The Bumpy Ride to Yerevan: What Can a Road Trip in Armenia Teach You?

Armenia is rich in history and culture, and a road trip through the country can help you discover more about this amazing place. The historical influence of the Ottoman Empire, blended with the country’s clear collaboration with the Soviet Union, and an ongoing, stoic faith in Christianity makes for an interesting and inspiring road trip to Yerevan—one which should be on the top of any van lifers list—if you can handle the bumpy roads!

The first question I often get asked when talking about my road trip through Europe and Asia is “ … where even is Armenia?” It is a small, landlocked country, which is now only accessible via Georgia by road due to its tumultuous history and current political struggles with its neighbors. Its most notable historical struggle was with Türkiye during the Ottoman Empire, and Armenia currently faces land conflicts with Azerbaijan. This bloody conflict has persisted since Armenia’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Admittedly, this doesn’t sound like a great place for a vacation, but for the travel savvy, this country is a hidden gem with unbelievable landscapes and an interesting (albeit harrowing) history with monasteries that date back to medieval times. On top of that, Armenia has a capital city rich in history and art and it has a surprisingly cosmopolitan feel.

A Brief History of Armenia

The Armenians became incredibly strong under the leadership of Tigranes II during the 1st century BCE, and Armenia once possessed an empire comparable to the ancient Romans and Persians, whom they often fought against for land and resources. During this time, Tigranes II declared the state religion Christianity.

Armenia fell to Constantinople in 387 CE, followed by the arrival of the Arabs in 645 CE, and the country capitulated and its inhabitants dispersed due to the rising influence of Islam. By the 17th century, the Armenians were spread out across the empire of Ottoman Türkiye and the Persian Empire, and some were forced to live in caves in the mountains to remain safe.

They remained under the control of the Persian Empire until 1828 when Russia helped them to regain their territory and return to Christianity. There were, however, still Armenians living in Ottoman Türkiye and when they pushed for more rights, Sultan Abdul Hamid II ordered the massacre of between 80,000 and 300,000 Armenians, thus quashing any chances of better rights for the Armenian people living there.

Following this, during WWI, some Ottoman Armenians attempted to improve their rights once again and sided with Russia in the hope of better conditions and a nation-state. Following this act of disloyalty to the state, the CUP (Committee of Union and Progress — also known as the Young Turks) ordered the deportation of all Armenians living in Ottoman Türkiye. This mass deportation resulted in terrible conditions for those forced to leave and on their journey “out” of the territory, there was mass killing. This remains a controversial topic in history books, as some believe this was simply “war,” whereas many believe it was genocide.

Between 1915 and 1922 around 1.5 million Armenians were killed or forced to try and survive in the Syrian desert. To this day there are many countries that do not acknowledge the Armenian genocide, including Türkiye, and this is one of the reasons that the land border between the two countries remains closed. Under President Erdogan, it seems unlikely that this will change.

Armenia first became independent in 1918 during the Russian Revolution but then faced an onslaught of attacks from Türkiye, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. They also had a huge influenza outbreak increasing the death count even further. Eventually, in 1922, the Soviet Union absorbed Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia once again. Armenia (with the support from Russia) was then a strong force in stopping further attacks from the Ottoman Empire. It is for this reason that Russia has a place in the hearts of many Armenians, regardless of recent political tensions.

Since then, Armenia once again became independent from Russia in 1991, and without their protection, faced war with Azerbaijan over the Karabakh region. They still have ongoing political tensions with the Turkish people over their refusal to recognize the Armenian genocide, and over Mt. Ararak, the old capital city of Ani, and the birthplace of the Armenians — Lake Van, both of which remain in Türkiye to this day.

BUMP, CRASH, BOOM, SLIDE — these are the words I would use to describe my entrance to Armenia through the land border crossing with Georgia. Chaos. We had done 25 border crossings in our campervan at this point, and this was by far the most time-consuming land crossing we had experienced. We were sent from one office to another and no one seemed to have any idea what they were doing. Many appeared surprised to see a British woman, a Swedish man, and a Turkish street dog in a campervan (complete with a wood-burning stove inside), attempting to cross their border. Eventually, we made it in and the first question on our lips was “How can these roads be SO bad?” 

Armenia has one of the worst road infrastructure systems in Europe and Asia and the World Bank has actually begun a project to help Armenia build better roads. There is a belief that this is one of the reasons that many tourists will not endure a trip here, and obviously, ground transportation of goods and services is slow and arduous, thus having a hugely negative effect on the economy.

Having said that, if you are prepared to make the journey, you will be rewarded with incredible scenery, fabulous wild camping spots, and rich history on your journey down to Yerevan.

Yerevan and “The Great Crime”

To discover more about the history of Armenia, Yerevan is a perfect place to begin. We began at the Armenian Genocide Memorial and Museum, which offers a free exhibit and free van camping for those wishing to spend the night. It offers an incredible exhibit with emotive photographs, documents, and reports of the Armenian Genocide between 1915 and 1922. Interestingly, coming from the UK, I had never heard of this before coming here, but my Swedish partner had. Upon visiting the museum we discovered that this was because Sweden acknowledged the Armenian genocide almost from the very beginning, whereas the UK only acknowledged the mass killing of Armenians living in Ottoman Türkiye as a “war” for many years.

After visiting the museum, another interesting thing struck us regarding the involvement of the Kurdish people in the Armenian genocide. While traveling through Türkiye, we had been amazed by the kindness and generosity of the Turkish people, but there was clear animosity towards the Kurdish communities in almost every place we visited. Circumstances meant that we needed to stay in Türkiye for an extra month (because we adopted a street dog along the way — as you do!), so we decided to explore the Kurdish areas of Türkiye. Notably Mardin, Lake Van, Batman, and Diyarbakir. While there, we were surprised to feel that the Kurdish people, indeed, seemed very different from the Turkish people in terms of values, religion, and culture.

The biggest difference seemed to be that more of them drank alcohol and that they were more moderately religious. Of course, these are huge generalizations, but that was the overall impression we got. Most importantly though, they were even more wonderful and hospitable than our Turkish friends we had made along the way — which we previously thought to be impossible! Sadly the animosity between the Turkish and Kurdish people has been going on for a long time and Kurdish people have been branded as terrorists by many Turkish people.

Our personal experiences meeting and talking with Turkish and Kurdish people left us conflicted because we felt a genuine connection with both groups of people, and within the Genocide museum we were even more conflicted still! We discovered that some Kurdish tribes played a huge role in the mass killing of Armenians during the genocide, and so this left us questioning whose version of history was “true.” We continued to ask questions and talked to many Armenians and discovered that many Armenian people we spoke to did not feel angry towards the Kurdish people.

On the contrary, they feel united in their hatred toward Turkish people because there seems to be a consensus around the idea that the Kurdish tribes who were used to kill Armenians were told that they would be entitled to their own land/territory if they fought against the Armenians. They did this, and then Turkish leaders did not uphold their end of the deal. Therefore, when a Kurdish person meets an Armenian it is very common for them to begin the conversation by apologizing for their people’s role in the past and for trusting Türkiye. It is for this reason that tensions between these two marginalized groups are relatively low. However, to this day, one of the biggest insults you can use in Armenia is to call someone a “Turk.”

After leaving the Genocide Museum with a heavy heart about Armenia’s current political struggles and dark past, we needed some light relief in the form of beauty and art. We decided to try and search out some of the famous sculptures dotted around the city and we hoped to find an “old town” as is so common in most capital cities.

Unfortunately, although Yerevan used to have some beautiful 19th-century buildings, sadly the influence of the Soviet Union throughout the 20th century resulted in the demolition of many of the historically beautiful buildings in Yerevan. One of the neighborhoods that is still intact is Kond, where you can imagine how the city would have looked in pre-Soviet times.

This is a relatively small part of town, however, there are some wonderful modern buildings too, which are quite beautiful and were, in fact, built during the 1920s by Soviet architects. The most impressive is the “Cascade” (Cafesjian Centre for the Arts), which houses a wonderful art center. Its beautiful sculptures are steeped on large steps cascading down to a large central square with excellent places to grab a drink and generally soak in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of modern-day Yerevan.

Throwback to the Soviet Past 

Another throwback to Yerevan’s Soviet past is the Children’s Railway Museum, which is a somewhat spooky experience. The story behind this was that children during the Soviet era were taught about train engineering through experiential education. Working alongside an adult, they were given duties—including driver, director, and attendant—in preparation for a future in the locomotive industry.

Nowadays it has been abandoned, and it makes for an interesting hike along an overgrown and graffiti-covered railway. There are abandoned trains, sinister tunnels, and oddly enough, a still-functioning children’s amusement park which is equally unsettling.

There are a number of run-down rides and it felt like a paradox to be in an amusement park so void of joy. After our visit to the Genocide Museum, a certain sense of foreboding was towering over us, but I always enjoy traveling to places where you really feel a place, and this unusual hike certainly achieved that.

Now we have touched on one of the many slightly peculiar things that you can discover in Yerevan, it seems criminal not to mention one of my top finds on the outskirts of the city. You will need to get a taxi there or have your own car/campervan, as it is tricky to get to, but I would highly recommend a visit to Levon’s Divine Underground. This place is in keeping with a few of the recurrent values among many people in Armenia — an ongoing devotion to their Christian roots and beliefs, and a stoicism due to their troubled past.

Levon is the name of the man who was tasked with building a potato cellar for his wife once he was retired. Rather than sitting back and enjoying the simple life, Levon, a former engineer, began building a cellar. However, it is said that he was recurrently visited by God in his dreams, telling him to build an underground cave system.

Over the space of 23 years, and using only basic hand tools, Levon devoted thousands of hours until the day he died, to building an intricate underground cave system over seven levels. He also designed a beautiful stone garden and his wife complained about his work every single day.

His wife is still alive and lives in a very basic house on a small back street on the outskirts of Yerevan. Their granddaughter speaks English and is happy to show people around. When I was there I informed them that I had read about them in a book and on the internet and showed them some of the articles I had read.

Levon’s wife started crying and I asked her granddaughter for an explanation of why. She told me that Levon always told her that one day it would be worth all of his hard work because she would earn money from the cellar via tourism, that she would be written about in books, and that she would be famous. She was crying because she realized he was right all along.