Armenia

Quick Facts

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Capital

Yerevan

Population

3,300,000

Government

Republic

Religions

Christianity (Armenian Apostolic)

Languages

Armenian

Calling Code

+374

Nationality

Armenian

Local name

Hayastan

Introduction

Yerevan by night

© All Rights Reserved sayat

Leave your expectations for resort-style comfort at the border. What you should expect in Armenia is some of the world's oldest settlements, beautiful folk music, a mass of ancient churches, an attractive countryside landscape and the largest lake in Transcaucasia.

Brief History

Roughly half-way between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, Armenia has long been a trampling ground for the world's major civilizations, and the 20th century was no exception. Western neighbour Turkey clashed with Russia in the first quarter of the century and Armenia was dragged into the conflict. After suffering mass genocide at the hands of the Turks, Armenia passed into Russian control, till the collapse of the U.S.S.R. at the start of the 90s. And in its first decade as an independent nation (in recent times, that is), Armenia has come head to head with neighbouring Azerbaijan.

Geography

Armenia lies on the edge of Europe, bordered by Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Iran. Nagorno Karabakh is a controversial piece of land in Azerbaijan near the border, which is controlled by Armenia but officially recognised as a part of Azerbaijan. You can only reach it from Armenia by a small corridor.

West of Armenia lies another Azerbaijani territory, Naxcivan.

Armenia is a small but very mountainous country with many peaks reaching up to 4095 metres (Mount Aragats). The biggest body of water is Lake Sevan, east of the capital Yerevan. While the northern parts of Armenia towards the border with Georgia have more forests and green parts in general, the west is very rugged with endless plains at high elevation. The country is regularly struck by major earthquakes. The 1988 earthquake near Gyumri was one of the most devastating ones ever.

Regions

• The North: Shirak, Lori and Tavush
• The Centre: Aragatsotn, Armavir, Kotayk, Gegharkunik and Ararat
• The South: Vayots Dzor and Syunik
• Nagorno Karabakh

Cities

• Yerevan
• Gyumri
• Echmiadzin
• Sevan
• Vanadzor
• Stepanakert in Nagorno Karabakh

Sights and Activities

Yerevan

Yerevan is the capital of Armenia and is likely the first or one of the first places you will spend the night. Actually, the city is a good place to base yourself for at least several nights to explore both the city and the surrounding central parts of the country, as distances and travel times are short.

Echmiadzin

Echmiadzin is about 25 kilometers west of Yerevan and therefor makes for an easy daytrip from the capital. Echmiadzin is the place of the Mayr Tachar, the Mother Church of Armenia and is of the same importance to Armenian christians as Vatican City is to other christians. Apart from the Mother Church, there are also other sights within the territory that bounds the holy ground, like the 2001 Papal Visit Monument, which was build after the visit of Pope John Paul II in this year. Also in Echmiadzin, you can find another Genocide Monument and there are many other churches as well like the Surp Gayane and the Surp Shogahat.

Getting to and from Echmiadzin is very straightforward, with marshrutkas leaving Yerevan every 15 minutes or so, leaving when they are full.

Lake Sevan

Although the town with the same name, Sevan, is a rather ugly place with very few sights, you have to travel to this lakeside town first when you want to reach the lake. Many inhabitants have left this town for a better life in Yerevan or outside the country. Lake Sevan, on the other hand, is very beautiful with clear blue waters and some good hotels and pubs to stay, although only in the summermonths of July and August the place is crowded. Other months, things can look rather dull at some moments, but it is still a beautiful place to visit. As it is at an elevation of almost 2000 meters, temperatures are much better here than in Yerevan, except for the winter months when it temperatures reach deepfreeze level. A good place to enjoy the views of the lake, are from Sevanavank, the Sevan Monastery. It is located on a small peninsula, and it is best to get there by taxi from Sevan or walk for more than hour if you are on a tight budget.

Monasteries

Armenia is dotted with monasteries, some in good shape, others just being a few ruins. Many of them can be visited as a day trip from Yerevan, like the ruins of Zvartnots to the west and the ancient sight of Garni and Geghard to the east of the capital. One of the most beautiful ones is located south of Yerevan and is called Khor Virap Monastery. Located at the foot of Mount Ararat in Turkey, it has a spectactular location and is of great importance to Armenians. There are more monasteries in the more fertile northern and southern parts of the country but a visit to these requires you base yourself in one of the towns in the north or south.

Tatev Monastery

© All Rights Reserved Asti

Many of these are ruins, but some are in great shape, like Tatev Monastery in the south towards the border with Iran. The most important ones though are those within reach of Yerevan.

Events and Festivals

Weather

While winters in Armenia can be bitterly cold with temperatures way below zero at night from December to March, summers can be very hot with temperatures up to 40 degrees Celcius, especially in the capital Yerevan which is on lower elevation. Lake Sevan and the mountains have even colder winters but milder and therefore more pleasant weather during the summer. For visiting the country both the spring months of late April to early June and the autumn months of September to late October are the most pleasant times for travelling. Rainfall is relatively low with March and April being the wettest months. Yerevan has only about 350 mm of rain a year.

Getting There

By Plane

There are flights to most neighbouring countries and several direct flights from countries in Asia and Europe as well. Other flights mostly require a change of planes in Moscow. Airlines that serve the airport in Yerevan are Aeroflot, the national airline of Armenia (Armavia), CSA Czech Airlines, Austria Airlines and Syrian Arab Airlines. As there are not many flights to and from the country, prices, especially from Europe, are generally high with tickets usually costing at least around 500 US dollars. It might be cheaper to fly to Tblisi in Georgia and have a connecting bus to Armenia from there.

By Train

You can only reach Armenia by train from Georgia with regular connection between its capitals Tblisi and Yerevan. Trains are cheap but slow and only for the real train enthusiasts as minibuses are twice as fast and still good value.

By Car

By Bus

There are buses both to Georgia and Iran. To the latter country, daily buses leave for Tabriz and Tehran, 14 and 28 hours respectively. The main connection with Georgia is the Yerevan to Tblisi route with regular buses. Also minibuses, called marshrutkas serve this route, but also other routes like the one to Nagorno Karabakh. There is even a bus to Istanbul now and then which takes up to 3 days!

Note that borders with Azerbaijan (including the exclave of Naxcivan) are closed and not expected to open very soon!

By Boat

Armenia is entirely enclosed by land and has no major rivers connecting with other countries, so getting to and from the country by boat is just not an option.

Getting Around

By Plane

There are no regular flights for travellers in Armenia, as distances are very small and most places can be reached within several hours by (mini)bus.

By Train

By Car

By Bus

Buses and minibuses serve most major cities and lots of smaller towns as well. Buses usually leave all day but have a fixed schedule. Minibuses on the other hand leave whenever they are full which makes it a more flexible option for travellers.

By Boat

No boat connections exist within the country, nor on Lake Sevan unless you hire one yourself.

Red Tape

Most nationalities need a visa to enter the country. The visa is available upon arrival on the airports as well as at all entry points on land into the country. Note that when visiting Nagorno Karabakh you will need a separate visa, which you can get within a day in the capital Yerevan. Also be sure to have this visa on a separate paper when you want to visit Azerbaijan afterwards, because visiting Nagorno Karabakh is considered illegal crossing into their country and most passports do get checked!

Money

Work

Study

Language

Armenian is the language to go in the country. It is an Indo-European language with Persian influences. Its alphabet is unique to any other alphabet and learning it will help you with the most important things like menus and destinations, although sometimes regular alphabet is used next to the national one. The 36 letters of the alphabet also have numerical value with 1-9, 10-90, 100-900 and 1000-9000 representing the 36 letters in alphabetical order.

Eat

When dining out, it is customary to tip 10%.

Sleep

Drink

Health

Safety

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

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