Yerevan

Seafarers brought the eponymous ship to the shores of the medieval Armenian Kingdom Cilicia on September 21, 2004 — Armenia’s Independence Day. Areg Nazarian, the captain’s first mate, described the land in great detail. Grand images of the past were evoked by the excursion and the names of the countries and cities that had long slipped into the abyss of time resounded with a proud echo. This land changed surprisingly little over the last ten centuries, yet the walls of its majestic fortresses began to crumble. Probably because they have not defended anyone for a long time: either from pirates, Mongols, or some other enemy… There are some scattered boat docks and Turkish flags above the half-erased Armenian inscriptions on the arches of the fortresses’ walls. Who would have thought that the inscriptions would still be there! It is hardly crowded, but you may still spot a motel or a campsite here and there.

And what is more — Musa Ler (the Mountain of Moses) towers above all this grandeur. It turns out that there is a village in today’s Cilicia named Vakif where all the residents are Armenian: the very same and authentic Cilicians from long ago. And they speak Cili…, well, Armenian.

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