Armenian MiG; Chkhrtma & Tghvghik

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

   Greetings again from Yerevan, Armenia.  The final day of this tour is Monday (tomorrow).  On Tuesday, I fly to Istanbul, and noon Wednesday I have an 11-hour flight to New York.
   I woke up at about four a.m. last night.  I turned on ESPN, and there was a live broadcast of my New Jersey Nets.  I had missed the first three quarters, but I got to watch the last quarter of the game.  They were up twenty-five points, and I thought I was still dreaming...

"HOW ARE YOU?" "NOTHING."--This is used when the other greeting is not, and I was told that the response is literally translated as "nothing."

MiG--OED has revised the "MiG" entry.  Part of this comes from the name Artem Ivanovich Mikoyan, who OED says is a "Russian aircraft designer."  Well, he's an Armenian who designed Russian aircraft.  It's an insult here to call him Russian.  I saw a bust of him.

ARMENIAN COFFEE--"Turkish Coffee" in Armenia, but the Turks, well, there's a genocide conference going on now...  I don't know what "Turkish Delight" is called because I haven't seen it here.

DIAMOND RESTAURANT MENU--We had an "independent dinner" today ("independent" means "not included" to you and me), and I went to the Diamond Restaurant.  I had ordered and was writing stuff from the menu when a big, frightening, Russian-type guy pulled it away from me.  Tourists/customers can't look at the menu?  The restaurant had "tghvghik" and:
SOUP--Spa, Soylanka, Chicken chkhrtma (Yes, one vowel--ed.), Akroshka
BRAZIER--Ikibir
SALAD--Moscow, Shopsky, "Mik" salad, Georgian salad
PIZZA
Margarita--cheese, ham, green pepper, olives (Two pizza restaurants have "ham" on a "Margarita" pizza--ed.)

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EDGE OF TIME:
TRAVELING IN ARMENIA & KARABAGH
by Matthew Karanian and Robert Kurkjian
Stone Garden Productions, Washington, DC
148 pages, paperback
2001

Pg. 70:  _Khorovats_, which is a meal of barbecued pork, is certainly the most popular food in Yerevan.
Pg. 70:  ..._spas_ (a yogurt-based soup that is served hot)...

Pg. 72:  Two large food markets, known as _shukas_,feature vendors who sell fresh produce, meat, dried fruit, fresh bread and homemade _matsun_ (yogurt).

Pg. 76:  The best places to shop for souvenirs and gifts are the outdoor markets that operate each weekend.  The biggest of these is the _Vernissage_, which sets up in the pedestrian mall that connects Republic Square with Hanrapetutian Street.
(OED has this in an art context, but it appears to be an upscale term for "flea market"--ed.)

Pg. 77:  Specialty stores selling _Armenian brandy_ seem to have popped up everywhere.  One of the larger outlets, which has been in business for several years, is located at 45 Mesrop Mashtots Ave.  Armenian brandy is the same product that was until recently known as Armenian cognac.  The name was recently changed in deference to the French, but the quality is still superb.

Pg. 78:  _Folk music_ and the music of the _duduk_ are also popular.
(OED for "duduk"?--ed.)