Back in Yerevan, Armenia there is a huge structure that towers above much of the city: the Cascade. A soviet era structure that displays the culture and mentality of the Armenians. This structure has an interior, though is generally known for being a huge series of steps that leads up to a grand final structure that provides a beautiful view of Yerevan and the distant symbolic Mount Ararat. It remains unfinished near the top, however. Armenia is in the process of finishing that structure and takes great pride in it. Now, we switch to Tbilisi, Georgia. Where there is a similar structure that is found within Vake Park. A huge series of steps that leads upward to a great, tall statue. Near the bottom is a monument to unknown soldiers. This entire structure remains in dire condition, and was also never finished. I assume ballooned budgets and poor timing with the collapse of the USSR led to these two projects failing to meet their final forms, though the two are totally different. The context above regarding Yerevan's Cascade important because the Vake Park's attempt is almost entirely abandoned.
It's an odd feeling walking around it, many of the lower tiles are cracked and missing, blatantly neglected and falling victim to time. People around the lower areas walk around it, sometimes sit near it. Though with all the fountains off, it remains mostly full of polluted pools of various rubbish. A tragic outcome given the might that it promotes and aimed to instill into the people. With the condition of its upper parts, most of this cascade is totally ignored. Rarely do you see anyone walking up it's unfinished steps. Rarely is anyone seen at the top. And the best view of this entire structure comes with a bit of laziness: the Soviet era and still functioning cable car that runs directly next to it. I'd like to find more information on this creation and write about the history more extensively in the future, but this post is more about the feelings of being within the space. The first few observations.
At first I wasn't sure if the structure was unfinished. I hadn't been up near the top before. Much like many others I simply had no reason to do so. And the park's fountains for some other reason also remain off, so it's somewhat a park of decay and sadness despite the city's attempts to modernise it and make it appealing. Emptiness is the feeling you get, that of stagnation and a lack of effort. You might not even really notice the massive stairway leading halfway up the mountain simply from the density of old pines that tower much of the park; one of the nice things about it. Though the smell of pine doesn't hide the unfortunate lingering smells that come from many domesticated and stray dogs in the area. Somewhat a normal experience when walking around something that's Soviet era and mostly forgotten. A lack of pride and total dismissal of the past. As if it isn't even there.
I mentioned that many of the steps around the base are unfinished. This time of year it's a little harder to tell with the recent rains. The entire area coated in mud. All the steps barely resembling a place to walk through. A few steps with chips in them, the odd step slightly out of shape compared to others. But the real sign that this structure wasn't finished came from the steps being mostly carved out of the land. Signs that they hadn't been polished, with plenty of concrete material lumped together around them where the little pulley system the Soviets had built to transfer material upwards sitting casually idle near one of the base's steps. Itself showing concrete material scattered all over it. Lumps leading all the way up the stairs where the cart would've travelled upward. Things must've stopped very suddenly if this cart remained there, now rustic but in otherwise pretty decent shape given how many decades of weather it has endured.
Near the base is where the largest pool of water from the fountains would've been. Its outer parts showing a row of Georgian flags in the common Soviet mosaic pattern. Now all faded. A circle in the middle that I'm sure either had or would've had some Soviet and communist symbolism that inevitably was removed or never placed. With the main pool empty, you can see where the water would have ended up and trickled downward from the structure. Fountains at the top flowing it downward. Huge holes are visible where pools of water would've been. It has quite an industrial feeling to it for that reason, large structures of concrete we weren't really meant to see, giving off an even more cold and isolated feeling. I would love to capture this all with my drone, but nearby is a stadium with flight restrictions on it, as well as the nearby cable car route. I'll have to revisit it with my camera to really focus on the scale and emptiness of this all.
It certainly feels apocalyptic. A feeling as if everyone in the area just disappeared overnight. And the higher up you go, the more that feeling is present. Colder, more unfinished, more isolated from the park below where the people walk. Across the park the city and district of Vake with its new and fancy architecture that has this old design underappreciated and cast aside like the boring old toy its owner doesn't find interest in anymore. I wondered why the city has no interest in fixing it up. The park is known for this cascade. It's the main attraction when searched online. The main object within the photographs. Though always from afar. Few bother to step where I did. But I can't be surprised: rubbish everywhere, bits of construction work left behind. Piles of stones and thick mud. Nothing but left behind tiles and crumbling concrete with rebar still visible. Not the most romantic spot in the city. But why not make it one? Why not revive it even if the ideology has since shifted? Something Tbilisi often struggles with. It'd rather let things crumble while building something new rather than fix something up and improve it.
I do feel it's a massively missed opportunity. Much of the structure is already built. Reconstruction at this point wouldn't be an easy job, but why not? In Yerevan's case, the unfinished Cascade has functioning fountains during spring and summer, but is also a hugely popular destination for tourists and locals given the views and generally impressive condition it's all in. People show they have an interest in such locations despite their historical and ideological connections. What is of the past does certainly remain in the past, but it pertaining to just the metaphorical realm is perfectly fine too. A modern world that is constantly changing loves something old that remains. Something that has a story to tell throughout the years.
I'll leave you with the final view. A half-tucked away statue that remains at the top of the stairs. Where the endless fountains that remain dry and empty look as if they're gigantic stairs themselves. Perhaps you can imagine how this may have looked had it been finished and operational.