Latest / I Think Less of You Podcast / The Pittsburgh of the South Caucuses

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The Pittsburgh of the South Caucuses · I Think Less of You Podcast

• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: We are in person.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's true.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_01: We are in person.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, it's true.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: Passing a knife back and forth is going to be chaotic.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: Where are we?
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_02: So now.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_02: That's like a microphone back in Forrest's.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_02: We are here.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_02: We have come to the beautiful city of Yeremet.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_02: Many are calling it,
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_02: if you'll recall,
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_02: many are calling Yeremet the Pittsburgh of the South Caucasus.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_02: This is an organic thing.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_02: It's all over the place.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_02: Just everyone knows this.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_02: The Yeremet of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania of the South Caucasus.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_02: Is this correct?
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_03: It is absolutely not correct.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_03: I really brought you here.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_03: You said this to her tour guide.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_03: It horrified me.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_03: I was so embarrassed.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_03: We're sitting here with our guest who has brought us to Armenia.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_03: And you called it Pittsburgh.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_03: And I was mortified.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_02: But thanks.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_02: But I meant it in the nicest way because,
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_02: yeah,
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_02: I actually,
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_02: anyone who follows me on Twitter will know.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_02: I actually, I really like, really like Pittsburgh.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm from the Pittsburgh area originally.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_02: And what I meant by it is that, hey, it's hilly.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_02: Pittsburgh is also very mountainous and hilly.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_02: It's a...
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_02: It's a very nice city,
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_02: but it's not like...
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like a lot of the more international cities like New York,
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_02: Los Angeles,
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_02: that...
• 1:51
  They have become more kind of Disneyland versions of cities
• 1:56
  where it's not like a
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_02: working city where people live and go about their lives.
• 2:01
  It's a place that is geared towards to attract the wealthiest
• 2:04
  people from all over
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_02: the country,
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_02: indeed all over the world,
• 2:07
  to come and spend their money and then maybe buy an
• 2:10
  extraordinarily expensive
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_02: townhouse.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_02: But here it's just people.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_02: It's just working people who are going about their lives.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_02: You see them on the street.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_02: You see them in the markets.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_02: I think that's really cool.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_03: All right.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_03: We are in Yerevan,
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_03: Armenia for this episode,
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_03: as you have heard from our witty as of yet to be recorded intro.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_03: We are here with my friend Charles.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_03: At an alien.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_03: At an alien.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_03: I'm sorry.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_03: So Armenian words are not the easiest for me,
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_03: although I have been saying merci shot very well,
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_03: which is kind of like many things.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_03: We are here with Charles.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_03: Charles started his company called Noi Travels.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_03: Noi is Armenian for NOAA.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_03: And Charles is going to talk a little bit about why we're here,
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_03: what brought us to Armenia,
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_03: why Armenia,
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_03: why
• 3:09
  Why we think more people need to travel to Armenia and learn
• 3:13
  not only about
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_03: Armenia's history,
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_03: but early Christian history.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_03: And with that, I'm going to kick it over to Charles.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: OK, thank you.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well, first, thanks for coming.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: I am an Armenian American.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: I am extremely proud to be both.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: And one of my missions now is to invite other Americans who are,
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: Christian,
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: spiritual,
• 3:36
  and want to visit a country that has had a lot of influence and
• 3:41
  has a lot of
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: historical importance when it comes to Christianity.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: And
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: We are actually known as the first Christian nation.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: We were converted in 301 by the apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew.
• 3:57
  Which were of particular interest to me because we have quite a
• 4:02
  few Thaddeuses in
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_03: my church family.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome name.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: I actually wanted to name my son Thaddeus, but it didn't make the cut.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: You got overruled?
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I got overruled.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_03: My friend's first son was named Thaddeus,
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_03: and it's my daughter's godmother's first son is Thaddeus,
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_03: so kind of.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: My wife didn't want him to be called Teddy.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Thad.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, they didn't want that for our friends.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_03: And I was like, yeah, it's going to happen.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_03: It's fine.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_03: My husband calls him Thadpole.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: So it was probably a good pick on her part.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, she makes good decisions.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: One being marry me.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: So, again, thanks for being here.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: And this country is wonderful.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: It has a lot to offer.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: And not many Americans know about it.
• 4:45
  Aside from its historical importance,
• 4:47
  as I mentioned,
• 4:49
  it's just a fun place.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: The people warm.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot to do.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: We have mountains.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: We have lakes.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: We have wine country.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Courtney, did you speak about the food or not yet?
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: Not yet.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: Not in a way anyone could hear.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: So we've been eating quite a bit.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: It is actually,
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: people think that it's kind of in the middle of nowhere,
• 5:14
  but actually it's very much in the crossroads of many different
• 5:18
  countries,
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: cultures,
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: and you get a little bit of everything here,
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: which makes it that much more interesting to visit.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's pretty inexpensive.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: Getting here can be a little bit time consuming, but there are
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: The flights are often.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: You can fly through Europe.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: Georgia's really close, so there's a lot to do up north.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't quite say the same for east and west.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_03: Well, you could go east, but west is a little.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, as Americans, we could do both.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_03: But I wanted to say when you said it can take a while to get here,
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_03: it actually was only two flights for me to get here from Denver,
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_03: Colorado.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, awesome.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 6:00
  I flew direct to Frankfurt,
• 6:03
  and then it's just a really short flight from Frankfurt over.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_03: You can also usually one-hop through Istanbul.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_03: That gets a little bit interesting, seeing as...
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_03: The Turks are not always seen in the best light in Armenia,
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_03: but there are daily flights from Istanbul to Zvarnac Airport.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: You can notice that perfectly.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_03: Yes!
• 6:29
  For not being able to pronounce your last name,
• 6:31
  I can do the airport really well.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_03: Um,
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_03: there is also a,
• 6:36
  I want to say it's four times a week direct flight from Los
• 6:39
  Angeles to Yerevan
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_03: again on Turkish airline,
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_03: um,
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_03: from LAX to Zvarnats.
• 6:45
  And then you can go through,
• 6:47
  um,
• 6:48
  if you go through Georgia,
• 6:49
  it's about a five hour drive.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_03: It's a six hour train ride or like a 40 minute flight.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and flying through Georgia again, really simple.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_03: You can go through Istanbul, you can fly through Warsaw, um,
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_03: I know there's also like Vienna and Brussels.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_03: Paris.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_03: It's actually really... Yeah, Frankfurt is where I connected through.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_03: There's also Munich through both Tbilisi and Yerevan.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_03: But you can get tickets.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_03: I think Lee's ticket was...
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_03: Comfortably under $1,000.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_03: So if you're looking at prices,
• 7:28
  especially when you're looking at really nice hotel rooms for
• 7:30
  like $100 to $150 a
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_03: night,
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_03: comparatively,
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_03: even with the flights,
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_03: you can save a lot of money versus,
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_03: say,
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_03: spending the exact same amount on a flight to Paris.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_03: And then having to spend like thousands of dollars a day.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_03: And it's really comparable.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_03: You get a lot better service.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_03: You have amazing fresh food.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_03: And it is so, so much less expensive.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_02: Yes,
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_02: that was...
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_02: Courtney naturally focuses on the food and the hotel accommodation,
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_02: which is all important,
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_02: don't get me wrong.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_02: I am... But, yes, the money here is called the DRAM.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_02: DRAM?
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_02: DRAM?
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: DRAM, yeah.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: DRAM?
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_02: It's like .0027 cents per dollar or something.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_02: DRAM.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_02: It's an incredibly tiny amount.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_02: So...
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_02: Your dollar goes a very long way here.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um,
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_02: But the history,
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_02: as I'm a history wonk,
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_02: I don't think anyone who has followed me for any time will know.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_02: The history here to me is that,
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_02: like,
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_02: you know,
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_02: we were,
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_02: over the last few days,
• 8:39
  we've been walking through churches that were built in the 4th
• 8:43
  century AD.
• 8:45
  We were walking through areas that had been built in the
• 8:50
  prehistoric times at points.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and it was, you could touch the things.
• 8:59
  They don't have the restrictions that in a lot of things in
• 9:03
  Western Europe,
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_02: especially because they already have such established,
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_02: um,
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_02: Such established tourism and history tourism especially,
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_02: they're very wary about people accidentally damaging their food,
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_02: understandably,
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_02: because they have such massive crowds going through.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_02: And they have large crowds here,
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_02: but it's not nearly to the same scale because,
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_02: again,
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_02: many people don't know about Armenia at all.
• 9:27
  especially in america i think that outside of the armenian
• 9:29
  diaspora in america it's
• 9:30
  just not some place people think about uh so you have all of
• 9:34
  these things that in
• 9:35
  any other most other places you wouldn't be able to get near
• 9:37
  you're able to walk up
• 9:38
  and like touch the carvings which i is just it's so weird you
• 9:42
  can touch cuneiform
• 9:44
  carvings in stone blocks from thousands and thousands of years
• 9:50
  ago it's crazy
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: Well,
• 9:53
  that's the one thing where Lee and I actually got along is I
• 9:56
  love ancient history,
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: Neolithic,
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: you name it.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: And it was great to have someone along that appreciated just as much.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: But like you said,
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: like 5,000 years ago or 4,700 years ago,
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: you touch history here,
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: which is great.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: And the people are pretty chill about everything.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: They've been very, very accommodating.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: Our guides here have been excellent.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: Sona has never—I don't think she knows the word no.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_03: No, we threw crazy requests at her, like, can we do this or this or this?
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_03: And she was like, oh, yeah, it's like a phone call.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_03: It's really easy.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_03: Our guides have been spectacular, which—
• 10:39
  We'll kind of get back to Noy's mission and purpose and kind of
• 10:44
  some of the people
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_03: that you're working with and why we want to bring more Americans here.
• 10:50
  But all of this to just kind of underscore how fantastic we
• 10:54
  think Armenia is for a
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_03: travel destination outside of the early Christian history,
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_03: which is what actually brought us here.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah,
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: so there's plenty of history,
• 11:08
  but I also don't want to pigeonhole it because there is just a
• 11:11
  lot of fun.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: There's good nightlife.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, tonight we're going to a jazz club.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: And jazz has been here since, what was it, around the First World War?
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Somehow it made it here,
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: and it's thrived,
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: and we export it now,
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: too,
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: to especially neighboring countries.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: There is, I mean, like...
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: outdoor activities where we're saying sports.
• 11:34
  You can rent helicopters,
• 11:36
  which is a little bit shishi,
• 11:37
  but you can do it if you want.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: There's canoeing.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's so much to do.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: And coming back to,
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: I won't go into the food portion of it,
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: but the history of winemaking here is something that
• 11:50
  you can tie the ancient to the current because they have a very
• 11:54
  amazing...
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: Well,
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: it's small,
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: it's growing,
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: but a very ancient history of making wine.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: Courtney is very pro-Georgia,
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: and so there's a little bit of...
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_03: I've been indoctrinated to the Georgian being the oldest winemaker claim.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_03: I will say that...
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_03: We visited here in Armenia.
• 12:19
  We went to this amazing archaeological site yesterday and
• 12:25
  tasted wine completely.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_03: Made in this style that people made wine there.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_03: It was the oldest complete farm to table,
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_03: if you will say,
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_03: wine experience that you would have in the Caucasus.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_03: There are some wine,
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_03: the large wine barrels in Georgia that are older,
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_03: but there's no evidence of it being like a set winery or something.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_03: It's just some clay vessels that are older.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: The place is called R&E Cave.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: So it's an archaeological site.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: Super cool.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: Super cool.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: But it's a museum now as well.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: You get to go into the cave,
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: and they've got what are called caresses,
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: but they're ancient clay jugs that are buried in the ground,
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: and they go through the process.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: But it really is like walking into the past and through history.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: And then when you get out of it,
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: you're like,
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: oh,
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: yeah,
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: we have our own indigenous grape that they used to use.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: And so the locals are making it in the fashion of the ancient people,
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: but also they have their new thriving wine industry.
• 13:31
  So,
• 13:32
  yeah,
• 13:32
  so you're going to get a little drunk when you come here,
• 13:35
  if you choose to.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_03: And everybody should.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_03: That's why we're here.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_02: The nice thing here is that there's a lot of food, a lot of wine.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_02: You can, you know, eat and drink.
• 13:45
  But then you don't really have to worry that much about
• 13:48
  calories if you're out
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_02: looking at the big sites because it is incredibly hilly here.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_02: So you're going to be working off a lot, climbing the stairs.
• 14:00
  They don't have escalators up these mountains to go look at
• 14:04
  these churches.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_02: You're walking.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_02: You're walking up all those stairs, which is daunting.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_02: I will admit,
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_02: as a sedentary person,
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_02: such as myself,
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_02: looking at giant sets of stone stairs,
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_02: daunting,
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_02: but worth it.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_02: And also,
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_02: again,
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_02: I could justify having,
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_02: you know,
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_02: eaten ridiculous amounts of very good food by saying,
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_02: well,
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_02: you know,
• 14:27
  I walked up 200 stairs to go look at an 1800-year-old church or
• 14:34
  whatever.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_03: I don't want this to sway people from coming here.
• 14:39
  I do work out at home,
• 14:41
  and even though I'm rotund,
• 14:44
  the stairs weren't that big a deal.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_03: Granted, I live at altitude, and we are at altitude now.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_03: I was a mountain goat trucking up.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_03: You did much better in the cold, though.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_03: I have been a wuss this trip and I was complaining about the cold.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_03: We were at Lake Sivan yesterday and actually this was amazing.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_03: It was really windy.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_03: It was super, super cold.
• 15:06
  And we're walking up this hill and there's a bunch of Russians
• 15:10
  and Armenian shopkeepers around.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm wearing two jackets, a sweater, a long-sleeve shirt.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_03: Like, I'm super bundled up.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_03: I had a beanie on.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_03: And you were in a T-shirt.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_02: I was in a button.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_02: I don't wear a T-shirt.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, sorry.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_03: A short-sleeve button-up shirt.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_03: And all of these men,
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_03: like,
• 15:30
  large Russian men and really large Armenian men are just
• 15:34
  running after you like...
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_03: Are you OK?
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_03: Are you OK?
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_03: Like there was one man who was taking his jacket off.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_03: He was so concerned that you were going to freeze at the top.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_03: And you just looked at me like, I'm fine.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_03: I'm fine.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_03: I'm not cold.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_03: I wasn't cold.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: Speaking of the legend of the American bear man.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_03: Didn't you tell some women that his mom was half bear or something?
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_03: It's fine.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_03: His mom's a bear.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_03: No, but, you know, that just even speaks back to how warm Armenians are.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_03: There were people taking off their jackets,
• 16:07
  trying to throw their jacket on you because they just want you
• 16:11
  to have a great
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_03: experience and they really want you...
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_03: To experience Armenia in a way,
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_03: when you go to Western Europe,
• 16:19
  so many locals really resent tourism and are really rude and
• 16:26
  just brash about
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_03: tourists.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_03: And here,
• 16:29
  they're running up a hillside to put a jacket on you because
• 16:32
  they want you to have
• 16:33
  the best experience at this ancient monastery overlooking one
• 16:39
  of the largest
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_03: freshwater lakes in the world.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_03: They just...
• 16:42
  It's a completely different way to travel and one that I really
• 16:47
  hope after
• 16:49
  listening to this episode and then future episodes that we talk
• 16:52
  about Armenia,
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_03: many of our followers will look at coming to Armenia.
• 16:58
  I don't think it,
• 16:59
  if I may add,
• 17:01
  I think it's part,
• 17:02
  this Christianity is part of the people too.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: They're not just, you know, buildings and church and monasteries.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, they're very humble people.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: Humility is definitely baked into the culture here.
• 17:14
  And I always say like they kill you with kindness here is
• 17:17
  because they constantly
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: ask you,
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: are you okay?
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: What can we do?
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: What can we do?
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: So you don't find that that much.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we've all been to Paris or France.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, those who have been there,
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: will tell you, like, they chase away.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_03: That's your French name on Twitter.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: Well, they chase you away there sometimes.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: It can be a bit bad with tourists, but here they're very welcoming.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I thought it was, I can't remember which, was it Sonia?
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_02: No, it was the other one.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_02: Marina.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_02: Marina.
• 17:46
  She was,
• 17:47
  she had an offhanded comment,
• 17:48
  but I actually thought it was very interesting.
• 17:50
  She was talking about how being Christian is somewhat,
• 17:55
  is intrinsic to the Armenian identity.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_02: Basically, it is such an ancient concept.
• 18:03
  that Armenians are Christian and that despite the Soviets
• 18:09
  certainly were very
• 18:10
  interested in separating this because there was no religion in
• 18:14
  the Soviet Union.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_02: The Soviet Union was the union of the modern man.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_02: But even through all that,
• 18:20
  they didn't sever it just because to be an Armenian is to be a
• 18:25
  Christian and has
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_02: been for pretty much the entirety of the modern era.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_02: Uh,
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_02: so I,
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_02: I,
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_02: and I thought that was really,
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_02: and I think that that shows a lot in that they very much do.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_02: I like,
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_02: you know,
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_02: that's,
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_02: I,
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_02: I know that we are,
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_02: the hotel we're staying in the,
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_02: uh,
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_02: how do you pronounce it?
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_02: The Fankian?
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_02: The Fankian.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_02: The Fankian.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um, which is in downtown Yerevan.
• 18:50
  Across the street,
• 18:50
  there's a,
• 18:51
  uh,
• 18:52
  there's a,
• 18:52
  we're talking a flea market bazaar.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um, what's it called?
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_02: The Fankian.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_02: The Fankian.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and, uh,
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_02: I noticed that it's a high-trust society.
• 19:04
  If you look at night,
• 19:06
  a lot of the stands in this outdoor market,
• 19:10
  they don't take their stuff.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_02: They don't take their wares home.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_02: They cover up their wares with a towel.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_02: They throw a sheet of plastic over in case it rains, and they go home.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_02: You don't see that in America.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_02: And that's...
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_02: I think that that is a—for such an intrinsically Christian nation,
• 19:29
  I think that is a statement about the level of Christian trust
• 19:33
  and that they
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_02: understand and trust that their neighbors aren't out to steal from them,
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_02: aren't out to take their stuff.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_02: And I would—
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_02: I've seen many impressive things here.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_02: That is one of the more impressive things that I've seen,
• 19:48
  that level of trust in your fellows within the country to not
• 19:55
  to not steal from
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_02: you.
• 19:57
  Well,
• 19:57
  if I can just add to that,
• 19:59
  one of our historical legacies is that is martyrdom.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we've been we've managed to prevail.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: because of our deep faith, but we've had to pay a price for it.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: So even today when we went to Etchmiadzin,
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: they said how rarely the Catholicists,
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: the head of our church,
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: the equivalent to the Pope,
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: they don't really canonize them that much.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: But was it 2015,
• 20:23
  he did one mass canonization for one and a half million
• 20:26
  Armenians that perished
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_00: during the Armenian genocide.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: And that's very much for their faith.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: So we're used to that.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes it can be our Achilles heel.
• 20:36
  being overly humble can sometimes turn the other cheek will
• 20:41
  come at your own peril.
• 20:44
  But we've survived for millennia,
• 20:48
  decades,
• 20:49
  last decade,
• 20:49
  especially after the Soviet.
• 20:51
  And the other thing is there's a lot of Armenians here and it's
• 20:56
  actually kind of a small city.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: So it's kind of a big community.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: So if anyone does steal,
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: they're going to know that person's mother.
• 21:03
  They're going to find the guy and the mother's going to,
• 21:07
  you know,
• 21:08
  definitely.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_03: No, it's so true, especially walking around with one of our guides.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_03: Everywhere we go, she knows everybody.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_03: Like she's hugging everyone like, oh, hey, good to see you here again.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_03: And it does feel like that very close knit.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_03: I felt like that a lot when I have gone through Israel.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_03: I've had a lot of experiences where people are like,
• 21:31
  Once we had a photographer traveling with our group and we sat
• 21:34
  down at a Shabbat
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_03: dinner and she was outside smoking.
• 21:37
  She comes in,
• 21:38
  sits down at the table,
• 21:39
  looks at the guy who's hosting it sitting next to me.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_03: And she's like, you were my roommate a few years ago.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_03: It just it's the world is really small in a lot of these countries,
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_03: which is something I really,
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_03: really appreciate.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_03: And there is a lot more to that conversation.
• 21:55
  To it being such a proudly Christian country that a lot of that
• 22:00
  trust and a lot of
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_03: the shared history in that really small community,
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_03: just you have to experience it.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_03: It's so much fun.
• 22:10
  Lee and I were walking this morning and I was talking about I
• 22:13
  love America.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_03: I love being American.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_03: And also, I do feel like we miss a lot of that in America.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_03: And I love traveling to countries where that does exist.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_03: And it makes me happy to be an American to go home and,
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_03: like,
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_03: have really fabulous bathrooms everywhere I go.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_03: And also, I'm really sad that we don't have a lot of this community.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_03: So many Americans move all over America.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_03: Both America and the world for work and for all of these things,
• 22:42
  we don't build community and prioritize community like a lot of
• 22:47
  Eastern European or
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_03: post-Soviet countries do.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_00: And the other thing, coming back to humility, they don't expect tip here.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: there's been times where I've like offered to tip and they're like,
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: no,
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: no,
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: no,
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: no,
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: keep it.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: Are you kidding?
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: No, absolutely not.
• 23:04
  I mean,
• 23:04
  they don't mind it,
• 23:06
  but they'll take it,
• 23:06
  but you have to push it on them.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that's one of the good things where when I travel,
• 23:11
  it's like not knowing tipping culture and how many percent and
• 23:13
  it gets a little
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: embarrassing to ask.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: But you go to a restaurant, you pay what you see on the bill and that's –
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: As a traveler, that can be a cool little point.
• 23:25
  Yeah,
• 23:25
  no,
• 23:25
  the service has all been,
• 23:29
  as we've said before,
• 23:30
  the people have all been delightful.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_02: The service has all been exceptional.
• 23:40
  People here often don't speak English,
• 23:42
  which is something you should be aware of.
• 23:44
  I think that as Americans,
• 23:46
  we tend to assume that wherever we go,
• 23:49
  let me get along.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_02: You can get along.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_02: You can get along fine.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_02: If you go into the grocery store, you can indicate what you need.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_02: They will understand.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_02: They're not as stupid people by any means.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_02: Usually there will be someone around who does speak English.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_03: It's so much better than Western Europe,
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_03: especially if you're in France,
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_03: especially if you're in Belgium somewhere,
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_03: or Germany,
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_03: they will not speak to you.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_03: Most people here know a little bit of it.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, but I'm going to say, if you expect that everyone...
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_02: I think Americans,
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_02: we tend to think that because here,
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_02: if you let me get to my point,
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_02: Armenia is in the cultural and historical sphere of Russia.
• 24:39
  So a lot of what our expectations may be as Americans going to
• 24:45
  a place is that
• 24:47
  everywhere is in the cultural and social and historical sphere
• 24:51
  of Western Europe
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_02: and America.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_02: That isn't the case here.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_02: Everyone here speaks Russian.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_02: Russian, in many ways, is the lingua franca of the region.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_02: So you will be able to get by on English,
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_02: certainly,
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_02: that people understand that English is an important language,
• 25:09
  but English isn't the dominant cultural language here that
• 25:13
  everyone is expected to
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_02: understand.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_02: If you...
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_02: There are so many Russians.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_02: That is the thing that really stands out.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_02: I haven't,
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_02: even before the current unpleasantness between Russia and Ukraine,
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_02: you don't see that many Russians in America.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_02: Like in New York,
• 25:34
  there are Russian enclaves in New York City where obviously
• 25:37
  you're going to see
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_02: more Russians.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_02: But still,
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_02: just out and about,
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_02: the tour groups are all,
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_02: for the most part,
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_02: all Russians,
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_02: which is just strange to see to me.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: Well,
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: they also,
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: after the Ukraine war,
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_00: a lot of the Russians escaped to Armenia,
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: especially those that felt they were persecuted,
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: which speaks a lot to Armenia saying that they considered a safe haven.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: There are also a lot of Western Armenians like myself that,
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: there's a huge community in Los Angeles.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: So you'll find a lot.
• 26:08
  I mean,
• 26:08
  the signs are all in English,
• 26:10
  Armenian and Russian,
• 26:11
  which is very helpful.
• 26:12
  And if you're in Yerevan,
• 26:13
  the capital city,
• 26:16
  any restaurant you go to,
• 26:17
  people will speak.
• 26:19
  There's a lot of our American English speakers,
• 26:22
  excuse me,
• 26:23
  French speakers,
• 26:24
  obviously Russian.
• 26:25
  So in that sense,
• 26:26
  it's quite,
• 26:27
  for such a small city,
• 26:27
  it's pretty international.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_00: But you're right about something that's important to me is,
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: one of the missions of Yerevan.
• 26:35
  uh no travels and that is opening up the west further when i
• 26:39
  say west like america
• 26:40
  specifically europeans uh i mean they know the history uh
• 26:45
  there's a lot of i mean
• 26:46
  today for instance we saw a group from norway uh who would have
• 26:49
  ever thought that
• 26:49
  but uh we see i mean portuguese obviously a lot of french
• 26:53
  because of the diaspora
• 26:55
  um the immune diaspora there uh but i'm not here i'm here as an
• 26:59
  american as i said
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: earlier like i'm equally proud to be an american
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't want American Armenians just to be known as,
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: oh,
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: sorry,
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: the Armenians to be,
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_00: oh,
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_00: those poor people died from,
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: a genocide.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_00: We have so much more to offer here.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: And,
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: coming back to the religious portion of it is like,
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: the apostles went through here,
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: you wake up like this morning,
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: we took a bus ride to Etch-Miazine,
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_00: which is the Vatican equivalent of the Vatican City.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_00: And we saw Mount Ararat,
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: which in the Old Testament is where Noah's Ark landed.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: Americans,
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: Christian Americans,
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_00: and most Christians around the world don't know this,
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: and it's important Christian heritage.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to really broadcast that to people.
• 27:46
  So that's one of the big missions of Noir Travels is to bring
• 27:50
  American eyes and let
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: them enjoy something that is off the beaten track,
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: and they'll have a lot of fun.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_03: I like that your watch is telling us what time it is.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_03: That was great.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_03: That's some nice texture for the background.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's why we're here.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_03: I can tell that, you know, we've
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_03: In the background,
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_03: I can hear when you've been meeting with shopkeepers,
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_03: kind of telling them what we're doing,
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_03: why we're here and saying like,
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_03: oh,
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_03: they're American and influencers and trying to get Americans here.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_03: And you see people light up immediately.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_03: It's like, oh, Americans.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_03: So there is that really heavy Russian influence.
• 28:35
  But you can tell that the market is primed for American tourism
• 28:39
  and really welcomes
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_03: and looks forward to American tourism,
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_03: which is the main reason that we are here.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_03: We're trying to get more Americans to come and see this,
• 28:53
  to come and touch history and really understand this beautiful
• 28:58
  country and
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_03: everything that it contributed to our history.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I thought it was interesting.
• 29:05
  If you go in Western Europe a lot of the time,
• 29:07
  people will ask you about American politics.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_02: They'll like,
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_02: you know,
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_02: when I've been in Ireland,
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_02: when I've been in England,
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_02: I will inevitably get questions about like,
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_02: oh,
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_02: but what Trump's doing.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_02: Nobody has brought up American politics.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_02: They got their own stuff going on here.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_02: There have been like a few oblique references here and there, but...
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_02: They don't assume that I am the avatar of America,
• 29:34
  that I can answer their – because they aren't just consumed
• 29:39
  clearly by what's
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_02: happening in America,
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_02: which is entertaining because we're – we must say we border Iran.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_02: Armenia does, in fact, have a land border with Iran.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_02: It is a relatively small border in the deep south of the country.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_02: But obviously –
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_02: Iran and America's actions there are very important to them,
• 30:03
  but they don't always assume that I can tell them what Trump's
• 30:06
  policy is going to
• 30:07
  be going forward on the region because I'm just some guy
• 30:10
  wandering through.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_02: And I appreciate that, that it's not—
• 30:15
  They don't hate America and wants to place all what their
• 30:20
  perceived evils of
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_02: America on me like they do when I go to Ireland,
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_02: like when I go to England.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_02: So that has been very nice.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah,
• 30:30
  like I was in Bilbao last year and I was in Bilbao last year
• 30:38
  and I we were walking
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_03: through Guernica,
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_03: actually.
• 30:41
  And I was stopped by this British man and he's like,
• 30:46
  oh,
• 30:46
  I hear your accents.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_03: What are what are your thoughts about the election?
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_03: How's it going to go?
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_03: What's going on?
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_03: And it was like.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_03: Man, I'm just here.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_03: I'm standing in Guernica.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_03: I'm not a German.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_03: I didn't bomb this city.
• 31:00
  Why do you have to...
• 31:04
  I looked at him and I said,
• 31:06
  Oh,
• 31:07
  I actually used to work in politics.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_03: politics is kind of a side job for me.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_03: If you would like a consultation,
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_03: you can give me a Venmo and we can stand here and talk about this.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_03: And he was so pissed that I mentioned that.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_03: But I was like, dude, I'm on vacation.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_03: Why are you bringing this up?
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_03: But so that that is a really good point here.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_03: We've heard and I've
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_03: been following the prime minister of Armenia.
• 31:29
  So I've been asking a lot of political questions and kind of
• 31:32
  making jokes about Pashinyan.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_03: Did I pronounce that one?
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 31:38
  He does the little heart hands on the bus and has the disco bus
• 31:41
  videos and eating
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_03: pies on bus videos.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_03: But I'm hearing lots of people's commentary on him and his moves and
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_03: And it's been really refreshing just being like,
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_03: hey,
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_03: we're really messed up,
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_03: but I want to hear about how you are messed up.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_03: Instead of everyone being like, you're American.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_03: I hate Trump.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_03: I hate this.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_03: I hate that.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's nice.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we're a small country.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_00: That's the other benefit, like I was saying earlier.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_00: And by the way, there's the diaspora, the Armenian diaspora.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_00: There's a huge diaspora in America.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_00: There's like over, when I say huge, like over 2 million people.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_00: But then we have a diaspora in France.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_00: We have a diaspora in Russia.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_00: We have a diaspora in the Middle East.
• 32:21
  So it's actually quite an international city for being such a
• 32:24
  small city.
• 32:27
  And that is why,
• 32:29
  you know,
• 32:29
  we get a lot of tourists,
• 32:31
  but not as many Americans as I'd like.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: Coming back to it, that is Noi Travel's mission.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_00: And,
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_00: the packages we have too,
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_00: it's not,
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_00: you can be a heavily spiritual package where you visit a lot of churches,
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: go to all the major sites,
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_00: but then you can also,
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_00: like I said,
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_00: sample the fun.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_00: You can sample the food.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_00: You can go to...
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_00: The different wineries on the way.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_00: I've, in America, never had a crayfish kebab.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_00: These are good.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_00: That was my new favorite dish.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_00: It is so good.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_00: Never seen it before.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_00: Love it.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_00: So we're experiencing or discovering new things myself.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, no.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_02: The food here, it's like, you know...
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_02: Mediterranean-ish, but it's its own thing.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_02: It's like,
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_02: you know,
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_02: a fusion of...
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_02: Armenia was...
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_02: It was along the Silk Road back long,
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_02: long ago.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_02: It is surrounded by very different cultures.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_02: And I think, like, you know...
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_02: The cultures around it have absorbed much from the Armenians.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_02: The Armenians have absorbed much from the cultures around them.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_02: So it's very much a melting pot-ish idea where you're getting these,
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_02: over millennia,
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_02: these various elements fusing into each other.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, a lot of the food feels very Levantine.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_03: There's a really strong emphasis on fresh vegetables.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_03: We were just given herbs at meals,
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_03: handed a piece of lavash,
• 34:06
  and we're rolling fresh herbs in bread and just making a little
• 34:10
  snack with that.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_03: There's amazing, amazing cheese, so much cheese everywhere around us.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_03: Um,
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_03: there's some sheep's cheese,
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_03: but it's been mostly cow cheese,
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_03: although it's,
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_03: um,
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_03: aged in a way that's kind of like a sheep's or a goat's cheese,
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_03: just really,
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_03: really fresh.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_03: Um, we got to visit a cheesemaker yesterday up near Lake Savan.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_03: That was just outrageous.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_03: We walked down into the basement of this really unassuming farm and, um,
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_03: Behind glass, they had tons of wheels of cheese.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_03: They were showing us how they age them and add flavor to them.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_03: We got to sample some of their cured meats.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_03: We've had amazing wine this whole trip.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_03: We are now definitely Armenian white wine connoisseurs.
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_03: We got to sample brandy.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_03: We went to Ararat, which is...
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_03: is rumored to be Winston Churchill's favorite brandy.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_03: It was actually served at the Conference of Yalta.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_03: There's just so much to offer in Armenia.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_03: And I know we're going to talk about this on a lot more episodes.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_03: But I was really excited to have Charles here with us today.
• 35:19
  And just if you have anything else you want to add about Noi
• 35:23
  specifically,
• 35:24
  that we can...
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_03: Get while we're here to pick your reins.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean, if you have any questions, it's noytravels.com.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_00: You can go and check out the website.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_00: You can reach out directly to me at charles at noytravels.com.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_00: You can go see the different packages.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_00: The visuals are great.
• 35:43
  So you kind of can see beforehand the different sites,
• 35:47
  the excursion packages.
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_00: I got to say coming back, our tour guys are excellent.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_00: Their English is seconded.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_00: Their historical knowledge is great.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_00: But aside from that, they're just like sweet people.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_00: And you're just going to have you're going to be welcomed.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_00: And that's sort of.
• 36:07
  what Noi Travelers are trying to provide is just like,
• 36:10
  we want people to come here.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_00: We want Americans to see.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_00: And,
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_00: whether it's your church group,
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_00: whether it is just,
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_00: your communities,
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_00: speak to your pastors,
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_00: I'm hoping that when people start do coming,
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_00: they can just spread the word and say,
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_00: hey,
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_00: maybe this should be an actual pilgrimage site.
• 36:29
  I mean,
• 36:30
  I've spoken to a lot of other travelers,
• 36:33
  especially faith-based travelers,
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_00: And obviously a lot of people have gone to Israel,
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_00: a lot of people have gone to the Vatican,
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_00: but this should be like in the top four,
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_00: top three pilgrimage sites because of its importance,
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_00: its Christian importance.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_00: So,
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_00: and your travels,
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_00: that is our mission is to pass that along,
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_00: like make,
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_00: use my little platform here.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_00: to just let Americans know that there is a rich Christian history.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um,
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_00: it's,
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_00: it's,
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_00: it's totally worth it to come here and you'll be speaking about it for,
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 37:07
  SPEAKER_00: uh,
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_00: to your friends and,
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_00: um,
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_00: yeah.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope,
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_00: uh,
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you,
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_00: whoever's listening gets a little bit adventurous,
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_00: wants to try something a little bit different and we're here to help.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_03: And I just have to, well, second something that you just said.
• 37:23
  Firstly,
• 37:23
  I first came to Armenia in 2016,
• 37:28
  and I've been talking about it every day since.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_03: I absolutely love coming to the Caucasus.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_03: And I do just have to say it feels really far, but it's not at all.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_03: It feels very safe.
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_03: It feels very welcoming.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_03: And
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_03: And as someone who goes to Western Europe,
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_03: a couple of times a year,
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_03: I can't say that about Germany anymore.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_03: I can't say that about France anymore.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_03: My beloved Poland will always be safe.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_03: But so much of the Western European sphere doesn't feel safe.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_03: I got into my hotel at like 530 in the morning.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_03: I'm the only person walking around and I felt completely safe as a woman.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_03: I don't feel safe.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_03: in pre-dawn in Paris walking around.
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm not like a small woman.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_03: Like, I'm an old mom.
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_03: No one's going to mess with me.
• 38:19
  But I don't feel safe like that in Western Europe in a way that
• 38:23
  I would here.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_03: I'm not saying that anyone should,
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_03: but I would feel safe being drunk and walking home from a bar in the
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_03: I wouldn't say that about my own town in Colorado.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_03: And I live in a super safe town.
• 38:40
  There is something about being here and there is something with
• 38:43
  having a primarily
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_03: Christian population and a really,
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_03: really dedicated,
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_03: faithful population that it's just magic coming here.
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_03: So hopefully...
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_03: After hearing this,
• 38:56
  you guys will want to hear more from our travels in Armenia and
• 39:01
  look into going to
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_03: Armenia.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_03: It really is a lot easier than it feels.
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_02: That said,
• 39:07
  I do think that Charles would agree that if people want to just
• 39:14
  come on their own,
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_02: that's fun.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_02: If listening to this makes you say,
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_02: you know what,
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_02: I could put together a package for myself just fine for a cheaper price,
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_02: the goal of this is to get people to come here.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_02: So if that's how you want to do it, there's a but, but...
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_02: Having the,
• 39:31
  SPEAKER_02: like I said,
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_02: it isn't guaranteed that you're going to speak to,
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_02: will we speak,
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_02: will be able to speak English.
• 39:37
  Having a guide who can do the translation for you,
• 39:39
  who can explain the stuff to you.
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_02: It is so much better to have a knowledgeable guide who knows,
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_02: but the guides we've had have been fantastic.
• 39:48
  So you go up to the place rather than looking at what's going
• 39:52
  on around you.
• 39:53
  You're staring at your phone trying to open up the Wikipedia
• 39:56
  page so you can see
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_02: what's going on with this place.
• 39:58
  It's great having a knowledgeable guide who can explain to you
• 40:02
  the history of this
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_02: place,
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_02: why it's significant,
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_02: why it looks like that.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_02: The year that the earthquake happened,
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_02: knocked this one down,
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_02: how you can tell what was reconstructed.
• 40:13
  SPEAKER_02: It is so much better to have a person who is driving you,
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_02: because I will tell you,
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_02: the driving here is nuts.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_02: They all seem fine with it.
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_02: They all get along fine.
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_02: I didn't actually see any car accidents,
• 40:25
  SPEAKER_02: which was amazing,
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_02: because they're just forcing themselves into the trial.
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_02: Having that driver is worth it.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_03: And just to say quickly,
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_03: the time that I came previously to Armenia,
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_03: we did,
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_03: we were with a guide.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_03: I usually do not travel with guides in many countries.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_03: I just kind of rent a car, do it myself.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_03: This is a country that I think you get a lot more out of with a guide,
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_03: just because it can be a little bit complicated,
• 40:56
  SPEAKER_03: especially when you're in post-Soviet states,
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_03: there's a different tempo to
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_03: There's a different feel and it can be really helpful to have.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_03: This is recording.
• 41:11
  SPEAKER_03: It's not advancing.
• 41:13
  It can be really helpful to have someone who knows the pacing
• 41:17
  and the timing,
• 41:18
  who knows to call ahead and have dinner on the table ready for
• 41:21
  you so that you can
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_03: make the next thing.
• 41:25
  SPEAKER_03: If I was here by myself, I think I'd still be at like stop number two.
• 41:28
  So definitely want to go coordinated through a group going
• 41:33
  somewhere like this.
• 41:34
  If you were looking for a longer stay,
• 41:36
  I'd stay like in Yerevan you could do without a guide.
• 41:40
  SPEAKER_03: But anything outside,
• 41:41
  I really would strongly suggest heading to Charles and booking
• 41:47
  one of their
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_03: fantastic guides through Noy.
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we hope to see you back.
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_00: And Courtney, you're definitely going to make it back for sure.
• 41:53
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 41:54
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 41:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm coming back.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's been wonderful to be on this trip with both of you.
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_00: I've learned a lot.
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you so much.
• 42:02
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for being with us.
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_00: I've