The Moldovan capital, Chisinau, is a green city, people are friendly and courteous. The Moldovans are proud of having the largest circus in the region, some halls of which have recently been renovated. The city also has a theatre of absurd, which is also their pride.
By the way, here taxi drivers are not inferior to their Armenian colleagues with their awareness and curiosity. The topic of the conversation with the passengers starts with the arrest of the Chisinau Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca, who was arrested on charges of corruption, and ends with the statue of Lenin in Botanik district.
Here, as in Armenia, no more trams work, people preferring public transport are traveling by buses, trolleybuses, and minibuses. The Moldavians say that the passengers in the minibuses feel “canned”.
There is also no metro in Chisinau. Older buildings have not been preserved in Chisinau either, there are completely new buildings and starred hotels. One of the streets in Chisinau is called “August 31, 1989”: on that day, the law on their language was adopted. There is an Armenian community in Moldova with 4 Armenian churches. By the way, in 1401, an Armenian bishopric was founded in Suceava. Currently, about 8,000 Armenians live in Moldova. They have an active role in the economic and cultural life of the country.
The Armenian Church of St. Astvatsatsin, the Sunday School and the “Ani” centre of Armenian culture operate in Chisinau.
There is a whole kingdom of wine under the city of Krikova, not far from Chisinau. In the vicinity of the former quarry, it is a huge wine town-cellar. And moreover, every street in the city is named after a type of wine. Many prominent people have visited Krikova – presidents, show-business, movie stars, even astronaut Yuri Gagarin. Among others, beside the photos of former and current presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan, is the photo of the RA President Serzh Sargsyan, the photo of Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill I, is also on one of the walls of Krikova’s museum. Let us inform, that the Russian Patriarch orders Easter wine from here.
Moldovan wines are treated as national value by locals.
One of the central streets of Chisinau is called Armyanskaya (Armenian).
Gohar HAKOBYAN
