We are starting another round of countries this year but with no o, q, w, x, or y countries. To start off the alphabet this year we are starting with the small, landlocked, Caucasus country called Armenia. We picked Armenia because nobody knew nothing about it. Mama didn’t know where it is.

Armenia has an interesting culture as being Christian and being mostly surrounded by Islamic neighbors like Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Iran. It is also a former Soviet country but there is really no Soviet architecture in it. It has some tall peaks (13,000 ft!)  while also having lowlands with a beautiful lake called lake Sevan. I was pretty excited to learn about Armenia so here we go. To learn more about Armenia go here: Armenia Info

Interesting Facts

• Armenia was the first country to make Christianity the state religion
• Armenia is the homeland of the apricot
• The world’s oldest winery is in Armenia and it is in a cave
• The Armenian alphabet is one of the most advanced in the world

Food

Armenian food is a mix of Mediterranean cuisine with pomegranates, feta, and spices, then you also have Russian with the pork, cabbage, and thick soups/porridge and some Arabic tastes in it. If you mix them all together than you get Armenian cuisine. It is not spicy but not bland either. In fact it is very flavorful and I would gladly eat it again.

Breakfast

Pamidorov Dzvadzekh Recipe– This was a tomato and egg scramble/omelette that I ate even though I don’t like eggs. It tasted more tomatoey than eggy to me

Armenian Lavash recipe– This is a very yummy, sweet, and savory flatbread. It has sesame on top and I was kind of mad when there was no more.

Feta

Basil, Cilantro, Parsley, and/or Dill

Pomegranates

Dinner

Khovorats Recipe – This is a delicious very flavorful grilled pork that was so juicy and I would love to eat it again.

Dolma Recipe – Dolma is Armenian stuffed cabbage in a tomato sauce and it was very delicious with the meat inside. You will have to go down to the bottom and go to the prepare the cabbage recipe to prepare the cabbage.

More Lavash

Dessert

Gata Recipe – This is an Armenian cake with crumbly sugar filling inside. I loved it but put it in the freezer after a day or else the dough will harden.

Culture

For culture we are writing Armenian because it is embedded into there culture and it also looked pretty cool. The Armenian alphabet is somewhat related to Greek as the first five letters are A, B, G, D, and Z (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon) but not that much. It was actually just made up out of nowhere by a man in 405 AD.

We found out a fact that is pretty cool. The Armenian Alphabet is related to the periodic table, even though the P.T. was invented in the 1869. An odd coincidence? The number as a letter (Ex. A = 1) added together in the word would equal the number of the element in the Periodic Table!  – for the 7 elements that were known at the time!!

We tried writing it and it turned out good. We tried to write I love you, Andrew and Isaac. Ö apparently is Yo so we were confused by that and there is also different Dz’s. To see the Armenian alphabet and how to write it go here:

Armenian Alphabet

Flag

The Armenian flag is simple 3 stripes of red, blue and orange going horizontally. Th blue stands for the Armenian sky, the orange standing for Armenia’s courage, and the red for the 1.5 million people that died in the Armenian Massacre. 

 

 

 

Next is the tiny Southeastern Asian country called…

 

After two months off (with lots of actual traveling of our own!) we are finally back on Playroom Passports to wrap up our first run of the alphabet with Zambia! It was between this landlocked southern African country and its neighbor Zimbabwe, and the boys agreed they’d prefer the lesser know country north of the Zambezi River.

Zambia, which is about the size of Texas, is home to some of the earliest stone age settlements, and for hundred of years was inhabited by Bantu people and then the Shona empire. And while the British claimed the area as their own in the 1800s it was not until the 1920s – when rich cooper deposits were discovered in the country – that foreigners took interest.

And in 1964 what was then Northern Rhodesia, finally gained its independence from Britain (and separation from Southern Rhodesia/Zimbabwe) and adopted the name Zambia (adapted from the Zambezi River).

Zambia is located on plateau, averaging 3,500 ft. above sea level, and it home the famed Victoria Falls (sharing it with Zimbabwe). Zambia is home to many unusual animal included a distinct breed of giraffes only found here and a small anteater -like animal called the pangolin.

Other interesting facts of Zambia include:

•  Zambia is among the 10 top countries with the highest fertility rate, as on average a
  woman gives birth to 5 to 6 children.
• English is the official language in Zambia, but more than 72 languages are spoken
• Protected wildlife areas make up one-third of the country.
• In Zambia there is only one doctor for every 20,000 people!

FOOD

Like most central African nations, Zambia also has a traditional starchy mush/dough eaten with every meal. Theirs is called nshimi, its corn-based and should really be used in place of utensils. (We learned that it’s considered polite to actually leave a little nshimi on your plate when you a done eating – apparently for the little kids in the kitchen!) Like many of its neighbors, Zambians  also love their peanut sauces and greens and unlike some there neighbors, they do like a little spice!

Breakfast

Vitumbua (or Zambian Fritters) – Generally eaten for snack or tea time, we decided on them for breakfast These are delicious and nearly exact to the fried dough treat eaten in LeSotho. We just rolled them in sugar!

Porridge with Peanut Butter and Honey – More of their traditional breakfast and we just used grits instead of corn porridge. Pretty yummy, still.

Blueberries – Apparently berries are a popular fruit in Zambia

Dinner

Nshima – We made this mixing some salt, corn flour and grits together and adding water and cooking it on the stove until it was a thick blob.

Village Chicken – We followed this recipe pretty exact (except used chicken thighs and not the local village chicken!) and it turned out pretty delicious.

Ifisashi – Basically greens (we used kale) stewed in a peanut and tomato sauce. Isaac and I really found this to be quite delicious but Andrew and Eve weren’t as sure!

CULTURE

As the women of Tongan tribe in southern Zambia are know for basket making, we
decided to learn more and try our hand at it as well. As their baskets take nearly two weeks to complete, our 30 minutes of basketmaking was not nearly as successful but fun!

The Tonga baskets are apparently known for their distinct square bottom and wide sides and elaborate designs. They make them out of ilala palms that grow in the region.

We decided to try and make baskets with the same look but just by using rope, a glue gun and markers. Andrew also wanted to learn how to properly weave a basket so we tried our best Tongan design just with paper. And after two rows of weaving, we figured out why they do need two weeks to get it properly complete!

 

….And now that we are officially through the country alphabet, there has been demand from the boys (specifically Isaac, who insists he will write a post every other letter) to continue on with another round of countries. So the next entry – in two weeks – will be… Armenia!