Yerevan in Black-and-White

Summertime in Yerevan brings the heat.

During the day, the temperature reached nearly 100 degrees of dry air and sizzling sidewalks; the hot streets cleared out as everyone sought out a cool bench in the shade.

The quiet let my attention wander to the intricate geometry of the buildings, the massive statues in the public squares, and the quirky public art.  Yerevan is not as beautiful as Tbilisi, but it is by no means an ugly city. While the Soviet influence is more apparent, the tree-lined avenues and plethora of public parks infused the city with life and loveliness, and the strange swoops and sharp shapes of Yerevan’s buildings kept my eyes delighted.

At night, Yerevan transforms: the fountains dance, the entire population of the city comes out to promenade, the cafes and bars spill out onto the street and the scene is cacophonous and loving and exuberant.

But during the evenings, I wandered the streets sans camera. Besides, there’s no way to capture the joy of a full city square of Armenians singing “We Are The Champions” in the flashy glow of a dancing fountain. Those memories exist in my mind.

The hot lines and evocative emptiness of daytime Yerevan, though, exist in black-and-white. So here’s the monochromatic city of hot summer days, before the night smudged into a colorful mass of humanity.

(Look at the people sitting on the bench for size-reference.)