Bridget Hallinan
Every Sunday, we live vicariously through Anthony Bourdain's
globe-hopping, face-stuffing adventures on CNN's Parts Unknown. This
week, he takes us to Armenia: a true "part unknown" for the TV host, as
it's his first time in the country. With the accompaniment of Serj
Tankian—lead singer of System of a Down, and an
Armenian-American—Bourdain dives deep into Armenia's history. There are
painful discussions (the Armenian genocide in 1915, when an estimated
1.5 million Armenians were killed by the Ottoman government; the
diaspora; the earthquake in 1988), as well as optimistic glimpses into
the country's future, bolstered by a booming IT industry and impressive
after school programs. “Armenia remains a dream, a subject of stories;
it is still, against all odds, a place,” Bourdain said during the show.
