There is a variety of interesting festivals in Armenia all year round. Whenever you visit this amazing country you’re likely to catch one. The festivals in rural communities are always accompanied by traditional music and dance and acrobatics including tightrope walking, so there are usually plenty of things to see, taste and even take part…
‘Sharakans,’ and liturgies are purely Armenian ecclesiastical music and are priceless cultural heritage. Komitas being the most famous Armenian composer, is also known for creating ‘khazes,’ the Armenian form of musical notation and transcribing and preserving rural Armenian songs. Gusans and ashughs were singers in royal households and palaces in Armenia, and passed songs through…
While in many countries visitors and even the citizens have to buy bottled water, in Armenia tap water is a safe option and even tastes good, which is unusual for foreigners. Armenia is also famous for its public drinking water fountains especially common for Gyumri and Yerevan, the two largest cities of Armenia, which are…
Wings of Tatev is a 5.7 km cableway between Halidzor village and Tatev Monastery in the South of Armenia. It is the longest reversible aerial tramway built in only one section and holds the record for the “Longest non-stop double track cable car”. Construction was finished on 16 October 2010. The link allows year-round access…
Wrestling has deep historical roots in Armenia. Wrestling existed in the Armenian Highlands since ancient times. Armenians have their own variant of the game called Kokh. It was recorded that King Tiridates III of Armenia won the Ancient Olympic Games in wrestling in 281 AD. During the Soviet era, wrestling became one of the most…
Yerevan is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. In 2018 the 2800th anniversary of the foundation of the capital city of Erebuni-Yerevan will be celebrated with events, live music, dance performances and other cultural activities all around the city. The history of Yerevan dates back to the 8th century BC, with…
The massive earthquake that struck Armenia on December 7, 1988 at 11:41am was epicentered in Spitak, taking at least 25,000 lives. Measuring 6.8 on the Richter Scale, the many poorly constructed Soviet buildings across the region sustained heavy damage or collapsed. The small city of Spitak was destroyed, while the nearby cities of Leninakan (later…
Having a thousand-year history, Armenian national dance art derives its origin from a pre-Christian period-time. On the whole, the Armenian dance art has long been one of the most revealing expressions of its character and aesthetic thinking as well as highlights its national idiosyncrasy, inner world and attitude towards nature and life at large. Stemming…
The Armenian Genocide was the Ottoman government’s systematic extermination of 1.5 million Armenians, mostly citizens within the Ottoman Empire and its successor state, the Republic of Turkey. The starting date is conventionally held to be 24 April 1915, the day that Ottoman authorities rounded up, arrested, and deported 235 to 270 Armenian intellectuals and community…
The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside the Republic of Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout the world. However, the modern Armenian diaspora was largely formed as a result of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, when the…