Republic of Artsakh

The Republic of Artsakh, or officially Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, is one of the more interesting "countries" that I've visited. Landlocked between Armenia and Azerbaijan, it is a de-facto independent state that is currently unrecognized by the United Nations and most of the world.

As a "oblast" (something like province) in Azerbaijan during the Soviet Union era, it came under dispute after the Soviet Union's collapse with both Armenia and Azerbaijan laying claims on it (majority of the people in the region are ethnic Armenians). It declared its own independence in 1991 (with support from Armenia) resulting in the Nagorno-Karabakh War from 1991 to 1994. While the war had ended, the status of Nagorno-Karabakh remained unresolved, even till today.

When I visited in 2011, they are celebrating their 20th year of independence

The only way to visit Nagorno-Karabakh is through Armenia, on a land-border crossing. In fact, a visa is needed as well. Interestingly, this visa can be gotten in the capital Stepanakert itself which means that somehow, you have to get into the country first to get the visa....! Apparently, at the border crossing, you will be issued some papers, and the visa collected in Stepanakert, and all these to be checked upon exit of the country. However, it is better to get the visa in Yerevan, which is what I did. It is rather painless and takes just 1 working day. Because of the sensitive issues between Armenia and Azerbaijan regarding Artsakh, visitors who intend to visit Azerbaijan in the future may not want the visa affixed in the passport. Travelers will be denied entry when entering Azerbaijan if immigration officals find a Nagorno-Karabakh visa in their passport!

My visa

The typical attractions in Nagorno-Karabakh, like Armenia, centers around its churches and monasteries. I visited Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Christ the Holy Savio in Shushi, as well Gandzasar Monastery in Vank, which is an attraction in itself. However, what left the deepest impression was the people I met. Those that I spoke to who could speak English were friendly, and what struck me was that all of them seemed especially proud of their country, with sentences comprising of my country this, and my country that. In fact, when I was browsing in a cake/pastry shop, the owner asked me what I liked and I pointed to a cake. As probably one of her rare foreign customers, we had simple conversation and at the end, the cake was offered to me free with a farewell, "I hope you like my country."!

Stepanakert

Local market

Cathedral of Christ the Holy Savio in Shushi

Of course, no visit to Nagorno-Karabakh is complete without visiting their "We are Our Mountains" monument, which is something of a national symbol. Known locally as Tatik-Papik (translated as Grandma and Grandpa), it is also found in their coat-of-arms, as well as the visa that you receive, which makes for a great souvenir!

Tatik-Papik monument

If you like off-the-beaten-path destinations, how about visiting this unrecognized country! 

Quirky Vank, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic

One of the stranger villages I've visited in my travels happened to be in a country that has remained unrecognized internationally for over two decades. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is a de facto independent state situated in the Caucasus region, and the town in question is Vank.

Situated in the northern part of the disputed region, Vank is the go-to village when visiting the historical 13th-century Gandzasar monastery. Well preserved of its Armenian architecture, this medieval monastery hold relics believed to be from St. John the Baptist, and so its one of the more "well-known" tourist attraction in Nagorno-Karabakh. However, aside from Gandzasar, Vank has turned out to be almost an attraction in itself.

Beautiful Gandzasar Monastery

You see, the village happened to be the birthplace of a certain Levon Hayrapetyan, a Moscow millionaire businessman, who decided to give back to his hometown. He pumped in money building a modern new school, a lumber mill, and a bizarre hotel named Hotel Eclectica, which everyone calls Hotel Titanik, presumably because, well, it is shaped like a ship!!

Together with the huge modern school building, the "Titanic" looked perfectly and spectacularly out of place in a village of simple stone houses. And somewhere between them, a street runs with a wall-fence of some sort that seemed to be made of rusting car license plates. Which in fact, it is. Apparently, these are car license plates from Azeris who had fled during the Nagorno-Karabakh War! (The Nagorno-Karabakh War is an ethnic war fought between the Armenians in this region and Azerbaijan)

Village of Vank

Village school building

Hotel Eclectica/Titanic

Hotel Eclectica/Titanic

I'm sure you can guess which part of the hotel this is....

Hotel restaurant

Wall of license plates

I stayed only 1 night in a cold unheated room in the Titanic @ 6000 (Armenian) dram a night (I remember it was approx us$16-18 then). I believe I was the only guest in the hotel. I was certainly the only guest in the restaurant and the food took 50 minutes to arrive. And I didn't have time to visit another "attraction" - a lion carved out of a mountainside rock. Apparently, it will roar when visitors walk past it. Hmm. 

Vank is easily accessed via marshrutkas from Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh. I will cover more of Nagorno-Karabakh in my next post. Watch for it!