Information About Armenia

History of Armenia

Armenia being a country positioned on the Great Silk Route has been witness of many of the great invasions of the most dominant rulers of the world. Armenia saw the invasion of Alexander the Great towards the east. They were the providers of emperors for the Byzantine Empire and they fought with the Romans and the Persians many a times with tragic consequences. The Armenians were once completely seized by the Tartars and Seljuks and had to make their own kingdom further south and west in Cilicia. Though they prospered in Cilicia until 1375, the war between the Ottoman Empire and the Iranian Empire devastated Armenia.

With the onset of the 20th century, Armenia became parts of two empires namely - Ottoman and the Russian. With the background of World War I in 1908, the Turkish (Ottoman) emperors had the opportunity to displace some of the Armenian population and create a new Turkish nation - Turan which was populated by people of a single religion and ethnicity.

In the late 1917, the Russian Empire reached their demise and they left the Caucasian Front unprotected which was the bull's eye for the Turkish Emperors. The Armenians battled and were victorious in the battles of Sardarapat and Bash-Aparan. Finally the Armenians announced their Independence on 28 May 1918.

Though the independence was short lived and the landlocked terrain of Armenia fell in the hands of the Soviet Union who dominated the country for more than 70 years thereafter. The Armenians celebrated their 7^th independence anniversary for the 1st time under the soviet rule for the impressive demonstrations under Glasnost in Yerevan and Stepanakert. This found the path for future mass demonstrations and revolutions. Gradually the flame of protest became stronger and Moscow was compelled to declare Armenia independent on 21st September 1991.

Geography of Armenia

Armenia is a country bounded by land. It shares its borders with Georgia in the north, in the east with Azerbaijan, Iran in the south and in the west with Turkey. The terrain of Armenia comprises mostly mountains along with dynamic rivers and less abundant forests with plenty of timber.
There are also some extinct volcanoes.
The total area of Armenia is 29,743 sq. kms with 28,743 sq. kms of land and 1,289 sq. kms of water.
The highest point of Armenia is Mount Aragats (4095m) and
The lowest point is Debed River (400m).
The longest river of the country is the Akhurian River (205km)

Climate of Armenia

The climate of Armenia is mostly sunny. It experiences highland continental climate with four seasons. The summers are pleasant and the winters can be very chilly. The average rainfall in the country ranges between 550mm.

Natural Resources in Armenia

The natural resources of Armenia are copper, iron, molybdenum, zinc, gold, lead, antimony, silver and aluminium.

Famous Cities in Armenia

The famous cities of Armenia are namely

• Yerevan
• Gyumri
• Vanadzor
• Vagharshapat
• Hrazdan
• Abovyan
• Kapan
• Ararat
• Armavir
• Gavarr

Tourist Attraction in Armenia

• The Monastery of Geghard
• Tsitsernakaberd (The Armenian Genocide Museum)
• Republic Square
• KhorVirap
• The Cascade
• Garni
• Matenadaran - The Museum of Ancient Manuscripts
• Lesser Caucasus Mountains
• Tatev Monastery
• Karahundj Observatory - Armenia's Stonehenge

Famous Hotels in Armenia

The famous hotels of Armenia are

• AvanMarakTsapatagh Hotel
• AvanDzoraget Hotel
• Best Western Plus Mocawa Hotel
• Victoria's Park Hotel
• El Bosque Del Saman

Armenia Cuisine

The Armenians cook great food so to taste true Armenian delights one must seek opportunity to taste homely foods which surpasses the restaurant's taste. Some of the Armenian delicacies are

• Starters:
  • The first course is typically a selection of sliced Yershik (yehr-SHEEK, sausage), Armenian Basturma (bah-stourm-AH) and Sujukh (shoo-ZHOOK)
  • Salads of cucumber, tomatoes, onions, carrots accompanied with paneer which is often salty
• Soups
  • Khash (KHAHSH)
• Main Course
  • Khorovatz - barbecued or grilled marinated beef meat plated with grilled eggplant, whole onions,potatoes and red and hot and green peppers.
  • Dolma (dol-MAH)
  • Kufta (koof-TAH)
• Desserts
  • Paghpaghak (pagh-pagh-AHK, ice cream),
  • T'tuLavash (t'-TOO lah-VAHSH), sour plum puree made into cube by pressing layers of the puree over one another and drying in sun.

International Airports in Armenia

The important airports of Armenia are

• Shirak International Airport
• Stepanavan Airport
• Zvartnots International Airport
• Erebuni Airport