MosJan Posted June 14, 2002 Report Share Posted June 14, 2002 http://www.armeniaweek.com/june142002/photos/village_3.jpgNurtured by Nature: Eight families and a lake define life in Nor Arajadzor By Marianna Grigorian ArmeniaWeek reporter On a mountainside 40 kilometers from “civilization”, the village of Nor Arajadzor is a throwback to the days when it was first founded, in 1915. http://www.armeniaweek.com/june142002/photos/village_1.jpg The nearest city is Kapan. The nearest news from the outside world is whatever can be picked up on Engels Tumanian’s 30-year-old radio. He isn’t the official leader of Nor Arajadzor, but Tumanian looks authoritative, always wearing his military hat and jacket. And he is a news anchorman of sorts for neighbors who gather to know events from the world beyond. “The years have passed like an eternity,” says his wife, Zoya Tumanian. “It is difficult to imagine how they have passed in a place like this isolated from the world.” It is beautiful isolation, deep in the Sunik region of south Armenia where houses are surrounded by lush forest and villagers live off the wealth of an artificial lake intended as a reservoir but turned into a fishery. Only eight families live in Nor Arajadzor today. Less than when it was settled in 1915. At its peak there were 30 households, but over the years it has been emptied, then resettled for a variety of reasons. The Tumanians, whose ancestors were from the village, moved to Nor Arajadzor from Kajaran in 1967, brought by jobs building a roadway and the reservoir. The village lacks regular electricity; there are no TV sets or telephones. Information from within the region reaches Nor Arajadzor in the same manner as it reached the first settlers – by informal couriers. People passing through the village tell who is coming and when and why. And often the reason for visitors is the lake. Locals call it Chai-Zami, and though it was built in 1980 for irrigation, it has become a minor fishing industry for Nor Arajadzor and especially for Engels Tumanian. The Qashuni River, a mountain stream, feeds the lake (some 6,000 square meters) with more than 3.5 million cubic meters of water that is a breeding ground for at least four varieties of fish. http://www.armeniaweek.com/june142002/photos/village_2.jpg For 1,500 drams (about $2.60) fishermen get a day pass for fishing (by hook and line) and no limits on the amount of fish they may take. According to Engels Tumanian, he has a lease on the lake (from the Ministry of Environment), extending until 2004. For the past 10 years he has brought fish from different towns for breeding in Cha-Zami. He says there are days when fishermen have caught 40 to 60 kilograms of fish from the lake. “The lake is abundant in its animal life,” says Armen Davtian, a visitor from Kapan. “There are sazan, trout, white amur, silver carp, but the special thing is the taste. Everything is more valuable in the nature.” But the lake is interesting not only for fishermen. Despite uncomfortable conditions and its remote location (or maybe because of those very reasons), foreign visitors are beginning to discover Nor Arajadzor. In recent years visitors from Switzerland, Yugoslavia and Slovakia have visited during summer to study specific maybugs, butterflies and other insects. Tumanian says local authorities are eager to take possession of the lake for their own interests. And he is just as eager to keep it for his reasons. “We were asking for years, but nobody was interested in our village,” says Engels Tumanian. “We have cleaned the lake of frogs and started to breed fish. The number of interested people increased when the first results came to view.” Photos by Vahram Mkhitarian ©Copyright ArmeniaWeek June 14, 2002. all rights reserved. WWW.ARMENIAWEEK.COM is published by the FOURTH MILLENNIUM SOCIETY, publishers of ARMENIAN INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE. Articles may not be published without prior consent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamavor Posted June 14, 2002 Report Share Posted June 14, 2002 Sheer beauty!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted June 16, 2002 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2002 i can not find this place on the map can anyone help ??? Movses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elovna Posted June 16, 2002 Report Share Posted June 16, 2002 quote:Originally posted by MosJan:i can not find this place on the map can anyone help ??? MovsesDon't you have a Russian military map Movses? I saw a very detailed map example on a Dutch site. You could even see the houses on it. I'm sure it would also show what you are looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted June 16, 2002 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2002 aghcig jan can you get the url for mi thanks Movses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elovna Posted June 17, 2002 Report Share Posted June 17, 2002 It's www.mapswap.com The site is in both Dutch and English Map example: http://www.mapswap.com/asia/w_asia/armenia...a/armen_03.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elovna Posted June 17, 2002 Report Share Posted June 17, 2002 Maybe this will also help: http://www.virtualarmenia.am/syunik/bn/p11b41.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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