I'm not really going to get into the current politics of this issue--there are plenty of places to read about that, but suffice it to say that for Armenians, the Genocide is still a very deep and close memory. Thousands of people turned out to lay flowers near the eternal flame at the Genocide memorial--from the very elderly to parents carrying toddlers and babies. The crowd was massive; the police only let a certain number of people through at a time (a new feature instituted last year after the unrest following the elections).
I met my Armenian teacher and his class from the university around noon today to join the crowd as it made its way up to the memorial. We walked down Kievyan, and near the bridge we each bought a bunch of flowers to carry to the memorial. Across the bridge was where the crowd really started to thicken...
Eventually, we made it to a bigger open area where everyone just...stopped. At this point, I realized that Christine was very smart for having brought water with her...it was hot! Despite the weather forecast and everyone's assurances to the contrary, the weather was warm and sunny, and standing there in a big crowd with no shade, it was downright hot outside.
Luckily, many people, myself included, had umbrellas with them, because we were all expecting rain (every April 24th, so the story goes, it rains or snows because the sky is crying for the victims of the Genocide.) But though there were some ominous clouds in the distance, the sky overhead was filled with bright sunlight. (Yes, I am sunburned now.)
Eventually, the crowd began to move, and we slowly made our way up the long path to the memorial. The long walk up symbolizes the forced march which many Armenians were forced to endure (and which many did not survive.) People were pressing in from all sides...you can see in this picture just how huge the crowds were.
As we got closer, you could see the spire, which is actually two points coming together, the larger one symbolizing the Armenians in Armenia, and the smaller symbolizing the Armenian Diaspora around the world. In the distance you could make out the mountains which surround the city, but they were mostly shrouded by clouds. Just before this, a few drops of rain had fallen, but by this point it was clearing up again.
To the left of the spire, you can see concrete blocks arranged in a circle and angled in towards the center. There is one block for each Marz (district) lost. The blocks surround an eternal flame, which is our eventual goal on this pilgrimage.
Christine, ever prepared, had also brought along a bag of dried apricots, which she proceeded to hand out to anyone within arm's reach who wants them. A little boy, who couldn't have been more than three years old, took one and then his mom made him say thank you....it was the cutest "shnorhakalutyun" I've ever heard!
As we reached the outside of the circle, we saw all of the TV cameras and vans there to cover the event, as well as a couple of famous Armenian singers. (Sorry, I didn't get a photo.) Then we pressed our way down the steps and into the middle...
It was extremely crowded in here as well, though they were pretty efficient at moving people through. As soon as you had laid your flowers, large bouncer-type men shouted at you to leave. The amount of flowers surrounding the flame was absolutely incredible. Thousands and thousands of flowers. (Which makes sense given the number of people and the number of flower sellers out on the streets! But still, it was a sight to see!)
Then we made our way out the other side, and down the steps, where the pilgrimage continued, though at a faster pace and with a looser crowd because there was more space to move.
Afterwards, we all went over to Christine's place (which was nearby) for an early dinner of delicious homemade pizza. (I always did think that ajika would make good pizza sauce!)
