23rd September: Akhaltsikhe, Georgia to Gyumri, Armenia
So, the apparently mythical marshrutka across the Armenian border direct to Gyumri does exist! This is far from a popular crossing but, nonetheless, almost every tale we could find online or person we’ve spoken to this week who has tried has failed to get a ride on this minibus. Well, not only are we on it but, thanks again to our Armenian hotel owners, we were picked up by it outside the hotel!
Mist filled the Mtkvari valley and wispy clouds licked at the mountains in the early morning light. We kept climbing towards Akhalkalaki, a moderately sized town just over halfway to the border. At this point, we unloaded tomatoes brought on by a jovial woman further down the valley. It seemed like very little would grow here.
Yet still we steadily climbed in this battered old Ford Transit. Two other passengers, some nappies (picked up from Akhalkalaki) and a few bags of shopping. The landscape was desolate and steppe-like. The air of the van grew cold, and we regretted only having 2 layers on us. It must be bitter here in winter. At Ninotsminda, amongst the grass-roofed huts we had to stop for some engine troubles. By this point, we were over 2,000 metres up and this felt like a proper frontier.
The climatic variation in Georgia – a relatively small country – is startling. We are further south here than subtropical Batumi, yet, mainly due to altitude, you could’ve convinced me we were in northern Kazakhstan.
Seemingly from nowhere, significant infrastructure appeared. This was Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and its massive, empty shunting and gauge switching yard. Wikipedia tells me that this line was opened in 2017 to provide a connection between Turkey and Azerbaijan, bypassing the previous route through Armenia which was abandoned due to war. However, it has wider implications for Asia-to-Europe freight and, once again, goes someway to explaining the EU’s faux-overtures to Georgia. When utilising the train ferries of the Caspian, cargo can reach Turkey overland from China through just 3 countries – Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia – negating the need to travel through either Russia or Iran.
Another country with EU ambitions is Armenia and its northern border was the point we’d now reached. However, entry wouldn’t be that straightforward – both for us into the country and Armenia into the European bloc. We had to answer a few questions on why we’d been to Azerbaijan, what we were doing in Armenia afterwards, and provide addresses and contact details for every night we were going to be in the country. Simple busting of balls really and exactly as we’d expected. Anyhow, we were in. Country number 4!
Before 11am, Gyumri loomed down the escarpment. The outskirts were rough and potholed, lined with abandoned industry, and seemingly overflowing with endless deep brown puddles. We weren’t too sure where to get out, but eventually settled on the main road somewhere near the centre. We think we were overcharged but were in no place to argue and for about £12 each to travel for 4 hours and cross a border, we didn’t mind too much. Thankfully, we soon found some lovely walkable streets and a cafe to have tea, coffee, and some waffles. Gyumri is actually a fascinating place – much more on that tomorrow. One immediate thing which jumps out is the unique black and orange colour schemes on many buildings, especially churches, that results from locally quarried rock. My personal highlight though was watching street dogs line up to use the communal water fountains!
We were able to check in early, and have a nap, before being back out to wander the centre in search of dinner. The place we stumbled in to had a great selection of mushrooms on buckwheat, lentil pilaf with dried fruits, mixed veg stew, chickpea fritters, and tolma. Finally, some amazing new flavours!
This evening, for the first time on this trip, I found a football match to go to. SC Shirak were home to Alashkert in the Armenian Premier League. Entry was free but unfortunately there was no escape from the all-pervasive ‘Freed From Desire’, even at the oldest ground in Armenia! I estimate there were approximately 500-600, almost entirely male, fans in attendance who were for the most part drowned out by roosting birds in the park next door. One notable element of fan culture was the constant eating of sunflower seeds and discarding of the shells. Once the sun disappeared behind the Mother Armenia statue, I was glad of the four layers I had. We’re still at 1,500 metres elevation here and the temperature drops quickly in the evenings.
Unfortunately, the game was a drab affair. I’d put the standard somewhere equivalent to 8th or 9th tier football in England. I don’t say that disparagingly, as that’s the level of football I attend and enjoy week in, week out. Things did liven up for the final stages though as a 74th minute red card was given to the visitors, awarded after VAR (!) review. It took me a good while to work out why the ref had come over to the touchline. Imagine VAR in the Isthmian South Central Division and you’d be close to the mark. Still, aside from one decent free kick effort, neither goalkeeper was troubled.