Recycling - Armenian Style

Incredibly difficult to choose my blip for today - Armenia offers so many contrasts and opportunities for fab pictures! Went on a fantastic trip to visit a monastry which overlooks Mount Ararat (breathtaking); and then the oldest church in Yerevan, and then the ruins of an incredible church, which reminded me of Greek or Roman temples. We also passed through the most astonishing poppy fields - which was blip heaven!

However, you'll have to visit my Flickr site to see all of those, because it just had to be this one - not the most technically brilliant I'll grant you, but it captures the scene! I wandered round town early to catch some local flavour before the trip and stumbled across this morning market by accident.

Row upon row upon row around a public square, stretching as far as you could see in any direction, were, mainly older, Armenian men, setting out sheets of plastic on the ground the size of a small tablecloth. And on them, each one was placing very carefully and artistically, the goods they had for sale. But this wasn't car boot sale stuff, this was mainly the internal parts of machinery. So there were little piles of fuses, and of screws and washers. Then rows of rusting chisels, door locks, or cables from irons. Parts for kettles, serrated blades, pliers, light sockets and electrical switches. It was astonishing. Never seen anything like it.

I was busy snapping away, after getting the thumbs up of course, and it took me a while to realise I was the ONLY woman in sight. This was obviously the business of men. There was lots of chat and haggling, deep discussions about would this part fit this item etc. It was simply wonderful.

Walking on, I then discovered more of the market, with carpets hung from trees and ropes, and then more with books, clothes and local gifts etc. Fabulous, but nothing like this recycling bazaar for boys.

It wasn't about poverty - it really didn't feel like that at all - it seemed to be more about a sense that if you have something someone else might want, then pitch up with your wares, whatever they may be!

Now I think about it, what they had on sale were pretty much the kind of contents of my late fathers tool shed - the boxes on shelves of bits he might need one day but never quite found the use!