All About Armenia
In the backyard of the world’s oldest-known winery, a cherished national tradition evolved In Armenia, you learn quickly that “cheers” doesn’t cut it: Feasts among friends often entail elaborate ordered toasts sprinkled with poetry, religion, folk song and history. Armenians take toasts so seriously that they often nominate a tamadan (toastmaster) to hold court over, say, …
Geghard (Armenian: Geghardavank or “monastery of the spear”) is a medieval monastery located in Armenia‘s Kotayk province, deep within the Azat Valley, which was built directly out of an adjacent mountain. Geghard is renown throughout Armenia for its medieval art and architecture, and local traditions associate the site with Saint Gregory the Illuminator (c. 257 – c. 331 CE) who came to the area …
Statues of Mesrop Mashtots – creator of Armenian Alphabet and Koriun – his pupil and biographer, erected in front of Matenadaran – anchient manuscripts depository. The Armenian Alphabet was invented in 405 AD by Armenian linguist, statesman and hymnologist Mesrop Mashtots. The language has 39 letters. The writing direction – left to right. The Armenian …
On 7 December 1988 a devastating earthquake in northern Armenia killed 25,000 and left hundreds of thousands homeless in the Soviet republic. The 6.8 magnitude quake affected an area 80km (50 miles) in diameter. Mikhail Gorbachev cancelled an official visit to the United States and toured the cities devastated by the earthquake. In a move …
About the Archive This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to …
The Sasanian Empire (224-651 CE, also given as Sassanian, Sasanid or Sassanid) was the last pre-Islamic Persian empire, established in 224 CE by Ardeshir I, son of Papak, descendant of Sasan. The Empire lasted until 651 CE when it was overthrown by the Arab Rashidun Caliphate. It is considered by the Iranian people to be a highlight of their civilization for, after the fall of the Achaemenid Empire (c. …
For many wine producers, harvesting the grapes is the most stressful time period as it can make or break the future of potential wines. Some harvests are easier than others with enough time to gather the grapes with the days and nights going exactly as planned and making it a truly wonderful celebration of gathering …
Residents lived in Old Khndzoresk up until the 1950s In a rural corner of southeastern Armenia, livestock walk in and out of rooms carved into the cliffside, grazing among the ancient rock-hewn homes of Old Khndzoresk, a multi-level village built into the volcanic rocks. Archaeological evidence suggests habitation of the excavated caves goes back over a …
The Areni Cave is a multicomponent cave site with artifacts dating from the Chalcolithic to the Bronze Age. In Armenia, the Areni Cave complex is also known as “Birds’ Cave” (“Trchuneri” in Armenian). Located near the town of Areni, which lies close to the Arpa River and the Gnishik River in Armenia’s central Vayots Dzor Province, the caves are …
Armenian has numerous regional dialects spoken within and outside the country. While the Armenian dialectal diversity is impressive, much of it is endangered. Language endangerment, a process gradually leading to language death, unless it is reversed is of interest not only for linguists. It is inevitably connected to the loss of cultural heritage encoded in …
Prunus armeniaca (“Armenian plum”), the most commonly cultivated apricot species, also called ansu apricot, Siberian apricot, Tibetan apricot, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation. A disputed origin The origin of the species is disputed. It was …
When king Tigranes died of old age in 55 BC, his son Artavasdes II took over the Armenian throne. Ten years earlier his older brother Tigranes the younger had been deported to Rome by Pompey, and never heard of again. His betrayal of his father and his double dealings with Parthia and Rome had upset …
Author’s note The first thing I learned about Leola Sassouni, was that she had fought in the 1918 Battle of Sardarapat with her newborn by her side. It blew me away. How brave and patriotic should one be to put her child’s life in danger while fighting for the nation? I started to search for …
In the capital city of Yerevan, volcanic rock flows pink As you approach the Armenian capital of Yerevan, you can look up and see Mount Ararat towering in the distance, casting its shadow on a city shrouded in pink. Yerevan has come to be known as Armenia’s Pink City for exactly this view: its Soviet-era buildings …
There is now abundant evidence that Azerbaijan is using Syrian jihadist mercenaries transported by Turkey from the areas it controls in Syria to fight against Armenians in Artsakh. The question is why Azerbaijan, a majority-Muslim but ostensibly secular country run by dictator Ilham Aliyev on shaky footing, would want to have jihadists in his country. …
The Hayasa-Azzi were an indigenous Bronze Age tribal confederation which flourished on the plateau of ancient Armenia and eastern Anatolia (on the Armenian highlands note by ArtATsolum) between c. 1500 and c. 1200 BCE. Although the historical record is impoverished and disputed regarding the region at this time, it is known that they were enemies of the powerful Hittites further to the east, were probably …
Before revolutionaries, there was Hayrig. Mkrtich Khrimyan, known by the diminutive Hayrig, was a patriotic leader in the 19th century. Though a clergyman, he made no secret of his nationalism and was even made to resign his position as Patriarch of Constantinople. Before being chosen to serve as Catholicos and thus returning to the clergy, …
A new generation of wineries are going to painstaking lengths to acquire hundreds of historic clay karases After a bit of searching, my driver and I arrive at our destination: Rind, a remote village on Armenia’s western border. Modest residences are strung together along its bumpy, dirt roads. The little community seemingly in the middle …