I gotta say, crossing the border was a bit emotional after having spent three months in Iran. I met a lot of nice people and it felt like I leave some parts of me behind. Even though I know I can always come back, I know it will not be the same.
The border crossing itself was easy. I walked to the border, passed three checkpoints with bored officers who checked my passport just so they have something to do, and arrived in Armenia without any problems.
The Armenian officers could also not care less about me and stamped my passport with no questions asked. I sent my backpack through an X-ray and walked through a beeping metal detector, but nobody really cared. The security guard was on his phone and was just annoyed with me not leaving soon enough.
I had to swallow the urge to tear off my hijab after the second checkpoint at the Iran border. After all, I was still on the Iranian side of the Arak river and I thought it might be the worst moment to set a statement. But once I got out of the border control and stepped into Armenia, I couldn’t hold it any longer. Fresh air through my hair has never felt nicer.
I decided to stay one night in Meghri and because it was early, I wanted to walk the 12 kilometres to the BnB where I wanted to stay the night.
I could see Iran on the other side of the river for the first hour of walking, before I had to turn left and turn my back to the country.
It was an exhausting walk and half-way through I thought I was the stupidest person on earth to not just hop into a taxi, but my stubborness was worth it. It gave me some time to say good-bye and welcome the new country.
The BnB was on one of the highest hills of this picturesque mountain village, of course, but at the end I managed. After settling in and having a well-deserved shower after two days in a village with no washroom and a day of hiking through the beating sun it was time to discover the city a bit and get some Armenian money. The only problem was, it was Sunday and I was not in a Muslim country anymore. Everything was closed. I finally found an ATM that accepted my card (phew) and was able to buy some food and things to drink.
In the evening, I was excited to see another traveller arriving at the accommodation. He was just coming from Goris and on his way to Iran now, so we shared our stories and knowledge about each country. I couldn’t stop talking about Iran and cared only little about Armenia. But I got my route figured out thanks to him and the next day, it was time to go to Tatev.
