Republic of Armenia (Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun)
Capital – Yerevan
Official languages – Armenian
Recognized minority languages – Russian, Greek, Kurdish
Religion – Armenian Apostolic Church (97%), Other Christians (2%)
Government – Unitary parliamentary republic
Area – 29 743 km2 (11 484 sq mi)
Population – 2 956 900
Inter. Tel. prefix – +374
Currency – Dram
Time zone – UTC +4 (AMT)
The great culture of Urartu, whose writings have not yet been deciphered, three thousand years of gastronomic traditions and even the world’s oldest knotted carpet – all this is Armenia. The heir to ancient Anatolia and the very first Christian country that exists on the planet today.
As for the present, since 2001 the number of visitors to Armenia has been steadily increasing from year to year by about a quarter. Still would! After all, Armenia is duduk and shashlik, churchkhela and lavash, carpets and Lake Sevan, noble mountains and dense green forests, apricots, Ararat – cognac and a mountain, hospitality, toasts … And also – countless ancient monasteries, one of the main tourist attractions – Tatev , Noravank, Haghartsin, Geghard. However, it is possible to list for a long time, but you should see Armenia with your own eyes, taste and enjoy its aromas.
MOST VISITED AREAS
The capital of Armenia, Yerevan, is a very ancient and beautiful city. Most of the buildings here are built of pink tuff, which is why it is called the “Pink City”. Yerevan is very compact, you can easily get around it on foot. Here are the ruins of an ancient Roman fortress, a Turkish fort of the 16th century, and numerous churches.
The second largest Armenian city is Gyumri. It is located almost on the very border with Turkey and is known for its military history. There is a preserved “Black Fortress” of 1837, which defended the city during the Russian-Turkish war, and not far from it is the picturesque Aparan reservoir. The city itself is very beautiful and green; there are reserve quarters in which nothing has changed since the 19th century.
The third largest city in Armenia, Vanadzor, is located in the basin between the Pambak and Bazum ranges. In Vanadzor, it is very convenient to combine cultural recreation with health benefits: there are medieval monasteries, as well as mineral springs, around which clinics specializing in mud and hydrotherapy are built.
Tsaghkadzor ski resort is located 40 km north of Yerevan in the valley of the Marmarik River. On the territory of 12 km of slopes with chair lifts, several swimming pools, a stadium, a sports complex, a stable, as well as hotels and restaurants of Armenian and European cuisine.
CLIMATE
Armenia has a continental mountainous climate: summers are hot and dry; winter, albeit short, but very severe. A characteristic feature is a strongly pronounced altitudinal zonality with significant temperature drops even between closely located settlements. Within Yerevan, there is often a difference of a couple of degrees between the northern and southern outskirts. It rains mainly in spring and early summer.
In the Ararat Valley and Yerevan, the average July temperature is +26 … + 28 ° C, the maximum is +42 ° C, in January – −4 ° C. In the foothills, in summer the thermometer shows +24 … + 26 ° C, in winter – about +5 ° C. Mountain areas can boast of not hot summer months – from +10 to +20 ° C, depending on the altitude, but in winter they get pretty cold – down to −14 ° C. The thickness of the snow cover ranges from 30 to 100 cm, the snow lies for a long time. In the area of Lake Sevan, it is about +20 ° C in summer and -12 ° C in winter months.
