Experiencing Armenia while staying at home can range from enjoying the light movie Lost and Found in Armenia (which I watched on Amazon) to remembering the impact of the genocide in Four Years in the Mountains of Kurdistan 1915-1919 An Armenian Boy’s Memoir of Survival by Aram Haigaz (which I checked out from the library, but there are other options). It could even include indulging in the drama of the most famous Armenian-American family in Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
If you want to dive deeper into Armenia's history, both Google Books and Project Gutenburg have many free books about Armenia. The TravelVideoStore.com has a video on Transcaucasus - Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan which I watched on Amazon Prime last year.
Do these things make up for missing out on the great restaurants serving Armenian food around Glendale, California and Little Armenia in Los Angeles? No! I've tried bakeries in Little Armenia, including Mush Bakery for the savory foods and Papillon International Bakery for dessert. Everything was delicious! (Thank you Karina for going with me and explaining what everything is.)
I did a better job of keeping track of what we ate at Raffi's Place in Glendale with ten people from my foodie group. Here’s the list of appetizers: Kashk O’Bademjan (eggplant with caramelized onion), Garlic Tourshi (pickled in wine vinegar), Tabbouleh, Mast-o-Khiar (yogurt & cucumber), Lentil Soup, Shirazi Salad. Entrees included Soltani Kabob, Fesenjoon, Chicken Kabob, Salmon Kabob with both plain and dressed up rice. Then chocolate cake and vanilla gelato with caramel for dessert. Good thing we had each other to share with!
I know there are Armenian recipes if you search the Internet. I want to, but have not yet made the Armenian Pumpkin Dolmas from the Kachka cookbook.
When we are socializing again, Armenian churches are active with fun events. Rancho Mirage has an Armenian Cultural Festival. Look for it in November along with other events at aacod.org. Costa Mesa has an Armenian Food Festival at St. Mary Armenian Church, also in the fall.
The Crazy Tourist has three galleries covering Armenia. See https://www.thecrazytourist.com/?s=armenia. (Photo credit to thecrazytourist.com for the picture attached to this blog.)
Finally, when this pandemic is over, it might be possible to plan a trip to Armenia using your local travel advisor. Shout out to my favorite travel advisor, Kaitlin Darnell at Laura's Travel in Redlands. May the travel industry survive and thrive - may we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace and health to flourish in Armenia and throughout the world.
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