Republic of Armenia

The Republic of Armenia is a state in the South Caucasus, located in the northern part of Western Asia and the northeastern section of the Armenian Highlands. Its capital is Yerevan. This is a land that makes every visitor fall in love with it from the first steps on its sunlit ground, offering a wealth of fascinating historical and cultural landmarks.

Armenia is one of the safest countries in Southeastern Europe, covering a total area of 29,743 square kilometers and situated at an altitude of 1,000 to 2,000 meters above sea level.

In the 4th century, in the year 301, during the reign of King Tiridates III the Great of the Arsacid dynasty and through the efforts of Gregory the Illuminator, Armenia became the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as its state religion. The Armenian Apostolic Church, one of the oldest national churches in the world, remains the country’s primary religious institution. Armenia is an open-air museum of Christianity, home to thousands of Christian monuments such as monasteries, churches, chapels, khachkars (cross-stones), manuscripts, icons, and more.

Visiting Armenia will allow you to discover much more about this remarkable country.

Yerevan – The Capital of the Republic of Armenia

Yerevan, the capital and largest city of Armenia, is a vibrant, colorful, and eventful metropolis with a rich history dating back to ancient civilizations. The city hosts numerous international events, including symposia, conferences, festivals, sports competitions, and more. Every year, the number of visitors from all corners of the world continues to grow.

Armenia appears on an ancient map of the Roman Empire, located near the Colosseum. Additionally, a unique 16th-century map of Armenia can be found in the Palazzo Vecchio Museum in Florence. Furthermore, Armenia is depicted on the world’s oldest surviving map, inscribed on a clay tablet discovered in Iraq in the 19th century. This Babylonian map, dating back to the 6th century BCE, is now preserved in the British Museum.

Famous Armenians

Armenia has given the world many prominent figures, including:

1. Charles Aznavour – Legendary French-Armenian singer and songwriter
2. Georges Garvarentz – Composer
3. Cher (Cherilyn Sarkisyan) – an American singer, actress and television personality
4. Michel Jean Legrand – French musical composer, arranger, conductor, jazz pianist and singer
5. Alexander Spendiarov – composer and conductor, founder of Armenian national symphonic music.
6. Aram Khachaturyan – composer and conductor
7. Arno Babajanyan – composer and pianist
8. Komitas – Founder of Armenian classical music, Musicologist, composer, choirmaster
9. Vazgen I (born Levon Garabed Baljian) – was the Catholicos of All Armenians between 1955 and 1994, for a total of 39 years, the 4th longest reign in the history of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
10. William Saroyan – Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer, Pulitzer Prize winner
11. Antonio Arslan – an Italian writer and academic of Armenian origin
12. Henri Troyat (Lev Aslanovich Torosyan) – French author; a biographer, historian and novelist
13. Hovhannes Aivazyan (Ivan Aivazovsky) – Romantic painter who is considered one of the greatest masters of marine art.
14. Sergei Parajanov – Renowned film director and screenwriter. He is regarded by film critics, film historians and filmmakers to be one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.
15. Henri Verneuil (Ashot Malakian) – French-Armenian playwright and filmmaker, who made a successful career in France. He was nominated for Oscar and Palme d’Or awards, and won Locarno International Film Festival, Edgar Allan Poe Awards, French Legion of Honor, Golden Globe Award, French National Academy of Cinema and Honorary Cesar awards.
16. The Alikhanyan Brothers
    • Abraham Alikhanyan – experimental physicist who specialized in particle and nuclear physics. He was one of the Soviet Union’s leading physicists.
    • Artem Alikhanyan – physicist, one of the founders and first director of the Yerevan Physics Institute, a correspondent member of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union (1946), academic of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences. With Pyotr Kapitsa, Lev Landau, Igor Kurchatov, Abram Alikhanov and others, he laid the foundations of nuclear physics in the Soviet Union. He is known as the “father of Armenian physics”. 
17. Robert Avagyan – physicist, doctor of physical and mathematical sciences, professor, corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR (1986), full member of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia (1996). President of the Armenian Physical Society (1989-2007).
18. Yuri Oganessyan – an Armenian and Russian nuclear physicist who is best known as a researcher of superheavy chemical elements. The heaviest element known of the periodic table, oganesson, is named after him, only the second time that an element was named after a living person.
19. Viktor Ambartsumyan – Armenian astrophysicist and science administrator. One of the 20th century’s leading astronomers, he is widely regarded as the founder of theoretical astrophysics in the Soviet Union.
20. Alpik Mkrtchyan – Honored Scientist, Acadimition, Doctor of Physics and Mathematics Sciences, Professor
21. Gurgen Askarian – prominent Armenian physicist, famous for his discovery of the self-focusing of light, pioneering studies of light-matter interactions, and the discovery and investigation of the interaction of high-energy particles with condensed matter.
22. The Orbeli Brothers:
    • Joseph Orbeli – Armenian orientalist, public figure and academician who specialized in medieval history of Transcaucasia and administered the Hermitage Museum in Leningrad from 1934 to 1951. He was the founder and first president of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences
    • Levon Orbeli – an Armenian physiologist active in the Russian SFSR. He was a member of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union and Armenian National Academy of Sciences. Leon Orbeli became the director of the Institute of Physiology in 1950.
    • Ruben Orbeli – archeologist, historian and jurist, who was renowned as the founder of Soviet underwater archeology.
23. Artem Oganov – a Russian theoretical crystallographer, mineralogist, chemist, physicist, and materials scientist of Armenian origin.He is known mostly for his works on computational materials discovery and crystal structure prediction, studies of matter at extreme conditions, including matter of planetary interiors.
24. Sergey Mergelyan – Armenian mathematician, who made major contributions to the Approximation theory. The modern Complex Approximation Theory is based on Mergelyan’s classical work. Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union (since 1953), member of NAS ASSR (since 1956).
25. Alexander Tamanyan – аn Armenian neoclassical architect, born in Russia, widely known for his works in the city of Yerevan
26. Grigor Narekatsi – an Armenian mystical and lyrical poet, monk, and theologian. He is venerated as a saint in the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic Churches and was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Francis in 2015.
27. Andranik Iosifyan – а scientist in the field of electrical engineering, founder of the Soviet school of electromechanics, and one of the pioneers of Soviet rocket science and astronautics
28. Giacomo Luigi Chamicyan – an Italian chemist and senator. He was a pioneer in photochemistry and green chemistry
29. Hovhannes Adamyan – an Armenian and Soviet engineer. He was an author of more than 20 inventions. The first experimental color television, shown in London in 1928, was based on Adamian’s tricolor principle, and he is recognized as one of the founders of color television.
30. Christopher Ter-Serobyan (Khachatur Ter-Serobyan) – Armenian chemist and inventor, best known for creating the unique green color used in U.S. dollar bills to prevent counterfeiting. And many others.

And many others.

Armenian Cuisine

Armenian cuisine is one of the oldest and most distinctive in the world, shaped by traditions passed down through generations. It is characterized by the use of various spices, fresh herbs, meats, vegetables, and grains.

Key Features of Armenian Cuisine:
✅ Simple yet rich flavors – a combination of fresh ingredients, greens, and spices.
✅ Predominance of meat – lamb, beef, poultry, and, less frequently, pork.
✅ Bread and baked goods – the famous lavash is an essential part of the Armenian table.
✅ Abundant use of spices and herbs – basil, cilantro, mint, tarragon, and thyme.
✅ Open-fire cooking – including barbecued dishes and tandoor (tonir) cooking.

Popular Dishes:

Armenian cuisine is not only rich in flavors but also deeply rooted in tradition, where each dish symbolizes hospitality and respect for food. 😊 Would you like a recipe for any of these dishes?

Mount Ararat – The Symbol of Armenia: Mount Ararat, despite being located in present-day Turkey, remains a national symbol of Armenia. This legendary mountain, with its two peaks – Great Ararat (Masis, 5,165 m) and Little Ararat (Sis, 3,896 m) – has long been considered sacred by the Armenian people. It is depicted on Armenia’s coat of arms, coins, and postage stamps. Ararat has inspired countless Armenian poets and artists, including Hovhannes Tumanyan and Paruyr Sevak. The region of Ararat is also famous for its wines and the renowned Ararat brandy (well known and world recognised as ‘Armenian conyak’).

For Armenians, Ararat is not just a mountain but a national relic and spiritual landmark. It symbolizes eternity, resilience, and the unbroken connection between generations. Despite historical challenges, Armenians continue to regard it as their sacred mountain.

Meghri – The Warmest City in Armenia: Meghri is a city in southern Armenia, located in the Syunik Province. The city’s name derives from the Armenian word for “honey,” reflecting the region’s abundance of nectar-rich plants.

Situated on the left bank of the Meghri River, a tributary of the Aras River, at an altitude of 605 meters above sea level, Meghri enjoys a subtropical dry climate with mild, low-snow winters and hot, dry summers. With an average annual temperature of +13.4°C, Meghri is the warmest city in Armenia.

Since the founding of Tatev Monastery in the 8th century, the Meghri region has developed significantly. In 906, King Smbat I established the settlement of Karchavan here, and in 987, the city became part of the Kingdom of Syunik. Over the centuries, Meghri endured invasions by Seljuks, Mongols, and other conquerors. During the Russo-Persian War in 1810, the city was liberated from Persian forces.

Meghri is home to 17th-century historical monuments, including Meghri Fortress, the churches of Surp Astvatsatsin and Surp Sarkis, as well as traditional ethnographic houses from the 18th–20th centuries.

Lake Sevan: Lake Sevan is the largest freshwater lake not only in Armenia but also in the entire Caucasus region. It is located in the Gegharkunik Province at an altitude of approximately 1,900 meters above sea level. The lake covers an area of about 1,242 km², with a maximum depth of 79.4 meters. Sevan is fed by 28 rivers and streams, but only about 10% of its water flows out through the Hrazdan River, while the rest evaporates.

The lake plays a crucial role in Armenia’s economy and culture. It supplies around 90% of the country’s fish and 80% of its crayfish. On what was once an island, now a peninsula, stands the medieval Sevanavank Monastery, a significant historical landmark. During the Soviet era, the water level in the lake significantly dropped due to its use for irrigation and hydroelectric power, leading to a volume reduction of more than 40%. Later, tunnels were constructed to divert water from mountain rivers, stopping the decline and helping to restore the lake’s level.

Sevan is an important industrial and tourist center in Armenia. Its proximity to the lake makes it a popular vacation spot, attracting both locals and tourists. The surrounding area is home to historic sites, including the Sevanavank and Ayravank monasteries.

Ankavan:  Ankavan is a village in Armenia, located in the Kotayk Province, in the picturesque valley of the Marmarik River, at an altitude of 1,900 meters above sea level.

The village is situated 85 km north of Yerevan and 40 km from the regional center, the town of Hrazdan. The surrounding landscape is rich in lush greenery, flowers, scenic ravines, and gorges framed by dense forests, adding to its unique charm. The climate is moderately humid, with cool summers and mild, snowy winters. The average annual precipitation is 600–700 mm, and the region enjoys 2,400–2,500 hours of sunshine per year.

Ankavan is famous for its mineral and thermal springs. Several self-flowing mineral springs have been recorded in the village, with a total daily output of over 2 million liters. These waters have moderate mineralization and contain trace elements such as strontium, lithium, fluoride, copper, manganese, molybdenum, iodine, and bromine, enhancing their therapeutic properties.

Due to its natural and climatic features, Ankavan has the potential to develop as a climatic and balneological resort. There are plans to transform the 25 km-long Marmarik River Valley into an extensive wellness zone. The village and its surroundings are home to health resorts and recreational facilities offering wellness and relaxation services.