According to ITYPEMBA, Yerevan is the capital of Armenia. The city is located in the center of the Ararat valley on the banks of the Hrazdan River at an altitude of 850 to 1300 m. According to legend, it was founded by Noah. However, the first mention of the ancient fortress of Erebuni in chronicles dates back to the 8th century BC. e. In those days, Erebuni was the capital of the powerful state of Urartu and a major trading center in Transcaucasia. In 1991, Yerevan became the capital of independent Armenia. Republic Square is located in the center of Yerevan, where you can see monumental administrative buildings and the Museum Complex. The Museum Complex includes the Art Gallery of Armenia with a collection of works of Armenian art dating back to the 7th century AD, and collections of such outstanding Armenian artists as I.K. Aivazovsky and Martiros Saryan, the Historical Museum, the Museum of Literature and Art, the Museum of the Revolution and the Small Philharmonic Hall. Streets depart from the square in a radial direction, one of them – Mashtots Avenue – is the main street of Yerevan. The avenue starts from the famous Armenian and one of the world’s largest book depositories Matenadaran. Collected here are manuscripts that date back to the 5th-10th centuries AD, the oldest of which date back to the time of the life of Mesrop Mashtots (4th-5th century AD), who invented the Armenian alphabet. There is a monument to Mesrop Mashtots in front of the Matenadaran building. In total, the book depository funds contain more than 17 thousand ancient manuscripts, most of which are Armenian, there are also manuscripts in Russian, Hebrew, Latin, Arabic, Syriac, Greek, Japanese, Persian and other languages. Also in the Matenadaran there is a unique collection of early printed and early printed Armenian books of the 16th – 18th centuries. The Tsitsernakaberd memorial complex is also located in the vicinity of the Republic Square.. It was built on the hill of the same name in 1967 in memory of the victims of the Armenian genocide of 1915. The complex consists of a 44-meter stele, which symbolizes the rebirth of the Armenian people, a monument of 12 stone slabs arranged in a circle and tilted in the form of a cone, in the center of which an eternal flame burns at a depth of 1.5 m, and a 100-meter Wall of Mourning, on which the names of the settlements along which the path of those deported during the Armenian genocide passed were carved. Every year on April 24, Armenians from all over the world come here to honor the memory of the victims of the genocide. In 1995, the Genocide Museum was opened on the territory of the complex underground.
In addition to the Republic Square in Yerevan, the Boulevard of Fountains is interesting, where 2750 fountains were installed in 1968, symbolizing the age of the city, the Opera building with the Conservatory on Freedom Square, the remains of the 16th century Yerevan fortress on the Arin-Bred hill, the memorial monument to the heroes of the Karabakh war Yerablur and many buildings made in the traditional Armenian style and faced pink volcanic tuff.
In the 30s of the 20th century, many churches and mosques were destroyed in Yerevan, but some ancient religious buildings that date back to the 15th-18th centuries have survived to this day. In 2001, in honor of the 1700th anniversary of the adoption of Christianity, a large Cathedral of St. Gregory the Illuminator was built in Yerevan.
There are many parks in Yerevan. Great places to relax are the Haghtanak Park with the Mother Armenia monument, depicting a woman with a sword in her hand, personifying the image of the Motherland, the summer Water Park, the Botanical Garden and the Zoo. Be sure to walk along Proshyan Street, where there are numerous barbecue houses and restaurants.
Yerevan is surrounded by sights from all sides. From here, excursions to different parts of the country are arranged, and most of the tourist places are located not far from the capital.
One of the main attractions of the surroundings of Yerevan is the cathedral complex located 20 km west of it. Etchmiadzin. It is located in the center of the city of the same name. Echmiadzin is the religious center of the country, the residence of the Armenian Catholicos is located here. Etchmiadzin has been mentioned in chronicles since the 2nd century AD. e. called Vagharshapat. Under King Vagharshak I, the city was surrounded by a fortress wall and ramparts and became the capital of Greater Armenia. In the middle of the 4th century, Vagharshapat was destroyed by the Sassanids and the capital was moved to the city of Dvin. The cathedral complex covers an area of 80 thousand square meters. m. Here are the main and oldest Armenian cathedral – the Etchmiadzin Cathedral, which was built in 303 after the adoption of Christianity as the state religion, the Theological Academy of St. Echmiadzin, the residence of the Catholicos (1741), the Synod of the Armenian Church, the refectory (the first half of the 17), a hotel (mid-18th century), a school (1813), a library with a collection of rare books, monastic cells, many ancient khachkars (traditional Armenian crosses of a special form) and a museum where the relics of the Armenian Church are kept.
There are also three ancient temples in Etchmiadzin, which were built in honor of the great martyrs who died for the spread of Christianity. These are the temples of Surb Hripsime (618), Surb Gayane (630) and Surb Shoghakat (1694). The restored majestic temple of Zvartnots is interesting 5 km from Etchmiadzin.(Surb Grigor), which was built in 652 AD. e. and was completely destroyed by an earthquake in the 10th century. In the 20th century, under the leadership of the architect Toros Toromanyan, the temple was partially restored, now a museum is located here.
Further to the west, the regional center Armavir is also of interest. The city is located on the left bank of the Araks River. Armavir is known as the first capital of Armenia and the oldest city in the country. A fortress was built on this site in 776 BC. e. and was called Argishtikhinilii. In the 4th century BC. the settlement that grew near the fortress was called Armavir and for the next two centuries was the capital of the state of Urartu. The ruins of an ancient fortress are located 15 km southwest of Armavir.
10 km south of Armavir, on the territory of a vast park, there is a memorial complex “Sardarapat”. “Sardarapat” was erected in 1968 from red volcanic tuff at the site of the battle that took place on May 22, 1918 between Armenians and Turks as part of the First World War. The complex consists of a 35-meter belfry, in front of which you can see the figures of two huge bulls, an alley with figures of eagles and the Victory Wall, decorated with bas-reliefs, with a triumphal arch. Behind the arch is the State Museum of Ethnography, which presents objects of the material culture of Armenia from different periods, starting from the Bronze Age.
