Before the weather here got all weird and the air full of toxicity, I was getting outdoors around a similar time each day, just shy before sunset which tends to be a bit earlier in the day now. I found myself loving that golden light appearing a bit earlier on, allowing me to capture it without needing to stay up so late, especially with all of the autumn tones which have only really just started to appear within Yerevan. Some days still even feel a bit warm in general, which I think is evident in the second picture where people aren't really wrapped up in their winter clothes still. Some wear coats, some wear hoodies or just short sleeve tops. Around sunset the weather changes and it gets much colder, which also made me realise I had some different images which showed the conflicting tones of warmth and cold.
Around little parks are signs of Christmas markets appearing. A few stalls which stand throughout the year, though Christmas lights are being placed around the trees. I'm quite looking forward to these little markets, which are always fun to walk around. More so now for me as I have business cards and can get some additional ways of networking! Despite that though, it's an odd time of year here in Yerevan. I can't remember it being like this the first time I arrived. I don't remember the warmth one day and the coldness the following. I don't remember it having so much soul to it regarding the holidays. I feel it's something a bit newer which has gained more traction as the city has developed a bit more. Even though Christmas isn't a holiday they celebrate here, where Soviet traditions have them celebrating the New Year in early January and not the Christian holiday around the tail end of December.
With all the autumn tones around, there's this really nice balance that is met between the Armenian stone of tuff which is generally brownish in colour, those old buildings from the USSR which stand as the dominant feature around still. And with the few trees you see, with their leaves scattered around some areas of the paths. There's also a Soviet tradition of removing the leaves each day, which I think more and more people are against as it removes some of that feeling of the season that allows the city people to connect more with nature. Caring less about a clean pathway and more for the experience of autumn. As well as the biodiversity it brings as the leaves decay beneath the trees, giving insects more space to live within and do their thing. Yerevan is a dry city. It's one that has been neglected since the fall of the USSR, where previously it had more attention to its natural areas.
That's sort of where this contrast comes into play. The colder stone. The colours of the unnatural. The sights of former years. Where buildings are crumbling throughout the decades and feature very old paintwork. Peeling off and landing on the floor below. The changing times met with all kinds of variations in the balconies and doors, even windows as they're replaced. Where the dampness from dripping pipes has led to moss and little plants growing around. These stairways feel cold, the concrete and stone void of colour and hardly in their best shape. It sums up the feeling of the city as of late. Not all areas are being pushed up with pretty Christmas decorations and markets. Not all see the beautiful glow of the warm golden sunlight on them. Some areas, like the image below, maintain their contrast in simply being ignored through time. Buildings no longer in use but displaying their past purpose for few who pass by.
This sign from the USSR on a Soviet era school which remains abandoned. The entrance was covered in shattered glass from teens that come and smash things up, unfortunately. The entrance claiming to have cameras warning those who enter, though I didn't see any. I didn't peek too far in, though I do intent to another time. But here again I felt the cold air. The emptiness. The feeling of almost entering another time in which only I was really present. As if to have stepped into a different realm where I was being watched by the former students and teachers of the school as I took one step after the other. Not knowing what was awaiting, not sure if I should take more steps as the sun began to set around. Where the windows only allowed for softened light to briefly enter.
Despite the eerie feelings and weird emotions I felt entering, I really aim to return soon. To capture the interior which feels so old and forgotten properly. To see what cold, historic items remain. And see whether there are stories to be uncovered.
