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Officially the Republic of Armenia, a mountainous country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia, Armenia boasts a history longer than most other European countries.Situated along the route of the Great Silk Road, it has fallen within the orbit of a number of cultural influences and empires. Total Area 29,743 km2After independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia quickly became drawn into a bloody conflict with Azerbaijan over the mostly Armenian-speaking region of Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia has a population of (2011 census) 3,018,854 and is the second most densely populated of the former Soviet republics

                             Its rich cultural and architectural heritage combines elements from different traditions

Goshavank monastery was built in 1188

The famous khachkar at Goshavank, carved in 1291 by the artist Poghos, widely considered one of the finest examples of this art form

Khachkar at Goshavank, carved in 1291

Armenian Bird LettersArmenian Alphabet Sculpture Unveiled at U.C. Berkeley

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

Mesrop Mashtots  invented the Armenian alphabet c. 405 AD

One of the earliest Christian civilizations, its first churches was founded in the fourth century

The Museum "Treasures of Echmiadzin"

Khachkar (memorial stone)

In later centuries, it frequently oscillated between Byzantine, Persian, Mongol or Turkish control, as well as periods of independence. Armenian Woman by Frederick Arthur Bridgman, 1882

An Armenian Lady in Cairo 1855 John Frederick Lewis

Geghard monastery

Wooden khachkars for sale

Wooden Khachkars for sale

Replica (mostly) Djulfa khachkars at Surp Amenaprkich Cathedral in Gyumri, Armenia

Hayravank monastery

Hayravank monastery

Symbol of the Armenian identity "The Khachkar,“ is a memorial stone unique to the country of Armenia

Noratuz cemetery at Sevan Lake,

Armenia

An Armenian khatchkar (cross-stone), the work of Armenian sculptor Ruben Nalpantyan, was unveiled on a prominent square in La Plata, the capital of the province of Buenos Aire

Khachkars are found almost everywhere in

Armenia, mostly by monasteries,

crossroads, mountain ledges,

springs and bridges

Khachkars at Sevanavank

The Sergej Parajanov Museum is a tribute to one of the greatest figures of 20th-century world cinema

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

Gyumri Between 1915 and 1917, hundreds of thousands of ethnic Armenians died at the hands of government troops in the Ottoman Empire

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 UnionThe Sevan Lake

Aramazd - The father of all the gods and goddesses, Aramazd created the heavens and the earthDuduk

Tegheri Vank is an early 13th-century Armenian monastery and church located on the southeastern slopes of Mount Aragats near the modern village of Tegher

When Soviet rule collapsed in 1991, Armenia regained independence but retained a Russian

military base at Gyumri

A charming detail from the Sevanavank khachkar

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

The Vernissage art market offers a unique chance to purchase locally made Armenian crafts, including world-famous carpets -

Kevorkian Siranuysh (1904-1983) blooming pear 1959National gallery

Matenadaran - The Museum of Ancient Manuscripts, Yerevan

The heritage of the Armenian dance is perceived to be one of the oldest and richest forms seen in the near east

Basilique d'Odzoun

Geghard Monastery

Goris

Hov

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Pus

hman

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arci

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Hovsep Pushman Youth

Haghartsin Monastery

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

Minas Avetisyan - Self-Portrait -

1960

Minas Avetisyan (1928 -1975 ) Meditation. My family 1960

Statue Public

art Yerevan

We are our Mountains 1967

by Sargis Baghdasaryan

Nagorno Karabakh

Nagorno Karabakh “Tatik

and Papik” monument in Stepanakert

Reconstructed bust of Tigranes the Great (140 – 55 BCE)

Architect Vladimir Atanyan's Zodiac fountain in Charles Aznavour square, Yerevan

Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Council of Europe and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Armenia supports the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which was proclaimed in 1991

Sevada Grigoryan Sirusho - singer

Sirusho performing Armenia's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008

Despite all problems, Armenia's economy

experienced several years of

double-digit growth before a sharp downturn set in in 2008.

Though the economy grew by about 7% in 2012, by the beginning

of 2013 more than 30% of the

population were still living below the poverty lineSelim Karawanserei

Still-life with Armenian musical instruments duduk thar and qyamancha Print by Meruzhan Khachatryan

Taraz- Armenian Traditional Folk Clothing

Tatev 9th-century monastery

The circular park of Yerevan Waiting by Stepan Taryan

The circular park of Yerevan Waiting by Stepan Taryan

Teodor Axentowicz (Polish-Armenian painter, 1859–1938) Girl with Scarf

There has been a problem of population decline due to elevated levels of emigration after the break-up of the USSR. However, in the past years, the emigration levels have leveled and there is steady population growth

Yaghdan bridge

Armenia has a huge diaspora and has always experienced waves of emigration, but the exodus of recent years has caused real alarm. It is estimated that Armenia has lost up to a quarter of its population since independence, as young families seek what they hope will be a better life abroad.

Sound: Djivan Gasparyan - Siro Husher - To Eva

Text & pictures: InternetCopyright: All the images belong to their authors

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanuwww.slideshare.net/michaelasanda

ARMENIAN LEGENDS: LEGEND OF THE PEACH TREEIn the olden days, Armenia had as many people as peach trees. When a new baby was born into any family, the goddess of beauty Astghik appeared and threw a peach pit by the door of the house. It was her way of blessing the parents and relatives of the newborn. The father or the grandfather of the child would step outside the door, pick up the peach pit, and plant it in his garden. When the pit took root, becoming a sapling, the child learned to stand and began to walk. When the seedlings sprouted flowers, the child learned its first words. And as the house was filling with the joy of a growing and maturing child, so too the peach tree grew and blossomed with pink flowers, becoming the pride of the garden where its loveliness and fragrance stood out among other flowering trees. Both the child and the tree were beautiful: after all, the goddess of beauty herself created their union. As the voice of the child grew louder and more confident, the peach tree’s fragrance grew ever so stronger. And so it would come to pass that the garden, and the house, and the hearts of all the people living in it were filled with the aroma of the peach tree – the true nectar of love.That was why in ancient times people did not speak, but sang and their words were words to a song, a song beautiful and pure. And their language was like a music sheet for a divine melody. As for the Armenian language, they called it the language of kings.But if someone forgot to step outside the door to pick up the peach pit and plant a tree on a child’s birthday, whether for lack of time or because of a simple misunderstanding, then the earth would lose a whole fraction of unique peach flavour.