My journey started right from our yard, the driver expressed readiness to come and pick me up from the house. I have realized that traveling by taxi is like a lottery, whether you win or not, let me just say that I have not met a lucky card yet. The 7-seater car was a big family, and I was an uninvited guest. The people of Jermuk, who knew each other up to 7 generations, knew each other’s problems, credit histories, loans, worries, life expectations ․․․․ One more thing I understood that the regional taxi, it is the same information center, except for the map they provide any information. From Yerevan to Jermuk taxis run several times a day, the fare is 3000 drams.
WHAT TO DO
“Ararat” Sanatorium. I have chosen “Ararat” sanatorium for the night. I was already waiting, Nare greeted me, thanks to whose warm reception I already felt in my native place. She briefly told the history of the sanatorium. The sanatorium, which has been operating for four decades, offers a number of treatments, even procedures to strengthen the immune system, these two points are very well impressed, they say that a person remembers what he needs. Paying 12,000 drams per night, it turned out that the price includes three meals ․․․ Delicious, homemade, varied, the most meticulous “customer” can be satisfied. I woke up in the morning to people’s voices. When I was half asleep, it seemed to me that I had gone back in time, and Paris, the heir to the throne of Troy, had kidnapped Elena, the wife of the Spartan emperor. Frightened, I opened the door, everything was fine, I am in Jermuk, in the sanatorium. Just a crowd of hungry people rushing to breakfast, you know what we can be like when we are hungry.
While walking around the sanatorium, you can find retro notes mosaics, and while passing by the canteen, you involuntarily find yourself in the kindergarten, don’t you remember the smell, the exact same smell, I never knew it which meal it came from… My mother says rice soup, in any case, it was nice to move on to a moment of childhood.
Wild Garden: My first day of dinner was spent in the Wild Garden cafe and I could not have imagined that I would spend the other days here as well. Apart from the fact that Taguhi, the cook, had “homemade” hands, I also liked the staff. Young people who, in addition to having a beautiful smile, had a good sense of humor, and if you feel lonely in Jermuk, you would be recommended politics, because as in any region, here it is very accessible as well. Be sure to visit them, get a glass of beer, fried chicken (I know they have nothing to do with each other), enjoy the food, look at their work, the feeling of loneliness will pass immediately. I will not touch upon the price policy, because as in any region, so here it is very affordable.
In this cafe I learned that the smell of burnt coffee is the deadly enemy of mosquitoes. Long-horned, long-haired, long-nosed creatures are very interesting phenomena: they do not bite the acquaintance, but they devour the stranger. There are almost 20 thousand species of mosquitoes in the world, and only 20 species are found in Armenia. It will sound like a compliment, but within an hour I managed to communicate with those 20 species. The fight against mosquitoes was relentless, after a moral victory I came to terms with the fact that I was in their territory.
One of the secrets of a successful trip is who you will actually meet, how “fit” he or she will be for your trip. First of all, before leaving, you should know for sure that you are going to lie on your back in the hotel bed and constantly listen to the same music, or you have decided to make the journey memorable, informative.
Vayots Dzor is unique in its kind: legends, myths, stories, scenes. It is safe to say that each region has its own characteristics, but in this area it is more. I managed to be in several such places.
Deer: Symbol of Jermuk. Come to Jermuk and not climb the deer, the symbol of Jermuk, no one from Jermuk will forgive you in your life. I would only recommend going there late, why? Because there are so many beautiful places everywhere, and at night you discover another Jermuk. The legend goes that the hunter shot the deer, the wounded deer ran to the mineral springs with the last strength and jumped into the water. A miracle happens before the eyes of the hunter: a completely healthy deer comes out of the water. The whole world knows about the healing properties of water, and the deer becomes the symbol of Jermuk. Let me say that a glass of wine will not prevent you from being there at all, moreover the story will become more vivid, sensual, because after a glass of wine I assumed that the hunter refused to hunt and devoted the rest of his life to marketing. The experience of the deer story is a vivid proof.
Jermuk waterfall or mermaid hair. The waterfall resembling a girl’s hair really needs to be seen at least once in order to be able to appreciate the beauty with your own eyes. The locals consider the waterfall to be one of the wonders of Jermuk, and legends have been woven about it since time immemorial. According to the legend, from the very beginning of the waterfall, on the steep cliffs, there was the king’s castle, who had a very beautiful daughter, whose hand was asked to come from different parts of the world. The beauty rejected everyone because her heart belonged to the shepherd’s young son. Every day, after midnight, the girl threw a long rope through the window of her bedroom, with which the young man climbed the deep gorge to his beloved. One day the king finds a rope in the girl’s room and understands everything. He curses his daughter, saying: “If you meet that boy again, you will become a mermaid and never get out of the water.” But they were so obsessed with each other that they could not hear the king’s curse. Instead of a rope, the beauty hangs her long and beautiful hair from the top of the rock, and when she helps the young man to climb, from that moment on, her father’s curse is fulfilled. The beautiful woman becomes a mermaid, and her beautiful hair falling into the gorge becomes a wonderful waterfall, which people later call “Mermaid hair”.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?
Dream arch. Well, how other superstitious people or, in short, the girl’s characteristic curiosity made me visit this place and go under the arch. Many people claim that yes, the dream is coming true, at this moment I assure you, no dream has come true yet. Don’t worry, it is a beautiful place that is definitely worth seeing.
Drinks: The first point of arrival in Jermuk, from which you should start, is the drinking hall for the visitors of the city, where the mineral water is supplied through different taps according to the water temperature, but do not try to drink too much, the consequences are irreversible. I have noticed an interesting thing, this drinking hall is associated with warm childhood memories in the life of every Jermuk resident. Almost all the people I contacted told me that at a young age, during cold, they used to get warm by touching the taps, and then continue their games.
Jermuk Culture House. I like to travel around the regions, visit abandoned places, almost the biggest part of my travels is spent in those places ․․․․ movie theater, swimming pool, library ․․․ Destroyed building, preserved unique aura, the interesting thing is that this place became known to Armenians from the international arena. The busts of intellectuals, Aram Khachaturyan, Komitas, Hovhannes Tumanyan, Paruyr Szak have been preserved in the building.
Boarding house “Electron”. No one has lived in the buildings consisting of six buildings for a long time. I can’t say much, because I try to find out myself. According to the information provided in advance, it was intended for the employees of the Hoktemberyan Nuclear Power Plant and the Sirius plant in Abovyan. A wonderful area, and if it is decided to reopen it, it will become one of the business cards of Jermuk. They did not refuse, it turned out that David, a very famous beekeeper in Jermuk, was standing in front of me.
A number of new emotions, hard work, it turned out that beekeeping also has “poses” like people, character, they are quarrelsome. If you do not manage to “throw” another floor, there will be a fight in the bee house and the solidarity of that “house” will disappear. Beekeeping is hard work, for which you must have a sharp eye, great patience and be painless.
“Darayurd geyser”. The Off Road trip continued the next morning. This time the direction, as the locals would call it, was “Darayurd Geyser”.
I communicated with the driver, Vlad, for a few hours when I was in Jermuk on a working visit at the beginning of the month. This time on the way to my pharmacy (we do not forget the bloodthirsty mosquitoes) he noticed me in the car, but as he said he could not believe his eyes.
We agreed to drink coffee in the morning in the lap of nature, together we went to a place where “immortal water” flows. Warning sign, extreme road and we reached the destination. Hot mineral water, fresh air, delicious coffee made from the heart, I was ashamed to say that I do not drink coffee. We talked from day to day, about Amulsar and other interesting things. It was time to return to Yerevan ․․․․ This is the end of my adventures in Jermuk this time.
Before arriving in Jermuk, the main purpose of my trip was to present how much money I needed to travel. I met acquaintances and strangers, they were characters of their kind, they selflessly did everything to make the days of my stay in their city unforgettable. And so it happened.
HAVE YOURS!
Jermuk is magnificent place to be. People in Jermuk are very hospitable and the service in hotels and sanatoriums is perfect.
Thank you Lilit for sharing your experience.