A Bathtub in Stepanavan

An awkwardly placed bathtub in a Stepanavan hotel room is more than an odd design

choice. Maria Gunko traces its unlikely connections to Armenia's recent past, exploring how ordinary objects absorb history, adapt to necessity and quietly tell stories of survival.

... Show more Show less

A Country Blessed By Mountains

Maria Gunko

Jun 17, 2026

From the forests of Lori to the volcanic slopes of Azhdahak, Maria Gunko explores Armenia’s

mountains where landscapes become archives of geology, history and memory, and where hiking offers a rare escape from the noise of contemporary life.

... Show more Show less

Ani, Where Khachkars Lie Face Down in the Dust

Maria Gunko

May 25, 2026

A journey to the medieval Armenian capital of Ani becomes an exploration of memory, erasure

and cultural survival. Traveling through Turkey to reach the ruins visible from Armenia’s closed border, Maria Gunko reflects on heritage, identity, historical loss and the politics of preserving, and silencing, the past.

... Show more Show less

…and She Waits

Maria Gunko

Mar 2, 2026

In a small Armenian town, women hold households together while men work abroad. Maria Gunko

traces the unrecognized labor of waiting, remittances counted, calendars marked, tables set, and the endurance that sustains families across distance and absence.

... Show more Show less

Armenian Language Opens Doors

Maria Gunko

Jan 21, 2026

Reflecting on learning Armenian and the unexpected doors it opened, from a late-night restaurant in

Leipzig to a train station in Ghent, Maria Gunko reveals how this “small” language creates instant belonging within a global network shaped by kinship, hospitality and shared identity.

... Show more Show less

Khash-Khash and Kyalla

Maria Gunko

Dec 3, 2025

Explore Armenia’s most unconventional dishes through the eyes of Maria Gunko who views every meal

as cultural inquiry. Blending humor, discomfort and discovery, she examines how food rituals reveal identity and the intimate logic of a place.

... Show more Show less

Geography of Delusion in the South Caucasus

Maria Gunko

Oct 14, 2025

Between Kars and Gyumri, reality bends on the map. Maria Gunko traces how geography, technology,

and politics conspire to blur borders in the South Caucasus, where every route reveals both connection and confinement, every map is a tool of both navigation and imagination.

... Show more Show less

To Love Armenia

Maria Gunko

Aug 26, 2025

What does it mean to love a land? In this moving piece, Maria Gunko takes

the reader on a journey into the heart of a land where mountains breathe history and rivers carry memory. While tracing Armenia’s landscapes and contradictions, she ponders how affection endures when beauty, uneasy history, and complex geopolitics collide.

... Show more Show less