Yerevan is getting ready for Christmas in a big way – all shops have been busy and some of the lights are quite spectacular. The Republic Square, once all the lights are up and the Christmas tree completed, will be a proper fairy tale place. The “Swan Lake” fountain and pond by the Opera has been transformed into a skating ring.

There is much to like about Yerevan, despite the destruction of the old town and the brash new buildings replacing it. And there’s good coffee available everywhere. Some of the Soviet era buildings still stand – such as the Moscow cinema; but there are also many abandoned buildings, especially industrial, and constructions abruptly curtailed (such as the one at the top of the beautiful Cascade in the middle of the town, tools downed when the Soviet era ended at the end of the 80’s and nothing done since).

The pavement lighting – my bugbear! is poor almost everywhere I’ve been so far. The pavements are often uneven, broken, pitted, potholed or non-existent. Come nighttime, it can feel like and obstacle course in the dark. Then again, the shops’ lighting is good and each building has its own pavement style and design – tiles, bricks, stone, very colourful and pretty.

Yerevan, in the valley, seems to always be covered in a haze. This may be partly due to the climate/evaporation, but a lot probably has to do with the amount of traffic and especially old cars – the Ladas, even Zhigulis, are everywhere. Quite a number of cars run on LPG – it dawned on me when I saw the hosepipe being stuck up the arse-end of cars at a petrol station. (There were street protests not long ago when the government upped the price of LPG.) Electric cars have not quite made it here – haven’t seen any charging points.

The lightning speed with which Azerbaijan took Nagorno-Kharabakh has left a bitter taste in Armenian mouths but I have seen no refugees (though I’ve been told there are many) or any signs of a war, neither in Yerevan nor in the provinces. Goris, where I’m writing this, is on the way to Stependakert (in Nagorno-Kharabakh) and to Meghri, the border crossing with Iran. There seems to be just resignation and sadness and plenty of anger at Turkey, seen as an Islamic agent sending arms to Azerbaijan, and a bit at Russia for not helping Armenia. No-one mentions the Armenian government much. Turkey is certainly the villain when it comes to their possession of Mount Ararat and large areas around it that used to belong to Armenia.

The stories of how Armenia became the first country in which Christianity was the state religion are recounted by guides at every monastery – and there are many. The Armenians are justly proud of the fact that their 36 letter alphabet (3 more letters were added later) was created in 405 (to make the Bible available in Armenian) and there were many monastic schools and universities in which manuscript were copied and illustrated. The monasteries were often built on sites where there had been (pagan) temples before – many in difficult and hard to access places (but with clear views of specific stars). Such is Spitakavor, at 2150m and no dwelling of any kind nearby. There’s a unique cross at the back of the church – abstract, crooked, strange.

I think I’d like to come back in late spring/early summer. Some of the neolithic sites from 7-8000 BC, where there are intriguing petroglyphs showing a remarkable knowledge of astronomy and awareness that the Earth is round, are at 3000m and inaccessible in winter. I now know there is an excellent guide in Yegheghnadzor and the family I stayed with made me feel utterly at home.

I am glad I was able to get across the Selim Pass despite the snow and see the Orbellian Caravanserai, one of the important stops on the Silk Road. Lake Sevan, on the other side of the mountain, is the largest in the Caucasus region. It is at 1900m and very popular in summer. Nice fish. And some good wines from the Ijevan area.