Photo for June 15, 2006.

overheated_minibus, originally uploaded by nazarian.

This is an overheated minibus near the Haghtanak (Victory) Park in Yerevan, Armenia.

Minibuses are a popular form of transportation in Armenia. The popular name for them is 'marshrutni' or 'marshrutka'. They are mostly Soviet mad RAF-s but you can see also Russian made Gazels. This one, if I am not mistaken, is an Armenian made Yeraz.

The cause of overheating, besides carrying more people than the vehicle designers intended, is a combination of hot weather, and the steep climb on the hill.

The Haghtanak Park is located on top of a hill. There ae two ways to get to it from the downtown area. One is the Kaskad for pedestrians, and the other one is a narrow road for cars (there is no sidewalk for pedestrians so one should avoid walking there, or walk on the retaining wall).

As you notice, the driver has a handy plastic bucket. He filled it with water from a pulpulak (drinking fountain) in the park where, despite the presence of a few vendors selling drinks and the fact that the water belons to a foreign company, the water fountains still function.