Overcoming the Past

 

This past weekend I attended a planning session for a youth camp to be held next summer.  About 3 hours to the northeast of my site and adjacent to Armenia's border with Turkey is the City of Gyumri.   Twenty years ago next month, the whole area suffered a devastating earthquake from which both the buildings and the city's economy are still recovering.  

 Having a population of approximately 120,000, Gyumri is the second largest city in Armenia.  At one time the population was twice that size.  As we approached the outskirts of the city on a local "marshutni" (a mini-bus built for 12 that often carries 20 people), several vivid reminders of its history appeared: a very large cemetery and a number of abandoned industrial buildings from the Soviet period.  

 But once we arrived at the bus station, the mood quickly changed.  As I walked the two blocks to the Square, I was suddenly engulfed in a hub of commerce, with tables and kiosks lining both sides of the street.   The vendors on that first block were well aware that winter was just a couple weeks away.  They displayed a vast array of products from sheet metal stove pipes for furnaces to woolen socks and fur-lined boots.  (At 5,000 dram or $15, the boots were more affordable than I expected.) 

 As I moved along to the next block, the more popular Armenian wares appeared: cell phones, woman's fashions and cigarettes.  In addition to their commercial value it was apparent that these two blocks also filled a vital social function for the city's residents.  But not being much of a shopper myself, I was rather relieved to reach the end of the gauntlet and into Freedom Square, appropriately named for my feelings at the time.

 While I waited for fellow Volunteer's bus to arrive, I enjoyed exploring the city streets which offered quite a variety of architectural styles.  As the photos indicate there were many examples of classic 19th Century architecture as well as stark reminders of December 7th, 1988.   My attention was also drawn to one older building whose face was covered with electrical panels. I couldn't decide if this was really some kind of neighborhood transfer station for electricity or the wires were needed to keep the structure standing.

Stepping Over the 20th Century

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.

View from the Top

( I tried to include this photo on my last blog posting but I am still have not mastered the Blog Tools. )

This was our view of our city and the surrounding hills once we completed our hike. It is really beautiful country. The monument seen rising in the distance was built to commemorate 50 years of Armenia belonging to the Soviet Union.

Surrounded by Beauty

So last weekend was the perfect day for a Fall Hike. The sun was out just enough to filter through the trees and highlight the brown leaves on the ground. But fortunately for those of us who do not have access to Gold's Gym, it was not so hot as to further challenge our conditioning.

I will definitely need to post these photos on my Screen Saver once we start into the next season Mother Nature has to offer, which is coming soon they tell me. Not having seen a real winter for 30 years, I will need a "light at the end of the tunnel" .......a tunnel that is supposed to be 5 months long.

My daughter Meghan recently mailed a half-dozen books my way, a birthday present that will provide enjoyment for many winter nights. I have been told it's not the temperature alone is really the problem. (For I do recall my winters in Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota.) Rather it is the absence or limited presence of central heating I am told presents the biggest challenge. In the Midwest there was something wonderful about a fireplace and warming up after a chilly day. While I know it is foolish to "borrow trouble from the future," I heard too many stories from last year's Volunteers that the chill didn't leave their bones for months at a time. I am beginning to understand why some Volunteers found Egypt a wonderful place to visit in ......February or March!

The Garbage and the Flowers

Sometimes in reading the replies from friends to my Blog site, I get the impression that only the Romantic side of my journey is coming through. There is much that is problematic and difficult here but I guess I feel it does little good to dwell on it. But when I was walking home one day this week, I was struck by the stark contrasts in this country: I could stand IN ONE PLACE and get such different pictures! As I stood at the bottom of my street (which in my Midwest childhood, we might call an alley) and looked UP the street and then BACK DOWN the sidewalk from which I had just walked. The visual contrast was so startling that I decided to take photos of it.

When a group of us were traveling in India about this same time last year, we met with a similar experience: the striking beauty and the stark realities of the 3rd World. For those of us who were old enough to remember the Leonard Cohen song from the 70's, Suzanne, these lyrics came to mind.............and she shows you where to look among the garbage and the flowers. I guess that is a choice we get to make every day but sometimes that choice is just more obvious.

The Spirit of a People

It wasn't but a couple days after I posted the photos of my masonry friends finishing the top of the wall lining the river that a huge storm hit the area.  All the dirt they had piled up for their work unfortunately diverted the water coming down the road behind the wall.....and that whole section of the wall tipped over into the river.  Like true construction people, they were back at it the next day, pulling the old wall out of the river and starting over.  

I don't supposed William Faulkner is required reading in Armenian schools but the people surely embody one of his reflections on man:  I believe that man will not merely endure.  He will prevail.  He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.  After 600 years of being ruled by other conquering nations,  one outstanding aspect of Armenia's national character is endurance.  I have a feeling that over the next couple years Americans will have the opportunity, if that's the right word, to grow in this attribute as well.

When I watched the workers slowly re-build the fallen river wall day-by-day, I was reminded of my earlier visit to a local Medieval monastery.  Talk about patience.....I don't know if my photo will show it but these particular building blocks are numbered from 1 to 16 as they work to stablize the foundation of this 12th Century structure.   You can also see the photos of the worker as he moves the blocks....one-at-a-time on a wooden skid back to their original location. 

In addition to the structural work, the construction project involved upgrading the infrastructure leading up the hill to the monastery so that tourists had better access: paved road, electricity, and gas/water lines.  Even more amazing to me was the billboard highlighting this million dollar project, indicating that the funding was sponsored by the Ruler of Sharjah, a member of the Arab Emirates.  In a time of so  much religious and ethnic conflict, I could not help but find hope in an Islamic leader helping to preserve a Christian monastery.