According to IOM (International Organisation for Migration) as of Dec 2020 - an estimated 92 639 people alone were displaced as a result of military operations in areas bordering Azerbaijan due to the 44 days of war over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. On Tuesday, Dec 28, 2020 - I meet with three families that were displaced from Nagorno Karabakh region during the recent war with Azerbaijan and were given hotel suites from the government of Armenia, at a previously abandoned “SOVIET Hotel” building in Metsamor. The city is located near the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant, that is the only nuclear power plant in the South Caucasus, located 36 kilometres west of Yerevan in Armenia.

Yerablur is otherwise known as the Armenian Military Pantheon that is a military cemetery located on a hilltop in the outskirts of capital Yerevan. The hilltop of Yerbalur has become the burial place of Armenian soldiers who lost their lives during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict since 1988.

Along the way to the capital Yerevan I came across two family businesses. The housewives were baking thin bread. Lavash is a thin flatbread usually leavened, traditionally baked in a tandoor or on a sajj, and common to the cuisines of South Caucasus, Western Asia, and the areas surrounding the Caspian Sea. Lavash is a widespread type of bread in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey. I stopped on two occasions of street site bakeries, even though the housewives were hospitable and tried to honour our presence allowing me to take pictures, they did not prefer to talk or answer our questions about their business. But they said that before the pandemic, sales were huge as tourists visiting the Garni Temple and Geghard Monastery always bought at least 200 pieces of lavash bread per day, with traders from Kotayk province asking for 150 Armenian drams, which is about £0.21. for a piece.

The Temple of Garni is situated in a very strategic location, on a cliff, overlooking a range of the Geghama mountains as well as the Azat River near the Ararat Plain. Located about 30 km from capital Yerevan, the Temple is near Geghard Monastery, which is only 11 km up the Azat River. The site was inhabited in prehistoric times, and there is evidence that it was also used by the Urartians between the 8th-6th centuries BCE. The Temple of Garni appears to be the sole surviving pagan temple in Armenia and the only classical structure still standing in the country. Built on a podium, the temple is peripteral and oriented to the north. It has 24 Ionic columns, which are about 7 m high. Six are located in the front and the back parts of the temple, and eight on the sides. Arabo suggests that they could symbolize the 24 hours of a day, and so is what some researchers also believe. Most visitors to the temple of Garni, also choose to visit the nearby Monastery of Geghard.

Visitors light candles and pray at the Monastery of Geghard pictured on Sunday, Dec 27, 2020. With its remarkable rock-cut churches and tombs, it is an exceptionally well preserved and complete example of medieval Armenian monastic architecture and decorative art, with many innovatory features which had a profound influence on subsequent developments in the region. The Geghard complex is an exceptionally complete and well-preserved example of a medieval monastic foundation in a remote area of great natural beauty. There have been no changes in the components of the inscribed property since the time of inscription. In addition, the property is surrounded by a substantial buffer zone, established in 1986, within which there are strict controls over any form of development and change. However, its location in an active seismic zone, the pollution of the surrounding environment, the risk of rockslides, as well as the active tourism route appear to be the main threats to the integrity of the site.

A general view of the privately-owned airport in Kapan, southern Armenia bordering Azerbaijan. Syunik airport was meant to start its flight operations next year said its manager Karin on Friday, Dec 18, 2020, but the newly erupted border crisis between Armenia and Azerbaijan that led to a fully escalated 44 days of war may postpone planned opening for unforeseeable future. Kapan is a provincial capital of Syunik Province in southeast Armenia. It is located in the valley of the Voghji River and is on the northern slopes of Mount Khustup. Kapan lays along the disputed borderline with Azerbaijan with whom Armenia's long-standing frozen conflict escalated into a full scare of war for the 3rd time on Sept 27, 2020.

A general view of the residential buildings of the city centre of Kapan, Syunik Province in Southern Armenia, pictured on Friday, Dec 18, 2020. Unverified reports suggest that the Mayor of Kapan Gevorg Parsyan have said that the military positions of 13 settlements of Syunik region including Kapan, should be surrendered to Azerbaijan by Friday, 5/pm. Kapan is a provincial capital of Syunik Province in southeast Armenia. It is located in the valley of the Voghji River and is on the northern slopes of Mount Khustup. Kapan lays along the disputed borderline with Azerbaijan with whom Armenia's long-standing frozen conflict escalated into a full scare of war for the 3rd time on Sept 27, 2020. (Photo/ Vudi Xhymshiti)

Opposition demonstrators have blocked the streets of Armenia’s capital to mark the start of a protest campaign after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan ignored their call to step down over a ceasefire deal struck with Azerbaijan. Chanting “Nikol, traitor,” and “Armenia without Nikol,” hundreds filled the streets of Yerevan, answering an opposition call to protest after Pashinyan ignored a deadline of midday Tuesday set by the opposition for him to quit.

Fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia escalated on September 27 and continued until November 10, when the prime minister of Armenia and presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia concluded an agreement to end the hostilities.