I was born in Yerevan, Armenia, the “country sheltered by Biblical Ararat” and home of Noah’s Ark. It is a petite mountainous country in Eurasia, in the South Caucasus. Its super colossal mountains stand still as a pass to a petite world of legend and history. Its nature is wordless; its pure water is endless.

When I was three years old, my family decided to move to Ukraine, leaving behind the Motherland, home, friends and relatives. What caused it? The late 90s were the toughest for Armenia because the fall of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) hit Former Soviet Union countries heavily and promptly. Armenia was not ready for this course of events. It simply did not have enough resources to stay on its feet. My family moved to Ukraine, where there were more opportunities and a better future.

Eighteen years later, my sister and I decided to visit our forgotten Motherland. We were so excited and ready for adventures! To make it even more adventurous, we decided to take a bus from Ukraine to Armenia instead of a plane.

So what that it will take almost 27 hours to get there? We had already been on planes so many times. It is time for new sensations. We are young; we can handle it. Moreover, we can see two other countries on our way: Russia and Georgia.

It was my first and last time doing a bus tour! We had an adventure we were asking for: the bus got lost in Russia; this is true story. It was making circles for three and a half hours. Apparently, the GPS went out of order and, since it was dark, the driver could not find the way out. Luckily, the issue was solved, and we safely, slowly arrived to our destination.

The first thing that caught my eye when we got out of the bus was a clear outline of Mountain Ararat, the famed mountain of Noah. It was breathtaking. We stayed in Yerevan, the capital, which is one of the most ancient cities in the world. It is also called “the rose of colored capital” since lots of buildings have pink-shaded stones. The city was very clean, European, crowded, and modern, but at the same time you could feel the presence of ancient era through its architecture.

On our first day, we rushed to downtown. We took a taxi. At the second I turned to buckle up, I could not find a safety belt! I asked the driver, but in reply, I got hysterical laugh. “Why do you need it?” he asked me. At first, I thought he was a little bit loony, but then it turned out that the belt was hidden behind the seat because usually people do not put it on. I would not probably mind if I knew that the rides were not survival of the fittest!

Downtown is a pearl of Yerevan. It has two gowns: at night, the city transforms into the city that never sleeps. Lights everywhere. Singing fountains embellish the scene under Bocelli’s “Time to say goodbye” song. I enjoyed even just sitting on a bench and observing others, because everybody was so well dressed. I did a lot of countryside tours to see well-known sites. The ancient monasteries, nature and location blew us away. It was beyond beautiful.

So if you would like to get in touch with the history, definitely visit Armenia.

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