Old Yerevan was famous for plenty of crafts shops, with separate rows on Astafyan street. The same kind of rows was there in Ghantar, where the complex of the tradesmen was later built. Here you could find shops for seam masters, hatters, barbers, jewelers, blacksmiths, tinsmiths and many others. Also horses used to be shoed near the Bazaar. Many crafts shops were piled up on Charkh street. On Charkh they used to produce rolling pins and whirligigs with iron tops for kids.
Now, the only carpenter’s shop still open in Yerevan is run by master Ashot, with a cupel on fire inside and the iron pieces hammered by the master to get their shapes. The old photos and the stuff on walls show that the reality of the master is totally different from that of today’s Yerevan. Old tools and heavy hammering take us back to that old, black and white Yerevan, left behind.
See the video for details.
