Gyumri - getting our ducks in a row - The fourteenth step ... Asia Minor

September 27, 2023

Gyumri - getting our ducks in a row

The bed in our apartment is so bad that I slept on the floor last night and will do the same tonight. At least it is warm inside because the weather is changing quickly.

Autumn is upon us. Mornings are cold and the northeast wind is chilly.

We headed off to the Black Fort this morning. The local name is Sev Berd or Սև բերդ. It was built by the Russian Empire during the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829 but was later abandoned. Lying just eight kilometers from the Turkish it provides distant views to Mount Ararat which can be seen distinctly through the haze although the mountain is not that clear in my photograph of it. The fort has been been in private hands for the past ten years or so and seems to have been converted into a theater-in-the-round. To be honest, the views from the fort were better than the fort itself.

Without taxing ones imagination too much it is possible to make out Mount Ararat in the distance about 160 kilometers away..

Of course there had to be a statue called Mother Armenia as well.

After some grocery shopping it was time to change our return flights to depart from Ankara in Turkey instead of Baku in Azerbaijan, a stressful process made a lot easier by a very helpful online operator called Samina at Qatar Airways. We have only three and a half weeks to get to Ankara so a bus ride is almost certainly going to be necessary. The deteriorating situation between Azerbaijan and Armenia makes our decision to return to Turkey seem sensible.

Today's ride: 11 km (7 miles)
Total: 1,661 km (1,031 miles)

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Elspeth JarmanAh, glad you got your flight sorted. We were worried how the situation may affect you. Brilliant photos and a very interesting trip.
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7 months ago

Jean-Marc StrydomThanks Elsp. I'm naturally disappointed that the trip has been turned on its head, almost from the start, but it has meant we have seen things we otherwise would not have.

On a different matter, we're so chuffed for you and Mart getting to Cartagena.
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7 months ago