As I was leaving Gyumri Sunday afternoon, I had this strange sense that something was missing in the city. It finally dawned on me. What was missing was The 20th Century. Their medieval churches had a new neighbor: the electronics chain I have seen before in Armenia: ZigZag. And the statues in the square honoring their ancient heroes had a new backdrop: Samsung. Yes, the 21st Century featuring a wide array of electronic toys had now arrived in Gyumri.
Yet there seemed to be no bridge from the 20th Century. All the city had to show for that period was the effects of the devastating earthquake of 1988 and the industrial collapse of the USSR in the early 90's. Even with all the humanitarian aid that came to the area after the earthquake to rebuild structures, it is obviously going to take a lot longer to rebuild the economy. Hopefully the future will bring a resolution of their conflict with Turkey and provide an open border to stimulate trade.
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