We take the liberty to surmise that a foreigner, upon deciding to visit Armenia, already possesses certain information on the country, its nature, attractions, its people. This is the very information that, even though it may be fragmented and superficial, motivates an outlander to undertake a trip to Armenia to come to know this ancient land, its culture, its past and its present better. We want to assist our potential guests by offering them a brief necessary background on Armenia and the Armenians. This Description of the coat of arms: the central shield of the coat of arm bears the charges of four royal Armenian dynasties: the Artaxids, th Arshakids, the Bagratunis and the Rubinyans (the Cilician kingdom). Thes: surround the depiction of mount Ararat with the outline of Noah’s ark rest ing on the peak. The silver waves of lake Van are at the foot of the moun tain. The shield is supported by a lion and an eagle that symbolise the spirit the power, forbearance and valour. A sword at the bottom represents thi struggle of the Armenian people for Freedom and Independence, while th quill and cereal spikes symbolyse its creative talent and peaceful character THE COAT OF AKMS OF THE KEPUBLIC OF AKMENIA Kharberd, Yerznka, Alashkert and Shirak valleys, that had played a prominent economic role in the life of the Armenian people. The Ararat valley is the biggest and the most fertile among these, it has become the centre of economic, political and cultural life of Armenians. Sev- eral of the capital cities of ancient Armenia: Armavir, Yervanda- shat, Vagharshapat and Dvin were in the Ararat valley. This is where the capital of the current Republic of Armenia, the City of Yerevan is, as well as St. Ejmia- tsin, the centre of the Armenian Apostolic Church. eae The natural environment and the climate of the Armenian pla- teau were favourable from times immemorial for the settlement of people: first they hunted, then proceeded to cultivate the land, herd cattle and engage in crafts. The population of the plateau from early on grew wheat, grapes, sesame and fruits: apricots, peaches, apples and others. The Caspian Sea. The longest river in the Republic of Armenia is Arax, its tributaries are Akhourian, Hrazdan, Kassakh, Azat and oth- ers. The biggest lakes of the pla- teau are Van, Urmia and Sevan. Lake Van (currently within the territory of Turkey) was called Tosp in the ancient times or, al- ternatively, the sea of Bznuni. Its surface stretches over 3,733 sq k. and the water is salty. From times immemorial they made salt and fished the famous tare kh here, a fish indigenous to lake Van. The ancient name of lake Urmia (cur- rently within the territory of Iran) was Kaputan. Its mirror is 5,800 foreign sources hold that copper ore, lead, silver and gold were mined here a long time ago. There also were salt mines. The Monument in Yerevan to the forefather of Armenians Haik The process of the formation of the Armenian people took place in the depth of ages, be- tween the 2nd and 1st millennia B.C. Which explains why it is of- Monument to the Armenian script in Oshakan menians adds up to over 25 thou- sand manuscripts currently pre- served in the Yerevan Matenada- ran — the Institute of Ancient Manuscripts named after the in- ventor of the Armenian script, as well as in the depositories and li- braries of Jerusalem, Vienna, Venice, London and other loca- tions. Hellenistic influence. In the be- ginning of the 2nd century B.C. a united Armenian kingdom came into being. The king of Greater Armenia Artashes I (189-160 B.C.), the founder of the Artaxid The fortress and temple of Garni The formation of ancient Arme- nian culture enjoyed the input of The sculpted head of Anahit, goddess of maternity and fertility urban planning and architecture. Ancient authors have left us descrip- tions of magnificent Armenian ca- ptals of the Hellenistic period: Central part of Grigor Khanjian’s painting “Vardanank” (‘The Battle of Avarayr’) The Mesrob Mashtots Memorial in Yerevan The statue of Movses Khorenatsi in Yerevan Fiistoriography has an 1mpor- tant role in medieval Armenian cul- ture, it had formed by the 5th cen- tury. This century is represented by historians Agathangelos, Pavstos The statue of Anania Shirakatsi in Yerevan legacy is left by Anania Shirakatsi (7th century), a geographer, cos- mographer and mathematician, who offered an accurate explana- Grigor Narekats1. A portrait in a 12th century manuscript Middle Ages) poem strives to reveal the inner world of a man, his cravings and passions. This work of Grigor Narekatsi is an ode to the Human, it is the precursor of Re- naissance in Armenian culture. Toros Roslin. “The adoration of the Magi” The fine arts in medieval Ar- menia mostly developed in three modes: frescoes, mosaics and book The first Armenian printed book “Ourbatagirk”, published by Hakob Maghapart On the eve of the New Age two important events took place in the history of Armenian culture. In 1512 in Venice first Armenian printing was initiated. The printer Hakob Meghapart published in a printshop he had founded the first Armenian printed book “Friday book”, that contained diverse information. The monument to the Armenian fedayeen in the village of Oujan (Aragatsotn province) other locations. The fedayeen enjoyed popular support, they were familiar with the local ter- rain and were skilled in diverse nowned was the Nercissian school, opened in 1824. Following the acces- sion of Eastern Armenia to Russia public district as well as private schools were opened in Alexandro- pol, Yerevan, Shushi. In 1874 the Gevorgian seminary was founded in The monument to Khachatour Abovian in Kanaker, next to his memorial house During the 19th century Arme- nian literature went through a pro- ductive development process, marked with periods of classicism, romanticism and, finally, realism. The literature played a major role in the establishment of the national conscience, in educating the people in a patriotic freedom-loving spirit. The portrait of Natalia Teumian. Hakob Hovnatanian, 1840s Shushi. The great sea painter since the 17th century. The founder of the genre-painting was Stepanos Nercissian, who worked in Tiflis and Shushi. The great sea painter iles and dispersed over the world, adding to the existing Ar- menian communities and estab- lishing new ones. Tremendous damage was done to the material and spiritual culture of Arme- nians. The intellectual potential of the nation suffered irrecover- pursued the final objective of their liquidation. There were concentration camps for Arme- nians created in Mesopotamia and in Syria, only a part of the deportees made it there and the massacres carried on in the camps as well. The actions of the The Memorial to the heroes of the Sardarapat battle of 1918 Hovhannes Kajaznouni: most of the portfolios went to the representa- tives of the Dashnaktsoutyun party. In August 1919 Alexandre Khatis- sian became the prime-minister (un- til May 1920) followed by A. Ohanjanian (until November 28, 1920). The last prime-minister was Simon Vratsian (from November 28, 1920 to December 2, 1920). The Par- liament of the Republic of Armenia began its work on August 1, 1918, it was formed on a multi-party basis. In June 1919 elections were held for The monument to the fallen in the Great Patriotic War. Azat village (Shirak province) Ivan Baghramian, Hamazasp Babaja- nian, Sergey Khudyakov (A. Khan- feriants), admiral Ivan Issakov and others. Many Diaspora Armenians fought within the ranks of allied armies, took part in the Resistance (RBrance Qreece Riulearia) A rally in Yerevan in defence of the demands of the Armenians of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabagh). 1988 cess in Armenia. Maintaining that “perestroyka” should touch upon the domain of ethnic relations, the Armenians of Karabagh, who prior to that have many times unsuccessfully brought The monument to Avetik Issahakian in Gyumri came an ageless value in Armenian The first decades of the 20th cen- tury were marked by outstanding accomplishments of Armenian cul- ture. In all of its domains there were brilliant masters, whose work be- came an ageless value in Armenian “Armenia” by Martiros Sarian, 1923 scores of theatre companies nur- tured among them great masters of Armenian stage: Hovhannes Abe- lian, Vahram Papazian, Hasmik, Arous Voskanian, Hrachia Nercis- sian and others. Armenian fine arts of the beginning of the 20th century were represented by major masters prose writing was enriched by the input of Alexandre Shirvanzade, Vrtanes Papazian, Grigor Zohrab et al. A new step was outlined in the development of Armenian music, determined first and foremost by the work of the great Komitas. Arme- nian stage art was also on the rise: The establishment of Sovie power in Armenia had resulted ir serious transformations in the pro- cess of development of culture. The exclusive domination of communist ideology, the state policy that aimed The Armenian church is one of the oldest Christian churches in the world. Since Armenia is < country where Christianity wa: proclaimed an official state reli: Since the proclamation o: Christianity a state religion (301 A.D.) and until the year 368 the Armenian church was reportins to the Cilician Metropolitan (ir The Chancery of the President of the Republic of Armenia in Yerevan The building of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia in Yerevan The Government House of the Republic of Armenia on the Republic Square in Yerevan looking for resources and markets, steps were taken to introduce com- petitive product lines. Taking into the account the peculiarities of the development of the republican industry and the accumulated experience, as well as the advanced level of the special- ists and workers in the industry it becomes apparent that it would be The Armenian nuclear power plant. Control panel volume of industrial output slowly began to rise, part of the enter- prises adjusted to the new environ- ment and independently began The building of the Praesidium of the National Academy of Sciences in Yerevan was commissioned in Yerevan. This branch of research was led by the member of the academy Artem Alikhanian. Thanks to the develop- ment of several new directions in physics (radiation physics, quantum electronics) it became possible to es- tablish new sectors of industry: the The Great telescope of the Byurakan observatory that the formation of stars is an on- going process in our days. Research in chemistry and biol- ogy has to a certain extent contrib- uted to the creation in Armenia of The Hovhannes Toumanian memorial house The Yeghishe Charents memorial house. The poet’s study The Memorial house of poet Hovhannes Toumanian (40 Mosko- vian Str., Yerevan) was founded in The building of the Alexandre Spendiarian Opera and Ballet Theatre The Komitas Chamber music House. “Tagharan” ensemble performing NN ENN ENN EN III ON I BAIN EEE ID NININES The Memorial House of Aram Khachatourian (3 Zarobian Str., Yerevan) opened in 1984. The mu- seum includes the house itself (built in 1947), the exhibition hall, a re- source centre and a concert hall. Materials are exhibited that reflect the life and work of the composer. The Aram Khachatourian Great concert Hall during a concert The Sports and Concert Com- plex (1 Leningradian Str., Yerevan) operates since 1984. The complex is One of the halls of the National Gallery of Armenia The interior of the Martiros Sarian memorial house The Memorial Studio of Artist Gevorg Grigorian (Giotto) (45a Mashtots Ave., Yerevan) is in opera- tion since 1990. The museum exhib- its a substantial part of the paintings of the artist of the Tiflis and Yerevan periods. freedom is the safeguard of new ac- complishments of Armenian cin- ematography. tries: 197. In the same year the Ar- menian male team shared the 5—7th places (among 114 national teams) at the World Chess Olympiad in Yerevan, affirming its reputation as ateam. This is incontestable success, especially when one considers the total number of participating coun- A panoramic view of the capital of the Republic of Armenia Yerevan Yerevan is one of the oldest cities of the world, a peer of Rome, Car- thage and Samarkand. Unlike many other cities, the date of the founda- tion of which is moot or, in the best doubt. During archaeological excava- tions in the 1950s on the Arin Berd hill within Yerevan city limits a cu- neiform inscription was uncovered, carved on a rock slate upon the or- ders of king Argishti I in 782 B.C. The inscription affirms that king farther than the 20th century, many Relatively few buildings have survived in Yerevan that date back (i, ES LT, EE Yo, Sa ee ee eee though it is known that the city was Within subsequent centuries Yerevan was seldom referred to in Armenian and foreign sources, al- though it is known that the city was The surface pavilion of the “Yeritasardakan” (“Youth”) subway station tween the 30s and 40s of the last cen- tury and it was rebuilt one more last time in 1969, assuming its current look. The chancery of the arch- bishop of the Ararat See of the Ar- menian Apostolic church is built next to the church. | a a: a? Se a. a one of the most frequented churches of Yerevan. or Yerevan. At the beginning of Mashtots av- enue is the Sourb (Saint) Sargis, built in the middle of the 15th cen- tury. It suffered damage during an earthquake in 1679 but was restored five years after. The next reconstruc- tion of the church took place be- A part of the Circular Boulevard with the sculpture “Hands”, given to the city of Yerevan by the popula- tion of the Italian city of Carrara The oldest boulevard of Yerevan is between the Republic and Sha- houmian squares. There is a fountain with 2,750 small jets here, built in 1968 to celebrate the 2,750th anniver- dustrial samples, books and materi- als pertaining to the state-building, socio-economic and cultural devel- Matenadaran, the Mesrob Mashtots Institute of ancient manuscripts The Matenadaran is the Mesrob Mashtots Research Insti- tute of Ancient Manuscripts. It has The Museum of the Armenian Genocide opened in 1995 during the commemoration of the 80th anniver- sary of the genocide of the Armenian population of Western Armenia and Turkey, perpetrated between 1915- 1916. The building of the museum is on the hilltop of Tsitsernakaberd (Fortress of Swallows) within the territory of the Memorial to Geno- cide Victims. The two-storeyed structure is placed in the slone of the TE OE ES Ne AA eee ee ee There are many samples of small architectural forms in Yerevan. These are khachkars, memorial drinking fountains, decorative fig- ures, stelae. More often than not these are erected in lieu of memorial plaques and the like. Such items may be encountered in the city’s parks, boulevards, sidewalks etc. Apart from these there are also memorial drinking fountains erected bv the next of kin in memory of their dead loved ones. All of these combined add a special decorative touch to the city of Yerevan. The sculpture of a flower vendor in Yerevan. The flower vendor was a colourful person well known to Yerevanians, he was the city’s living attraction for a long time. The lore has it that he did not sell flowers to beautiful girls, he gave them away BO Pe eer eee of the Catholicos of all Armenians in St. Ejmiatsin house and editorial offices of the “Ejmiatsin” monthly, a hotel, the congregation’s chambers are all lo- cated on this territory. The Cathe- dral is the oldest Christian church in Armenia. Its building began in the 4th century immediately upon the adoption of Christianity. quake in the 10th century. In the beginning of the 20th century, hav- ing studied what remained of the ruins of the temple, the outstanding specialist in the history of Armenian architecture Toros Toramanian put forth his own hypothesis of the re- construction of the temple. Accord- ing to his reconstruction the temple The monument to the defenders of Mousa mountain in the village of Mousaler (Armavir province) mountain in Cilicia. In 1915 the in- habitants of these villages stood up against deportation orders by the Turkish authorities, went up the Mousa mountain, set a fortified camp on the summit and defended it for the duration of forty days. The monument is dedicated to the heroic exploits of the defenders of Mousa The State ethnographical museum in Sardarapat. One of the halls The Memorial Complex of the Heroes of the Sardarapat Battle opened in 1968 ten kilometers away from the town of Armavir. This is the site where the Armenians won a ter archaeology Rouben Orbeli. There is a monument to Orbeli brothers right next to the museum (sculptor A. Hovsepian). century. It is of the central-domed The churches of Yeghvard. The town of Yeghvard is 15 kilometers Northwest of Yerevan. There are references to Yeghvard in sources of the 7th century and it has valuable architectural monuments pre- served. Three kilometers Northeast of Yeghvard there is the church of Zoravor, built in the end of the 7th century. It is of the central-domed The province of Aragatsotn adjoins Yerevan from the North- west. The name of the province prompts that it lies in the foot of the Aragats mountain. The ad- The old bridge in Ashtarak (beginning of the 18th century) ministrative centre of the prov- ince is the town of Ashtarak, 20 kilometers away from Yerevan. The province of Aragatsotn has a great number of historical and architectural monuments. The road from Ashtarak goes uphill to the village of Byurakan on the Southeastern slope of Aragats mountain. Byurakan is an old village first mentioned in a source of the 10th century. The Byurakan church of Sourb Hovhannes is of the same age. The Summer residence of the Catholicoi as well as the complex of In the village of Marmashen, 10 kilometers Northwest of the pro- vincial centre, there is a well-pre- served monastery of Marmashen (10th-13th centuries). The princi- pal church of the monastery is the domed hall type Katoghike church, built by prince Vahram built of reddish tuff and have been preserved along the entire perimeter almost up to the level of the cornice. The Yererouyk basilica is one of the The church in Odzoun is a domed basilica. We lack reliable in- formation on the dating of the church, but the general composi- tion, decoration and other architec- tural features allow the specialists to date it by the 6th century. Later location of the biggest monastic complex of medieval Armenia. The monastery was founded in 976 dur- ing the reign of king Ashot III Bagratouni. The oldest structure of number of splendid khachkars of the 11th-13th centuries are standing on the territory of the monastery, the best known among them is the “Amenaprkich” (All-Savior) khach- kar with a sculpted crucifix. Similar to the monastery of Sanahin, the monastery of Hakhpat used to be a major religious and cul- tural hub of medieval Armenia. Many manuscripts have been pre- served in the scriptorium of the Hakhpat monastery, including some very well known monuments of Ar- menian scripture. The monastery of Goshavank (Nor Getik) was founded on the right bank of the Getik river in 1188 by the renowned Armenian scholar, jurist and fabulist Mkhitar Gosh. The monastery of Goshavank in- cludes the churches of Sourb Astvatsatsin (1196), Sourb Grigor (1231), Sourb Grigor Loussavorich (1241), a scriptorium (1291) and a school (13th century). Many beau- tiful khachkars have been preserved in Goshavank. Historical sources mention the existence of a university and a seminary in this monastery where many manuscripts were cre- ataAl SAA Kec The big cemetery of Noratous is widely known thanks to its great num- ber of khachkars mostly of the 13th to 17th centuries. Many of these khach- kars are set on special foundations. cathedral of the bishops of Syunik. The oldest structure of the monas- tery, the church of Sourb Karapet (9th-10th centuries) has not sur- vived. The principal church of the monastery, also called Sourb Karapet, was built in 1221-1227. The church had an atrium (1261), which was re- built by the famous architect and educational centres of medieval Ar- menia, the Gladzor university. Its premises have not survived. There is a theory according to which the university had occupied the territory one above it and so forth. Apart from Khndzoresk. The province of Suinik has a very remarkable monu- ment 8 kilometers away from Goris — the cave village of Khndzoresk. The presently abandoned village is on the left and right faces of a hill crisscrossed with ravines. Since the slopes have no flat spaces fit for building, the people have dug ter- races in the rock in such a manner, that the roof of the lower house served as the courtyard floor for the one above it and so forth. Apart from Odzoun (5th—6th centuries). The church of Sisavan. In the Northern end of the town of Sissian is the church of Sisavan (Sourb Grigor). The church was built in the Air transport is the most con- venient medium for arriving to Armenia. International flights operate from the airports of “Zvartnots” and “Erebouni” in Yerevan and “Shirak” in Gyumri. The international “Zvartnots” airport of Yerevan is the hub for most of the planes arriving to Ar- means the airport can accept and release aircraft under any weather conditions. The upgrad- ing of the technical capacity and the quality of service at the “Zvartnots” airport carries on. The construction of a modern cargo terminal with the capacity of 80 thousand metric tons of freight has just been completed. MISCELLANEOUS DATA AND USEFUL TIDBITS Armenia is an attractive country for tourists. Since times immemorial travellers come here to acquaint themselves with the rich history, an- 410lelL Lirmenia in xerevan The further development of tour- ist industry that is so promising for Armenia requires substantial capital investment to be steered towards up- grading infrastructure. the treatment of gastrointestinal conditions, liver etc.; “fermuk” — recommended for jaundice, bile gravel, gall-bladder inflammation, stomach and bowel ulcer; “Dilijan” — recommended for chronic catarrhs A girl in a traditional costume plays the traditional Armenian instrument Kanon Archaeological excavations at- test that land in Armenia was cul- tivated as early as in the neolithic Period. In the history of the ori- gins of cultured plants the Arme- The Central roofed produce market in Yerevan. The view from Mashtots avenue meats, eggs in some form, franks, tea or coffee. Dinner includes hors d’oeuvres, a soup, hot meat or fish dishes, fruit, pastries, tea Armenian wines have been consistently awarded medals at international competitions Armenian cognacs have been acclaimed as the best in the world more than once
