Must See: Armenia, The Historical, Notable and Not-So-Traditional Sites of Our Homeland

Ani and Maro are two friends who met in Armenia and proceeded to have wild adventures together. At times they have dared called themselves archeologists, sociologists, modern-day explorers, gastro-bloggers and socialites. Today they merely call themselves freelancers (read: uninsured). These are a few of their favorite things:

Open Letter To The Armenian Diaspora

We are representatives of various environmental groups, writing this message to Spyurq, Armenia…The People of Armenia desperately need the voice and actions of Spyurq. The people of Armenia have lived in fear and slavery for far too long and many have lost faith and aspiration for any betterment.

Khatchkars

Erected adjacent to the entrance of newly established cities and churches, or to commemorate military victories, khatchkars (cross-stones) have traditionally signified genesis.

“I want for Armenians what I want for Kurds’: An interview with Mayor Abdullah Demirbas

Abdullah Demirbas is a man on a mission. The mayor of Diyarbakir’s central district strives to restore some of the city’s multi-cultural and multi-ethnic character through a series of initiatives to renovate places of worship, adopt multi-lingualism, and encourage those with roots in the city to return.

Կուկըլ: Top 10 Stops in Yerevan, Armenia

These are the top ten sites every one traveling to Armenia must visit.

I Was Told There’d Be It π

The way I remember it, the first time I went to Karahunj there wasn’t even a road. It was my very first time in Armenia, everything was brand new, and the constant overload of sensory experience for three months renders my memory suspect when it tells me that we veered off the main highway into a field and all we had to guide us was our driver’s infallible sense of direction (and really, when it’s your first time in Armenia and you’re the only kid who doesn’t speak the language, you want to find the guy with the infallible sense of direction).

Artsakh: The Cradle of Liberation

The story is that in May of ’92, over three nights (sleeping in caves during the day) something like 30 Armenian soldiers scaled the cliff to liberate Shushi. In the meantime, other forces came in from multiple directions. The result was that the Azeri forces thought they were surrounded by much larger forces than they actually were, and they retreated. The view from the cliff is extraordinary, and there’s a waterfall. Everyone loves waterfalls.

Can Armenia’s Economy Thrive on Services

There is no shortage of recent success stories about national economies skipping the development of a large manufacturing sector and instead building a prosperous economy on a robust services industry alone. Countries like Ireland, Norway, and India have largely forgone manufacturing and instead focused their economies on services, the sector of the economy that includes things like finance, software development, design, IT, media, customer support, and other services that are increasingly becoming easier to trade in thanks to technology.

Ughtasar: The Petroglyphs of Armenia

The petroglyphs, or rock engravings, of Ughtasar can be found all over Yerevan; they are inscribed onto silver jewelry, painted onto coffee cups, traced into hand-made pottery, and they adorn the walls of cafes. Reaching the actual petroglyphs of Ughtasar (“ught” meaning camel and “sar” meaning mountain, due to the resemblance of its peaks to the humps of a camel) can be a bit of a challenge, and as with most of Armenia’s noteworthy sites this provides half of the trip’s excitement and intrigue.

More To See Outside of Yerevan

Dilijan and Parz Lich: Located in Northern Armenia, Dilijan is like the Armenian Alps. Check out the beautiful old wooden homes in Old Dilijan or take a hike around the crystalline Parz Lich.

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