Muchas veces lo que buscas se presenta donde menos lo esperas :)

When a childhood friend gets married… Utmost happy and sad

Photo Ani Babayan

“As to marriage or celibacy, let a man take which course he will, he will be sure to repent (Socrates).” In my case — it’s the second, in case of most of my friends — it’s the first, although they have found such good and caring better-halves that I doubt they will ever regret being “chained” by marriage.

Some love is just a lie of the heart…

Some love is just a lie of the heart
The cold remains of what began with a passionate start,
And they may not want it to end,
But it will it’s just a question of when,

How to achieve peace within?

Photo by Ani Babayan

I have been thinking over this for so long that I arrived at this.

A few years ago I used to think that peace can be attained and maintained through apathy and indifference. If you act indifferently toward something, then you will achieve peace, but now I am asking myself — can you act indifferently when you are not indifferent? Of course, no. So now I have realized this — the only way to achieve peace is to realize the temporariness of everything around us.

Ronald Reagan: Freedom is not free (best quotes)

It’s no secret that I love Reagan. Putting aside the controversial ideas about his politics, which do not matter that much at this very moment, I admire him as a person, as a husband and as a father. His manhood is an example to follow and his dedication to his wife and his wife’s dedication to him deserve one thing — appreciation.

Armenian nature: Lori province

I have always caught myself thinking that living in nature and in constant communication with it is where I belong to, but the more I think about it, the more I realize another fact too — humans are ungrateful and if I had the chance to live where I would love to, I would in the end start taking it for granted and eventually, not treasure it.

Yereruyk Basilica in Armenia: Ruined but still holding some magic

Trip to Yereruyk (Yererouk) Basilica was one of the most thrilling ones in my life. This Basilica is located close to the Armenian-Turkish border, so close that the visitors can cast a look into Turkey, or better to say historic Western Armenia.

The name of the Basilica — Yereruyk is said to come from the word “երերալ,” which is translated as “sway” into English. It is said that back in the ancient times, when the Basilica was in its full swing it seemed to sway from afar, and that is why it was named so. Another explanation is that lamb or rooster sacrifices (known as matagh in Armenian) were performed there — they were put on a tray and swayed above the altar. I prefer to stick to the first explanation.

Thought/question of the day: We all are killers

Photo by Ani Babayan

A recent thought that has occurred to me is — if we don’t kill a person but kill another living being does it make us a less killer than the one who kills a human?

Who said that humans have more right to live than the animals, birds or insects? How many ants do we kill while walking? How much grass do we tread while running? How many trees do we cut a day? How many flowers die every day just to make a girl smile?

Aruch Cathedral in Armenia: The ruined dome and the birds

Armenia lives and flows in my veins. My connection to my country is a bond that cannot be broken even if I spend years and decades outside of it. I don’t know how attached other nations are to their country and land, but we Armenians are and we pride ourselves on that.

While I knew much about the history of Armenia, I did not know that much about its places of interest and it all began a few years ago, when I started studying each single “place-to-see” in Armenia. Back then it was just a study which then transformed into a website presenting full information about Armenia, whereas today I stick to the lists I had made back then and organize weekend travels there.

Lake Parz (Clear) in Armenia: Hidden gem

Photo by Ani Babayan

One of the things I love about my life are the weekend travels. While at first just a mere adventure, they have now turned to a kind tradition which we try to always keep. Being a small country Armenia has much to offer for those who are willing to explore it.

On the road we thought of going to Haghartsin Monastery, the beauty of which is beyond description, but as we drove closer to the monastery we decided to go to a place where we had not been — to Parz Lich translated into English as Lake Clear.