Yerevan- The Beautiful City of Armenia for Holidays

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City History:

Yerevan is a surprising city. While it's history dates back to the 8th century B.C., the totalpopulation of Yerevan was still under 70,000 at the start of the Soviet era. With this nearlyblank canvas to work with, Soviet architect Alexander Tamanyan went to work on the newcapital of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, hoping to create a Neoclassical jewelmodelled after the great capitals of Western Europe. Visit: www.WonderWorldTravels.com


Unlimited fun

Republic Square1



Republic Square1

The heart of Yerevan, is the Republic Square, the only one in itstype, endowed by singing fountains and a magnificent mosaicrock carpet, which covers 3000 year old ruins underneath it!The Republic Square and all buildings circling it were designedby Alexander Tamanyan the beloved architect for Armenians.The large oval of the Square will give you a great chance toexamine Tamanyan's distinctive designs in detail.

All buildings around the square, Armenia Marriot Hotel, the building of Ministry of ForeignAffairs, The History Museum and National Art Gallery, the Government Building and thebuilding of post office are all unique, built by tuff of different colors and loved by Armenians allover the world.

The famous seven fountains, the meeting spot for thousands and thousands of dates, are alsoin Republic Square, right next to History Museum and National Art Gallery.On weekends, many cheerful wedding parties circle the Square thrice as if to bond their heartswith three more rings.

Matenadaran2



Matenadaran2

The Matenadaran or Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscriptsin Yerevan, Armenia, is one of the richest depositories ofmanuscripts and books in the world. The collection dates backto 405, when Saint Mesrop Mashtots created the Armenianalphabet and sent his disciples to Edessa, Constantinople,Athens, Antioch, Alexandria, and other centers of learning tostudy the Greek language and bring back the masterpieces ofGreek literature.

After 1441, when the Residence of Armenian Supreme Patriarch-Catholicos was moved toEchmiadzin, hundreds of manuscripts were copied there and in nearby monasteries, especiallyduring the seventeenth century. During the eighteenth century, tens of thousands of Armenianmanuscripts perished or were carried away during repeated invasions, wars and plunderingraids. In the late nineteenth century, the collection expanded as private scholars procured andpreserved manuscripts that had been scattered all over Europe. In 1920, the collection, held atthe headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic Church at Echmiatsin was confiscated by theBolsheviks, combined with other collections and, in 1939, moved to Yerevan. On March 3, 1959,the Matenadaran Institute was formed to maintain and house the manuscripts, and in 1962, itwas named after Saint Mesrop Mashtots.

Sergei Parajanov Museum3



Sergei Parajanov Museum3

The Sergei Parajanov Museum is a tribute to Soviet Armeniandirector and artist Sergei Parajanov and is one of the mostpopular museums in Yerevan. It represents Parajanov's diverseartistic and literary heritage. The museum was founded in 1988when Parajanov moved to Yerevan. Parajanov himself chosethe place (Dzoragyugh ethnographic center in Yerevan) andconstruction project of museum.

Due to 1988 Spitak earthquake and socio-economic problems, the museum was opened only inJune 1991, one year after Parajanov's death.

The founding director of museum is Zaven Sargsyan. The museum is one of the cultural centresof Yerevan, known for his exhibitions, publications and honorary receptions (including theannual meetings of Yerevan International Film Festival guests). Paulo Coelho, Wim Wenders,Mikhail Vartanov, Tonino Guerra, Enrica Antonioni, Atom Egoyan, Nikita Mikhalkov, VladimirPutin, Aleksandr Lukashenko, Yevgeni Yevtushenko, Arnold Rtel, Valdas Adamkus, TarjaHalonen, Donald Knuth and many other famous people have visited the museum.

History Museum of Armenia4



History Museum of Armenia4

The Yerevan History Museum is the history museum ofYerevan, the capital city of Armenia. The museum was foundedin 1931 as the Communal Museum. Currently, the museum islocated in a building attached to the Yerevan City Hall. At thebeginning, the museum was located in two rooms, on thesecond floor, of the Yerevan Fire Department building. In 1936,it was moved to the Blue Mosque (Gyoy-Djami) where hadfunctioned for sixty years.

From 1994 to 1997, the museum was located in the building of former Hripsime FemaleGymnasium. From 1997 to 2005, the museum functioned in one of the adjacent buildings ofthe school N1 named after Shahoumian. In 2005, the museum was established in a newbuilding. It forms an architectural complex together with Yerevan Municipality.There are more than 87,000 objects exposed in the Yerevan History Museum. They representthe local material and spiritual culture from ancient times to the present day. The collections ofarchaeology, ethnography, numismatics, fine arts, written records, photography and others,kept in the storage of the museum, tell a vivid story about the past and the present of thecapital city and its people. There are three scientific expositions of the museum, that havecollected, studied and showed objects highlighting the history of Yerevan.

Blue Mosque5



Blue Mosque5

The Blue Mosque is a mosque in Yerevan, Armenia. During theSoviet era, because of atheist policy, the Mosque stopped itsservices and became the Museum of Yerevan. After theindependence of Armenia, with the support from Iraniangovernment, the premises again started acting as a Mosque.The Yerevan region had been under the control of variousMuslim rulers since the incursions of Timur in the 14th century.

From the second third of the 18th century, it had been a province of Iran (ruled successively byNadir Shah, Karim Khan Zand and the Iranian Qajar Dynasty), before it fell to the Russianempire in 1827. The building was the main congregational mosque for the city. When Yerevanwas captured by Russia in 1827 it was, according to the cataster drawn up by the Russians, thelargest of its eight functioning mosques.

The building consisted of the main prayer hall, a library, and a madrasa with 28 cells, allorganised around a courtyard, with the overall complex occupying 7,000 square metres of land.There is a single minaret at the main portal, in keeping with contemporaneous mosques, andthere is no evidence that there were more minarets.

Victory Park6



Victory Park6

Haghtanak Zbosaygi (Victory Park) is a big park located at thetop of Cascade in Yerevan. The park is named Victory Park incommemoration of Soviet Armenia's participation in thesecond World War. The park is a large forested area with anartificial lake, an amusement park, cafes, the Mayr Hayastanstatue and museum, and sweeping views of central Yerevan.

The current statue replaces a monumental statue of Joseph Stalin that was created as a victorymemorial for the Great Patriotic War. During Stalins reign of the Soviet Union, GrigorHarutyunyan, the first secretary of the Armenian Communist Partys Central Committee andmembers of the government oversaw the construction of the monument which was completedand unveiled to the people on November 29, 1950.

Inside the monument there is the military museum of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia .Near the monument stands the tomb of "unknown soldier as the gratitude to those who diedin the struggle against fascism.

Saint Gregory- the illuminator cathedral Yerevan7



Saint Gregory- the illuminator cathedral Yerevan7

The Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, also known as theCathedral of Yerevan is currently the largest cathedral of theArmenian Apostolic Church in the world, effectively making itthe current largest Armenian cathedral. It is located in theKentron District (Central District) of Yerevan, the capital ofArmenia, and considered to be one of the largest religiousbuildings in the South Caucasus along with the Holy TrinityCathedral of Tbilisi (known as the Sameba Cathedral).

Adjacent to the General Andranik metro station, it's visible from the numerous corners ofYerevan. The huge cathedral is a complex consisting of three churches: the Cathedral (MainChurch) with 1700 seats and the Chapels of St. Tiridates the King and of Saint Ashkhen theQueen (both with 150 seats). These two royal figures were the crucial helpers of St. Gregory inconverting Armenia to Christianity. The belfry tower (which consists of more than 30 arches)and the court are located at the entrance of the Cathedral. The halls for both the receptionsand church-related activities are provided on the lower floor of the Main Church.

The total area of the complex is around 3,822 square meters, while the height of the cathedralfrom the ground to the top of the cross is 54 meters.

Cafesjian Museum of Art8



Cafesjian Museum of Art8

The Cafesjian Center for the Arts, also known as the CafesjianMuseum Foundation is an art museum in Yerevan, Armenia. Itis situated in central Yerevan in the area in and around theCascade. At the core of the museum's permanent collection isthe Gerard L. Cafesjian Collection of Art. The inauguration tookplace on 17 November 2009.

It is said that "the museum project represents one of the most ambitious works ofcontemporary architecture undertaken in any of the former republics of the SovietUnion."[citation needed] The New York Times described it as "a mad work of architecturalmegalomania and architectural recovery, one of the strangest and most spectacular museumbuildings to open in ages."

The project was designed by the New York based architecture firm David Hotson Architects. Therest of the design team includes architect of record David Hotson Associates Architecs, Yerevan;structural engineer Dewhurst Macfarlane and Partners, New York, NY; structural engineer ofrecord ArmProject, Yerevan and services and environmental engineer Atelier Ten, New York andLondon, UK.

National Gallery of Armenia9



National Gallery of Armenia9

The National Gallery of Armenia is the largest art museum inthe Republic of Armenia. Located on Yerevan's RepublicSquare, the museum has one of the most prominent locationsin the Armenian capital. The NPGA houses significantcollections of Russian and Western European art, and theworld's largest collection of Armenian art. NGA's Chief DirectorParavon Mirzoyan told Armenia Now news site that themuseum has 65,000 visitors in 2005

The National Gallery of Armenia or NGA was founded in 1921 under the decree of theArmenian Soviet Socialist Republic (Armenian SSR) and represents the artistic section of theState museum. Upon its establishment the NGA's art section encountered serious difficulties,largely due to the fact that Yerevan lacked state owned and private art collections to form thecore of the collection. The first works to enter the collection where the dozens of workspurchased from an Armenian painters' exhibition in August 1921.

A decisive factor in the founding of the NGA's art collection was the transfer of the renownedcollection of The Armenian Cultural Center (the former Lazarian Seminary, Moscow) and alsothe donations made by Armenian artists to the NGA.

Yerevan Zoo10



Yerevan Zoo10

At present the zoo is home to about 2749 individualsrepresenting 204 species. Species representing the SouthCaucasus and Armenia include brown bears, Bezoar goats,vipers, Armenian mouflon, and black vultures. Other species atthe zoo from around the world include lions, tigers, hyenas,and an Asian elephant named Grantik.

The zoo will be partnering with the Artis Zoo (among others) toupgrade and renovate the zoo to modern standards.

Since Armenia is a biodiversity hot spot, the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife andCultural Assets (FPWC) has leased and taken over management of about 839 hectares (2,070acres) near the Khosrov reserve, which until recently had been unprotected and at risk ofpoaching, illegal logging, and overgrazing.

The Yerevan Zoo is cooperating with the FPWC to use this land for wildlife rehabilitation and thereintroducing critically endangered species of the area into the wild.

Katoghike Church11



Katoghike Church11

The surviving church dates back to the 13th century. After the1679 Yerevan earthquake, a large basilica named after the HolyMother of God was built between 1693 and 1695, in theancient Shahar district of Yerevan. It was founded on thewestern side of the Katoghike chapel. It was built of typicalArmenian tufa stones and cement and was of the three-navebasilica type with no dome. With its prayer hall measuring 14.0x 19.3 meters, and an outside perimeter of 16.4 x 28.4 meters,it was considered one of the most capacious churches of oldYerevan.

In 1936, the basilica church of the Holy Mother of God was demolished under the Soviet rule tomake way for residential buildings at the Sayat-Nova Avenue. During the demolition, the 13th-century chapel of Katoghike was discovered encased within the structure of the large basilica.After protests from archaeologists, the chapel was preserved. Many old khachkars (cross-stones) were found in the walls of the demolished church dating back to the 15th and 17thcenturies.

Belly Dance12



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Yerevan- The Beautiful City of Armenia for Holidays