After an intense night of festivities with my new friends in Vanashen, we wake up and prepare for a trip into the mountains. Arasik is outside cornering the sheep when I come out to join him. We corner the sheep, drag it out then Arasik cuts its throat.
After the throat is cut, the sheep is hung, skinned and it's balls are removed. They are considered a delicacy. The insides are removed, the junk parts are binned.
After cutting up the sheep, we pack the necessities: a case of vodka, several bottles of apricot vodka, several bottles of plum vodka and a few litres of grape moonshine along with some food into the cars and head into the mountains.
We crack open the first bottle and polish it off before getting to business.
Pork and mutton shashlik.
One very pimp looking Volga 21.
After more eating and drinking, the real festivities start:
While everyone drinks and takes part in the festivities, the evening calls for the preparation of the most important meal of all: the following day's breakfast (a former dish for the poor), considered a real delicacy is khash (pronounced hash). Throughout the night, the Armenian guys (those that haven't called it quits from all the vodka) take turns monitoring the fire and the khash. Remembering that I don't have a sleeping bag, I sleep by the fire.
The following morning, at the break of dawn and before the rising of the sun, we begin the festival of khash. The rules are simple:
- Khash must be devoured before the sun comes up.
- The only ingredients to add to the soup are chilli peppers, dried lavash and garlic.
- Vodka must accompany the meal.
- Everyone drinks, no exceptions.
- There are no toasts, only bar luis (Armenian for good morning) and what drink this is (bar luis one, bar luis two, bar luis three etc.)
- Khash comes before all else.
Khash is good, all hangovers are forgotten, all stomachs are full and more drinking can occur.
Khash is so good that all stomachs are full, much alcohol is consumed and no one is drunk. We head up into the mountains to celebrate the meeting of amazing people.
In the evening we head back down to Vanashen and I stay the night again with Arasik prior to beginning the trip to Noravank.
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