Monomad: Exploring the old and the new in Yerevan

Today sure was hot. A day of roaming around again but with a bit more of a struggle to place one foot in front of the other as the heat of the sun punched down with such an intensity to the point in which I was constantly looking to drink of the water fountains throughout Yerevan. I wanted to walk around areas that I hadn't yet as I have started to grow a bit bored of the dense and familiar streets in central Yerevan. This led to me picking a direction and walking without a destination in mind, something that I often do, but this time I really did just walk in a straight line until I found a place that seemed interesting. In this event, it led through a mall, an old market that had clearly seen better days, and then eventually a park. So many interesting areas that I had yet to explore that I had previously displayed zero interest in. I had a lot of fun with this despite the heat. One of the hottest days so far and I definitely wasn't dressed for it, instead of wearing summer clothes, I wore an overshirt that just caused intense suffering, alongside a long-sleeve shirt.

I felt that the 85mm lens was perfect for a day like this, with some really interesting compositions to be found. I had a lot of fun with it and finally felt that I was in the mindset to let this lens really flourish. If you haven't got much of an idea of what this focal length is: well, it's more a portrait lens, perhaps on the brink of being telephoto, and giving a great perspective of depth when capturing people up-close. It means distance is a bit easier to deal with.

I found a market that had clearly seen better days, a Soviet era building that had a lot of soul to it, and certainly more life than most Soviet era markets I have seen so far. This place wasn't so dense in consumers, but full of shops with plenty of fresh produce to purchase: nuts, fruit, vegetables, and even live fish. It was really interesting to walk through this space, to feel the varying smells from nice to nasty, and to look around the large building and imagine what greater days it had seen. The second floor of this market was more depressing and empty, however. Home to shoe shops that just had no customers and were completely quiet. There is a common theme here of beautiful Soviet era buildings being reduced to selling cheap Chinese crap, and it's heartbreaking to see, though this place did have a bit more to it, fortunately.

I roamed through this space briefly, from the entrance to another entrance that was considered an exit. The people within spoke Russian to me, assuming I was Russian. Trying to offer free goods to try their products, though I couldn't accept as I am actually allergic to nuts. Therefore I would've been accepting something that could likely end my life.

I exited the market and moved on, to a point in which pathways disappeared and the roads became one with the walking spaces. The heat of the sun was strong at this point. I could feel that dryness on my hands, even in my hair, as that more rocky landscape and highway atmosphere returned. Yet for some reason I chose to continue walking. Even down to the point in which I walked down scary areas, small alleys in which dogs barked at me, old abandoned Soviet era industrialism nearby. The signs of apartment buildings in the distance. Circular in their window design, very beautiful and gave me something to think about as I walked. I thought again on the Soviet Union, the beauty of the architecture, the curiosity of how it may have looked back the, though it was closed off to people like me. And I wasn't even born at the time in which this side of things began to collapse. I have a lot of love for the architecture of that era here. Though the political sphere of it all is questionable. But I'm just an outsider here, how I feel about it is certainly different to those who truly lived it.

I wish I could've seen it, however. I have such an interest in it all these days, almost feeling a nostalgia for an era I never saw and can never experience. All I can do is roam the debris of this era, and try to imagine the stories that these buildings once held. To look at them from both afar and from within, trying to gain an understanding.

Animals of course continue to dominate these more isolated spaces. It's rare to see cats here, however. With a mostly stray dog area, cats are more of a rarity. I kind of prefer it this way, as a dog person. Though I think it showed contrast here. That sometimes there are more dog dominated areas, and then more quiet, cat areas. A significant shift in how the lifestyle in such areas can be. How the spaces around Yerevan are almost their own districts with their own types of identity. Some being more Soviet, some being more modern, some being more industrial, and some being older than any of this. The rocky buildings, some with rusted rooftops, over a hundred years of age. Such beautiful but depressing landscapes in such places. Almost like entering shanty towns, yet you still feel safe despite the litter and the dogs. The people within are almost nonexistent. It's hard to see anyone around. Like entering a time period that isn't your own, in which all people have disappeared. In a way, I like it. To feel like I can explore freely. However, it's clear times have still changed. And will continue to leave such areas behind.