amazes me is the ingenuity of people here in finding space to do business. Yesterday I saw a fruit and vegetable stall under the stoop of a building. I know what you may be thinking but the space was spotless and well lit. It fit the proverbial "so clean you could eat off the floor". Another popular store space is a glass enclosed space along the outside wall of a building. Picture an area about twenty to thirty feet long and four feet wide, divided into "stores" approximately six feet long. I do not know how the owners get into their shops if they are not at the ends unless sections of the glass are removable. You certainly could not be claustrophobic.
Another thing I noticed was the lack of outside contracts for window washing and cleaning. During the morning when business is slow, you'll see women who work at a store outside washing windows or sweeping/washing the stoops and sidewalks in front of the store. The brooms used to sweep are not factory made and have rather short handles. I have no idea why the handles are so short but my back started to hurt just watching the women work.
I took a short detour off Nalbandyan Street to see the stone carvers' yard where khachkars are made. Kachkars are a unique Armenian art form. The word means cross-stone and is a carved cross surmounting a rosette or a solar disc. The remainder of the stone face is typically filled with elaborate patterns of leaves, grapes, pomegranates, or abstract knotwork. They are usually used as gravestones, but also as memorials. It seems to be an art that is dying out. A pity, the craftsmanship is amazing.
Heading back to the main street I grabbed a pastry covered sausage at one of the ubiquitous food stands - 100 drams or just about a quarter.
After I bit more ambling I headed back to the hotel to get showered and changed for a dinner with some of Neil's friends from the bank. Besides I was pooped from nearly 10 miles of walking.
Neil and I were picked up by Karen, Arevik (who picked us up from the airport), and Lucine, who is the interpretor for Neil's training class and taken to the Caucasus for some genuine Armenian cooking. Once there we were joined by several other employees of the bank. Karen had reserved a room so we were able to carouse without bothering other patrons. After assuring him we would be willing to try anything, Neil and I placed ourselves in Karen's hands and let him do the ordering which he did for everyone, albeit with many suggestions from the other members of the party. There must have been a dozen plates of food, several of which had three or four different items. And these were our appetizers! I did in fact try everything and there was absolutely nothing I didn't enjoy. (You'll note in the picture that I did not stop eating for the photo!) One of my favorites was fermented buffalo milk with bread.
Two things I noticed that are worthwhile to mention. As people who were new to me were introduced, they were described as working "with" Karen or Arevik and as the evening progressed this was always how the relationship was portrayed. Checking with Neil later I found Karen and Arevik were, in fact, their bosses. The second thing was I felt I was subtly being watched to make sure everything was just right for me. If my wine was not going down as fast as it might have, I was asked if it was too dry and would I like something else. If I was cutting meat off the bone, I was told it was perfectly acceptable to pick it up in my hands. Indeed they were the perfect hosts.
There were many pauses for toasts, most of them expressing how happy they were that Neil was back with them. This definitely is a country where if you make a friend you have made a friend for life. It was a dinner I will remember fondly for a VERY long time.
No comments:
Post a Comment