Yerevan, Jamais Vu

Yerevan is a city constantly rewriting itself, where familiar streets, cafes and faces can suddenly

become strange. Maria Gunko reflects on memory, migration and loss, asking what makes a place remain itself when the people who remember its earlier versions have moved on.

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Ainteb, After the Armenians: A Walk in Search of Ghosts

Maria Gunko

Aug 31, 2026

In Gaziantep, once home to a thriving Armenian community, the traces of what was lost

survive in property records, old buildings and hand-drawn maps. Following these fragments through the city, Maria Gunko explores what remains of a history that has been erased, renamed and forgotten.

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A Bathtub in Stepanavan

Maria Gunko

Jul 16, 2026

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.

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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.

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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.

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…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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Outside In