Yerevan appears in the distance as a huge, dusty colony, embedded in a hilly basin.

The road, which leaves the airport and leads to the capital of Armenia, presents a bizarre show already, preparing the visitor for the very different world that awaits him. Casinos and strip-clubs stand left and right, banned by the government in urban areas, their lights giving a touch of flashy neon to the otherwise colourless highway. Every few meters, one can see bulky traffic lights and road posters hanging from thick bars of steel; a heavy aesthetic characteristic of the Asian Orient.

Metropolitan gigantism, Soviet-grey block districts in the outskirts, and a peculiar taste for using semi-circular facades, balconies and shapes make one suspect he may well be in a land where different cultures and ideologies have clashed and blended in the melting pot. Armenia was champion of Apostholic Christianity in the East since the IVth century AD, being later beaten and punished by the Ottoman Turks, and finally absorbed into the Soviet cordon sanitaire. From millenary stronghold to socialist republic, today an imperfect democracy that shivers and coughs, suffering an institutional system ridden with disease.

Yerevan is a city made out of pink bricks, and many of its original buildings bear a reddish gleam on them when heated by the merciless sun. To compensate for the heavy architecture, the city also offers wide avenues, gardens and inner patios, these sorrounded by the semicircular facades. In the outskirts, downtrodden and dangerous, the image of a lost Armenia; a sea of crowded tin roofs.

But even if the outskirts, and in general the countryside, are stricken with poverty and insecurity, there also exists, right in the city centre, a few bastions where the capital´s elite enjoy life, dancing in open-air parties celebrated on the top of massive bank facilities or getting entertained by Russian gogos, amidst bluish disco lights and drinks served for exhorbitant prices. One can almost always find a scattered group of “internationals”, who seem to have developed an instinct for learning where and when the next party will take place.

Otherwise, there is scarcely a disco to be found in the city, even when those that do exist fulfill the traveller´s expectations and show the unquestionable skill of the female locals for dancing, both with energy and sophistication. But when one does not wish to visit such stuffy places, he can always take a short walk to the centrical Republic Square, where every night, an elaborate water beam demostration takes place -Armenians simply love elaborate fountains-, accompanied by coloured lighting and lavish orchestral soundtrack.

The capital´s urban dynamics are somewhat peculiar. Yerevan is the city of a thousand taxis, each of them belonging to a different company and implementing particular marketing tactics: those which are painted bright pink, and display Barbie and Cosmopolitan advertisements, will only accept girls (even if their drivers are all men), whereas CCCP (USSR) taxis, on the other hand, seem to carry former Soviet Union supporters. Above the streets, glass towers, oriental domes and tree branches all reach towards the sky; a sky crossed again and again by never-ending sets of cables. Rolling over the asphalt, luxurious cars -which Armenians consider a mandatory demonstration of wealth (many times funded with loans)- standing side by side with 70´s-style buses and a strange kind of minibus, painted purple, which bears the red colours of the Chinese flag, next to the printed logo “China Aid”.

The Armenian people are hardly forgettable, either. No post-Soviet, angry frowns here. Not even the nostalgia for a lost Imperial past (which does exist, well fuelled by the Government) or the series of calamities that hit the country since the late eighties are enough to make the common Armenian lose his smile or his generosity: one so natural it will certainly make suspicious tourists doubt its real intentions. Complementing all this, the Armenian character introduces a great deal of warlike pride and everyday flamboyance, the latter being a by-product of the Soviet-dominated years and its meagre memories of consumer choice. This ostentatious philosophy can be clearly appreciated in the case of the golden numbers, vehicles with car plates that read the same 4 letters: a ludicrous detail which may well elevate the price up to five million drahms.

As for women -who, like in many countries, live a slightly different version of life than that of their male counterparts- they stroll through the streets in a somehow proud fashion, wearing elaborate make-up regardless of the time of day, but yet flashing warm smiles to the visitor which he should take care not to misunderstand: in Armenia, clothes and attitude may look “modern” but mentality is more conservative than in the “West”.

In general, exhibition has become a part of the Armenian style of life. Probabilities that this will give newcomers an inferiority complex, however, are minimal. Given the current exchange rates, any Westerner has the opportunity to become a “millionaire” during his stay.

Roadas are another of Armenia´s hallmarks. Displaying no traffic signs (or sometimes displaying them on one side of the road only), the driver can only rely on a road police that basically lives of the bribes it collects. Rusty pipelines border the way, but the road is also lined with rudimentary bars, fruit stalls (the only way for poorer farmers to survive), ghostly billboards showing nothing but the steel frame, and finally a few, scattered Russian military bases, serving as buffer against the ever-hated Turkish border. Not before long, ochre colours give way to brownish-green, and then one enters Nagorno-Karabakh, a sister republic of emerald meadows and breath-taking landscapes. One must get past the military outposts, and then crosses a labyrinth of forested valleys, one of which houses its peculiar capital: Stepanakert.

This misterious city consists of three wide avenues laid in parallel, dotted with public parks, hotels, restaurants -both luxury and fast-food- and even ministerial facilities. All three of them lead to the high ground where the official buildings of the Republic stand. Flanking the three avenues, one will find slums filled with humble housing and muddy streets. Next to some of them, military jeeps carelessly parked.

War memorabilia can be found everywhere. Military uniforms are worn in the street, in restaurants and establishments. Huge bolshevik-looking posters (actually very far from Bolshevik ideals) celebrate the victories and the veterans of the 1993-1994 war. Stepanakert still relives the war, even after twenty years of alleged cease-fire; one that does not prevent snipers and sappers from shooting and blowing up recruits who wander off in the trenches. Even the mere fact of setting foot upon this forgotten republic comes at the price of being blacklisted and unable to visit its enemy, Azerbadjan. The famous Spanish opera singer, Monserrat Caballé, was not the first -or last- victim of this phenomenon. One that reminds us of the Cold War: a not so distant past in this region of the world, torn between NATO interests (Azerbadjan) and the Russian sphere of influence (Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh).

And if Stepanakert relives the war, Armenia remembers it. Her lands, and those of her allies, stand sorrounded by religious symbols. The great, golden column of its 1914 Holocaust, and the sacred mountain of Ararat overlooking the horizon. They remind the visitor he has not arrived at any place, in any country. For he has reached, without doubt, the last bastion of Christendom.

Practical guide

Basic information: Inhabitants; 3,2 million inside the actual country (many more as émigrés). Currency; drahm. Languages; Armenian (official) and Russian. Visa; costs 30 dollars (20 euro approx.). Valid for 21 days. Available in Yerevan airport.

Travelling there: No direct flights Spain-Armenia. Air France, KLM, Olympic Airlines or Armavia can fly to Yerevan from Madrid or Barcelona, with stop in Paris, Amsterdam, Poland, Russia or Athens. Roundtrip ticket, including tax, for 350 euros.

Temperatures: Really hot Summer (much like Madrid in August) and cold Winters (as in Moscow). Spring is the best season to visit.

Transport: Clearly the best option are Yerevan´s cheap taxis. To travel Armenian roads, it is necessary to arrange a price with a driver in the first place. Crammed, out-of-date buses remain an even more economic option.

Lodging: Hotel Marriot for those who want a luxurious place in the city centre which reminds them of spy thrillers: 60 euros per night, double room. For those who prefer something cheaper, the One Way Hostel will provide double room for 8 euros per night, offering a clean, friendly space, swiftly managed by its employees. In Nagorno-Karabakh, one may stay at the Hotel Europa: lavish and situated in a centrical spot, although its security system has still to improve. Double room for 30 euros per night.

Eating: More than 120 restaurants and cafes in Yerevan, including Turkish, Armenian and Russian food for economic prices (even 3 euro menus). Some of them hold really skilled live jazz concerts. “Our Village” (15 euros approx.) and “Aragast” (10 euros); the latter is favoured by Armenia´s political elite. In Nagorno, restaurant “Russia” (12 euros) with both live music and exclusive gastronomy. Back in Yerevan, supermarkets are open 24 hours a day.

Information- www.armeniainfo.am www.armeniapedia.org.

Text by Ignacio de la Cierva and Óscar Saínz de la Maza