I share a lot of posts on how I stumble across old items from the Soviet past here in Armenia, and not long ago Georgia as well. I find the discovery of history fascinating. Where most cities have since developed to our modern interests and forgotten their roots. I never used to be this way and having a fascinating in my surroundings, but perhaps it was jumping into a totally different environment from the one I knew that led to it all. It's really fun to walk down new streets and districts and just see what may be around the corner. Not confined to maps all the time and not really having a set destination in mind. Just seeing what's around and where each step may lead. Sometimes I'll even walk through an area I have many times before, but just being a bit slower leads to something new I had missed.
This dusty and dry environment is hard to navigate though. No matter the curiosity one holds. Unless you roam by car and drive down the bumpy roads, protected from the stray dogs and the other potential dangers that await, lurking in the dust. Scorpions. Snakes. Various types of spiders. All lingering under that hot sun. Oh, and that's the other thing: that hot sun which dries the skin. The lack of water around which makes it physically exhausting to just walk to the stop, let alone roam the wide open streets, void of shadow from a lack of trees and tall buildings. The housing here is old, mostly self-made. Brickwork that goes back about a century, strong cement that keeps out much of the heat. You still see locals building with materials here, given the stone often remains cool.
The dust picked up by the wind and the dry air doesn't stop nature from thriving here. While there are many fruit trees which sit inside and outside of the homes, this landscape is home to the many storks, eagles, and hawks which are often seen flying above. I have photographed the storks before, though usually from their nests where they still look huge, but you don't really see the sheer scale of the animal from there. Rather, the true experience is to witness them flying over at a low height, where their shadows are cast upon the ground. Their wingspan huge, as they glide over into the sunsets. Usually towards a river and little body of water that is nearby. Beyond that, there's not much of an environment for them to hunt. I assume they mostly thrive on the lizards, snakes, and occasional fish. The lizards being incredibly common here, running around the gardens and sitting above the rocks basking in the sun.
Signs of autumn slowly appear with the addition of a little rain, which lasts about a minute if you're lucky. Otherwise, you can see the leaves starting to orange and fall. The heat hasn't changed all that much, but you can tell that people have that sort of 'autumn' look to them, where they know the summer is coming to an end and they're ready to slow down and relax a bit. For Armenians in these regions, much of the year is farming during summer and taking things generally a bit easy in the winter months where less tends to grow. Hoarding much of what they did grow or planting a few vegetables that continue to grow into the winter. This tends to be where the potato stereotype of the USSR region comes from, not much different to the UK in that sense.
As a foreigner running around these environments, I can't wait for that similar weather to the UK to return.