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Have you ever heard something about Armenia? Do you know that Armenia is one of the oldest countries in the world with rich culture and history? Want to know the things to do and interesting places you can see here? Here we go. Here are 5 reasons why you should visit Armenia.
Armenia is one of the oldest countries in the world with a recorded history of about 3500 years. There are thousands of artefacts found in the territory of Armenian Highlands and Republic of Armenia which prove that Armenians are one of the oldest civilizations in the world.
Now occupying only 30 000 sq.km under the rule of Tigran The Great Armenia’s territory was spread from the Mediterranean to the Caspian sea.
Armenia was located in a beneficial position and that is the reason why it was always envied by numerous conquerors.
The capital of Armenia, Yerevan, is one of the oldest capitals in the world. It is older than Rome by 29 years. Yerevan was founded in 782 BC under the name of Erebuni and it is 2800 years old now.
Armenia is the first country to adopt Christianity as a state religion in 301 under the rule of king Tiridates III. A man named Gregory who served Tiridates was Christian and as at that times Christianity was not accepted Gregory was imprisoned in a very deep pit because of his religion for about 13-14 years.
When after that the king got ill and no one could cure him, his sister had a vision that only Gregory could save king’s life. So Gregory was released and cured Tiridates by his prays.
Tiridates being pagan became Christian and converted the whole country to Christianism too. Now Khor Virap monastery is constructed at the place where Saint Gregory was imprisoned and anyone can go down by the stairs to see that very pit
Armenia is a stony land and one of the most famous stone type in Armenia is tuff of volcanic origin. It can be of different colors: orange, reddish, pink, black or brown. Most of the historical-architectural buildings such as churches or fortresses are made of the Armenian tuff.
The buildings in Yerevan are constructed with pink tuff that is why the capital is also called “Pink city”. There are also a lot of old Yerevan buildings made of black tuff which gives unique atmosphere to the city. It is worth to walk along Republic Square, Abovyan, Aram, Amiryan, Melik-Adamyan, Hanrapetutyan streets where you can find those buildings.
One of the exceptional architectural sites in Armenia is Garni temple, which is the only pagan temple not only in Armenia but also in Caucasus. It was founded in the 1st century AD by the king Tiridates I. The temple is dedicated to the god of sun- Mithra or Mihr.
The temple is consisted of 24 columns which symbolize 24 hours in a day. The temple is beautifully ornamented with the Armenian patterns and pictures such as grape leaves, pomegranates and lion heads as a symbol of power.
During the excavations there was found a roman bath with an exceptional mosaic in the territory of the temple. The mosaic is made of 15 colors of stones brought from Azat river nearby. The mosaic is probably the best preserved one in Armenia.
If you are interested in architecture the top interesting places to visit here are: Noravank Monastery with its exceptional bas-reliefs, Geghard monastery (included in UNESCO heritage list), Zvartnots Cathedral (UNESCO heritage site), Gyumri city with its specific old architecture, Ejmiatsin Cathedral (UNESCO heritage site) and many more. It is impossible to name all of them because there are thousands of sightseeings in Armenia.
Khachkars (cross-stones) are another exclusive piece of Armenian architecture. They have no analogies in the world. Khachkar is a memorial stele on which you can see carved cross accompanied with different floral ornaments or pictures of Saints or God.
Khachkar is included in UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2010. The most amazing thing about khachkars is that all of them are different and there is no same khachkars in the world.
One of the great examples of khachkar art is the one which is in Goshavank Monastery now made by Poghos master. You may also visit ancient cemetery called Noratus where you will see about 500 khachkars from different centuries.
Nature is one of the most attractive things about Armenia. Did you know that according to some scholars the Garden of Eden was located in the Armenian Highlands? The country is mostly mountainous and has plenty of beautiful places which are worth to see.
Gorgeous Mount Ararat, the highest peak (5165m) in the Armenian Highlands can be seen from almost every place from Armenia. This is the very place on the top of which according to Bible Noah’s Ark landed after The Great Flood.
Armenia is rich not only in mountains but also forests, waterfalls, wonderful landscapes and thanks to this hiking tours are very popular here. So if you want to be closer to the nature during your trip to Armenia you definitely need to take a hiking tour in a marvellous nature of Armenia.
Once you visit Armenia you should see Lake Sevan– the biggest lake In Caucasus and the second largest freshwater high-altitude lake in the world. In ancient times Sevan was called Geghama Tsov (Geghama Sea) and you should see it yourself to understand why. Must-see waterfalls here are Jermuk, Shaki, Trchkan waterfalls. Symphony of the Stones in Garni gorge is another wonder created by nature which is worth to see.
Armenian food and cuisine is so rich that it fits both for non-vegetarians and vegetarians. There is a huge variety of dishes made of meat, herbs, vegetables, fish.
Coming to Armenia you need to taste the dishes such as dolma, khorovats (Armenian barbecue), harisa, khashlama, khash, spas, basturma, ghapama, khorovats ishkhan/ ishkhan kebab and many others (famous Sevan Lake in Armenia is famous for delicious crayfish which is called “ishkhan” in Armenian). Gata is traditional Armenian sweet cake which is prepared not only during some holidays but served regularly as well.
One cannot imagine Armenian table without famous Armenian brandy and wine. Visiting Armenia you need to definitely taste Armenian brandy which was Churchill’s favorite one.
To know more about the history of Armenian cognac you should visit famous Ararat brandy factory museum located in Yerevan. There are a lot of wineries all over Armenia so you will have wide variety of wineries to choose for the degustation of one of the most delicious wines.
Wine making was developed in Armenia about 6000 years ago which prove the excavations in Areni cave. In the cave which is also known as “Bird’s cave” big wine jars were found.
One of the most interesting artefacts found in the cave is a shoe which was announced the oldest shoe in the world (5500 years old) made of leather after the expertise. To see the shoe one can visit History Museum of Armenia in the center of Yerevan.
Note that everything that is growing in Armenia, the fruits and vegetables, are all organic and tasty. The best season for tasting them is in September during harvest time.
There are plenty of sightseeing in Armenia to see however there are also many things to do here. Tourism is developing in Armenia with high speed so periodically there appear more and more activities to experience in Armenia. Extreme tourism is one of the most active branches of tourism which is very popular now.
For example, Yell Extreme Park in Tavush picturesque province provides various extreme and adventurous activities such as zip-line, rope park, horse riding, paint-ball, rock climbing, paragliding, off-road driving and others.
If you are interested in culinary and Armenian cuisine you may participate in master classes of making lavash (Armenian traditional bread listed in UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of humanity), gata, tolma or other Armenian dishes, playing Armenian musical instrument “duduk” which is made of apricot tree, dancing Armenian national dances and others.
The one who are interested in culture may visit cultural performances, festivals and concerts which held in Yerevan and in provinces very often. In April in Cascade Complex you may visit Yerevan Jazz concert with the participation of both Armenian and foreign musicians.
At the beginning of May the guests of the capital may taste Armenian wine in the frames of Yerevan Wine Days. Golden Apricot International Film Festival would be interesting for cinematography lovers. Taraz Festival gives an opportunity to learn more about Armenian national clothes.
During Yerevan Color Run the participants are drenched from head to toe in harmless bright colors along the route. Vardavar festival is one of the funniest festivals in summer. During the holiday people splash water to each other and have fun. By the way the holiday comes from pagan times.
Still hesitating? Check available tours all over Armenia and book the one that you like the most. Didn’t find the tour you want? No problem! We are flexible to organize the tour with your own itinerary.
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