ArmeniaAn open-air museum

Diana Mirzoyan

Armenian Flag, Armenian coat of arms

COUNTRY PROFILEPopulation: 3,213,011Land area: 29,800 sq. km = 11,500 sq. miCapital city: Yerevan (population - 1,103,488)Language: ArmenianReligion: ChristianityCurrency: Armenian Dram (AMD), 1$ = 420 AMDState system: Presidential RepublicParliament: National Assembly, 131 membersLiteracy rate: 99%Time zone: GMT+4 = + 9 to Key West

Population Growth rate – 0,25% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: 11,76 births/1’000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 8,16 deaths/1’000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate: 6,1 migrant/1’000 pop.

Life expectancy at birth: Total population – 71,55 years67,97 years – male; 75,75 years – femaleTotal fertility rate: 1,32 children born/womanEthnic groups: Armenian – 97,9%; Yezidi (Kurd) – 1,3%; Russian – 0,5%; other – 0,3% (2001 census)

Geographical Outline

Armenia( , transliterated Hayastan, officially Հայաստանthe Republic of Armenia ( Հայաստանի

, Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun,is Հանրապետությունa landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe,it is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, and Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the south.

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Armenian Apostolic Church

Religion

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Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion, an event traditionally dated to AD 301. The roots of the Armenian Church go back to the first century.

Armenia is an open-air museum of Christianity. There are thousands of Christian monuments such as monasteries, churches, chapels and cross-stones, manuscripts, icons, etc. One of the earliest Christian civilisations, its first churches were founded in the fourth century.

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In 2014 we celebrate the 1711 years’ anniversary and a magnificent cathedral was built on a small hill in

Yerevan to commemorate this event

Shushi

Saint Hovhann

es

Monastery Tatev

Language

The Armenian language is part of the Indo-European family, but its alphabetis unique.

• The Matenadaran was designed by architect Mark Grigoryan. Located slightly north of the city's center at the foot of a small hill, construction of the Matenadaran began in 1945 and ended in 1957. The exterior was constructed of basalt but parts of the interior were made of other materials such as marble.[1] In the 1960s, the statues of historical Armenian scholars, Toros Roslin, Grigor Tatevatsi, Anania Shirakatsi, Movses Khorenatsi, Mkhitar Gosh and Frik, were sculpted and placed on the left and right wings of the building's exterior. The statues of Mesrop Mashots and his pupil are located below the terrace where the main building stands.

• The Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts , commonly referred to as the Matenadaran (Armenian: ), is Մատենադարանan ancient manuscript repository located in Yerevan, Armenia. It holds one of the world's richest depositories of medieval manuscripts and books about history, philosophy, medicine, literature, art history and cosmography in Armenian and many other languages. The Armenian collection at the Matenadaran is rich in manuscripts dealing in all fields of the humanities, but particularly historiography and philosophy. The writings of classical and medieval historians Movses Khorenatsi, Yeghishe and Aristakes Lastivertsi are preserved here, as are the legal, philosophical and theological writings of other notable Armenian figures. The preserved writings of Grigor Narekatsi and Nerses Shnorhali at the Matenadaran form the cornerstone of medieval Armenian literature.

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GLIMPSES OF HISTORY

• Armenia is one of the earliest cites of human civilization. Few countries claim as Armenia’ can a history that begins 3,000 years ago and continues to the present.

• In later centuries, it frequently oscillated between Byzantine, Persian, Mongol or Turkish control, as well as periods of independence.

• Its rich cultural and architectural heritage combines elements from different traditions.

• Divided between the Persians and Ottomans in the 16th century, eastern Armenian territories became part of the Russian Empire in the early 19th century, while the rest stayed within the Ottoman Empire.

• Between 1915 and 1917, hundreds of thousands of ethnic Armenians died at the hands of government troops in the Ottoman Empire. The most horrific massacre of Armenians took place in April 1915 during World War I, when the Turks ordered the deportation of the Armenian population to the deserts of Syria and Mesopotamia. According to the majority of historians, between 600,000 and 1.5 million Armenians were murdered or died of starvation. Turkey denies that a genocide took place, and claims that a much smaller number died in a civil war.

• An independent Republic of Armenia was proclaimed at the end of the first world war but was short-lived, lasting only until the beginning of the 1920s when the Bolsheviks incorporated it into the Soviet Union.

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Post-Soviet Armenia• When Soviet rule collapsed in 1991, Armenia regained independence declared itself The Republic of

Armenia but retained a Russian military base at Gyumri.

• In the mid-1990s the government embarked on an economic reform programme which brought some stability and growth. The country became a member of the Council of Europe in 2001.

• Unemployment and poverty remain widespread. Armenia's economic problems are aggravated by a trade blockade, imposed by neighbouring Turkey and Azerbaijan since the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh.

• Despite these problems, Armenia's economy experienced several years of double-digit growth before a sharp downturn set in in 2008.

• The conflict over the predominantly Armenian-populated region in Azerbaijan overshadowed Armenia's return to independence.

• Full-scale war broke out the same year as ethnic Armenians in Karabakh fought for independence, supported by troops and resources from Armenia proper. A ceasefire in place since 1994 has failed to deliver any lasting solution.

• Armenia receives most of its gas supply from Russia and, like some other republics of the former Soviet Union, has had to face sharp price rises. Russian gas arrives via a pipeline running through Georgia.

• An Armenian diaspora has existed throughout the nation's history. An estimated 60% of the total eight million Armenians worldwide live outside the country, with one million each in the U.S. and Russia. Significant Armenian communities are located in Georgia, France, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Argentina, and Canada. M.Avet

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Modern Armenia• Politics of Armenia takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic.

According to the Constitution of Armenia, the President is the head of government and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The unicameral parliament (also called the Azgayin Zhoghov or National Assembly) is controlled by a coalition of four political parties:

• The Armenian government’s stated aim is to build a Western-style parliamentary democracy as the basis of its form of government. It has universal suffrage above the age of eighteen.

• Armenia presently maintains good relations with almost every country in the world, with two major exceptions being its immediate neighbours, Turkey and Azerbaijan.

• Tensions were running high between Armenians and Azerbaijanis during the final years of the Soviet Union. The Nagorno-Karabakh War dominated the region’s politics throughout the 1990s. The border between the two rival countries remains closed up to this day, and a permanent solution for the conflict has not been reached despite the mediation provided by organisations such as the OSCE.

• Armenia has also been looking toward Euro-Atlantic structures in recent years. It maintains good relations with the United States especially through its Armenian diaspora. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 427,822 Armenians living in the country.

• Armenia is also a member of the Council of Europe, maintaining friendly relations with the European Union.

• Armenia is divided into ten provinces (marzer, singular marz) M.Saryan

Holy Mount ARARAT

• The Bible states: "And on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mount Ararat." (Genesis, 8:4). During the Great flood, after floating on waters for 150 days, Noah’s ark stopped on Mount Ararat, and on this very day, the human race was granted a second birth in Armenia: on Mount Ararat.

• Although the mountain is not in modern Armenia today but it is still blessed mountain for Armenians. This mountain has miraculous beauty, and is a symbol of the motherland for every Armenian living in any corner of the world.

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Lake Sevan

Shaki Waterfall

Khosrov Forest Preserve • Khosrov Forest Preserve was established in the 3rd century

by the Arshakuni King Khosrove The Great.• It has rich flora and fauna. Armenian mouflon (wild sheep)

and Bezoar goat are widespread in fauna. You can see also leopard, grizzly bear, wild boar, fox, rabbit, hare lynx, marten, wolf,etc.Forest is particularly rich in bird world. You can see black kite, eagle, wild pigeon, seagull and etc...There are many reptiles; particularly a poisonous viper.

• Geghard, Havuts Tar, Kakavaberd, medieval bridge and many other historical monuments are located in Khosrov forest. A deep river Azat flows through it, on the tributaries of which there are many magnificent waterfalls.

Khosrov Forest Preserve

The Armenian Genocide

• On 24 April 1915, Armenian intellectuals were arrested by Ottoman authorities and, eventually a large proportion of Armenians living in Anatolia perished in what has become known as the Armenian Genocide.

Tsitsernakaberd

• There was local Armenian resistance in the region, developed against the activities of the Ottoman Empire. The events of 1915 to 1917 are regarded by Armenians and the vast majority of Western historians to have been state-sponsored mass killings, or genocide. Turkish authorities, however, maintain that the deaths were the result of a civil war coupled with disease and famine, with casualties incurred by both sides. According to the research conducted by Arnold J. Toynbee (a British historian) an estimated 600,000 Armenians died during the Armenian Genocide in 1915–16.

Armenian cuisine

• We are very much interested in food.Our cuisine is more than 2 thousand years old and it is still tasty and fresh.

• Bread was the most important food in Armenia .That’s why such english expressions as to have dinner supper are simply replaced by to eat bread in Armenian.Most Armenian use a lot of bread and especially lavash…

Climate

Armenia is a country of contrasts.In this small piece of land a sultry summer and eternal winter exist almost side by side.The valleys can be hot as topics,while mountains are covered with snow all year around. Evening breezes blowing down the mountains provide a welcome refreshing and cooling effect. Springs are short, while falls are long. Autumns are known for their colorful foliage.Winters are quite cold with plenty of snow.Winter sports enthusiasts enjoy skiing down the hills of Tsakhkadzor.

Winter

Spring

Happy Easter

With my Mom in the country house

Summer

Lake Sevan

Autumn

Armenian miniatures

Armenian carpets

Armenian wine and cognac

Charles Aznavour

Aram Khachaturian

Kirk Kerkorian

System of a Down

William Saroyan

Armenian Hall of Fame

Armenian Dried Fruits

Shnorhakalutyun