This is a very beautiful mountain lake!! (note 11)

I woke up at 7 o’clock and the moment I realized where I was, my heart started throbbing. Nothing new for my delicate nervous system though. Any disturbingthought can make my pulse go up. Why am I so worried? OK, breathe. Nobody cares whether you speak Armenian or not. People here are extremely friendly which I discovered the first day I got here.

When I went to bed yesterday in the evening, I knew where I would be going the next day.  But in the morning I couldn’t even dress up I was paralyzed with a mixture of feelings ranging from curiosity to excitement.  The train of my thought was interrupted by a knock on the door. I opened itto find a very attractive female hotel employee who offered her help to call a taxi or order something to eat. She said apologetically:” I am really sorry for disturbing you at such an early hour but I heard the noise and realized that you were not sleeping.” What a nice English with a charming flavor of Armenian accent.  I will not bore the readers any further and will move straight to the purpose of the article which is to tell you the nicest experience that I had at a lake Sevan.

This is a very beautiful mountain lake which must be visited by any tourist who happens to come to Armenia. I was amazed by its utmost beauty and size. It is natural, considering the fact that it is the largest lake in Armenia.I have heard so much about it but I couldn’t imagine how great it actually is. I remember very clearly how my mother would tell me stories about different countries, and Armenia was among them. She would invent details to make her stories seem so much more appealing to a small restless boy that I was. And I loved particularly stories about lake Sevan, because as my mother would say that was not just a lake, that was a pond of all the tears which Armenians have shed throughout the years.

Andfinally I was standing and staring at the azure surface of the lake when I met a group of really friendly natives who offered to take some pictures of me andnamed several places that I should go to in the area. Among them was a famous monastery. Also I was told that I can have a very delicious fish as well as crawfish kebabat a restaurant called “AshotErkat”. Let me tell you, ladies and gentlemen, my stomach had a nervous breakdown after realizing what it was missing all these years by not eating the best trout in the world.  Upon leaving Sevan, I learned three things: Armenians are extremely nice and hospitable, the Sun is very cruel in Sevan and if you haven’t tried the fish that is cooked in “AshotErkat”, don’t say that you have ever eaten fish.  I asked the taxi driver to stop the car not very far from my hotel, I needed to walk and digest everything I saw. I was smiling to myself when I realized that I had a tear on my cheek. I’ve seen the abysmal lake of one of the most ancient countries in the world and I am hopelessly in love with it… I love you, Sevan. I love you, Armenia!!!

(Anna Barikyan -AEGEE-YEREVAN)