I had a rather “funny” experience in Armenia. 🤣🤣🤣

We had been traveling all over the country—through valleys, mountains, and ancient monasteries. At the end of our trip, we drove to Lake Sevan.

There’s a small peninsula there with breathtaking views.

So I launched my drone…

Suddenly, I realized it was flying somewhere completely on its own.

Of course, I started fighting it. 🤣

I tried to regain control. It kept drifting away, and I kept trying to bring it back. For a moment, it seemed to respond.

Then it suddenly took off again—straight toward the lake.

I grabbed the controller, ran after it, and desperately tried to land it.

That’s when I noticed a small forest off to the side.

Behind it was a fence.

And on the fence—a sign:

“Drone flights prohibited.”

Then I saw my drone descending somewhere between the rocks…

So I climbed down through the bushes until I eventually reached a gate.

Standing there were several soldiers.

“Hello… I lost my drone. I didn’t realize this was a restricted area…”

One of them smiled, made a phone call, and simply said:

“Please wait.”

So I waited.

About 30–40 minutes later, a black Mercedes pulled up to the gate.

Two more military officers got out.

“What are you doing here?”

“I lost my drone. I honestly didn’t know this was a restricted zone…”

“Can you prove the drone belongs to you?”

“The controller… my phone… the app…”

“One moment.”

They opened the car…

…and took my drone out.

Then they asked me to connect it and show them everything stored on it.

They looked through the photos and videos.

It quickly became obvious that I was just a tourist.

Then the senior officer asked:

“We found footage with a Turkish flag in one of your videos.

Are you a spy?”

At that moment I remembered…

There really was some old footage from the Alanya Lighthouse, and of course the Turkish flag was visible there.

So I explained everything.

“You like nature, don’t you?”

“Yes…”

“Do you have a blog? Are you going to post about Armenia?”

“Yes.”

“So… what are you going to say about Armenia?”

“Only good things! I really loved it here.”

And honestly…

I truly did.

In the end, they gave my drone back.

They told me that people often try to fly drones there, and usually they simply shoot them down into the lake.

In my case, they realized I was actively trying to regain control, so instead of destroying it, they forced it to land so they could inspect the footage.

The funniest part?

I actually landed it myself.

The video feed had already disappeared, but I was navigating using the map on the controller, while the soldiers guided me with hand signals.

After that experience, I became much more careful about where I fly my drone.

But the best part came later.

I eventually found out that the restricted area was…

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s official residence. 🤣🤣🤣

So all I wanted was to capture some beautiful aerial footage of Lake Sevan…

…and I almost ended up being mistaken for a Turkish spy in Armenia.