All About Armenia
The landscape of Armenia is diverse. Often, there are several sub-regions within a single region, each with their own distinct set of tourist destinations In the summer of 2020, the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage’s My Armenia Program partnered with Armenian publication Yerevan Magazine to publish a special issue highlighting community-based cultural heritage tourism in the country. Over the next few …
The Asiatic Lions/Persian Lion (Panthera leo persica) once ranged from the Mediterranean to India, covering most of West Asia. This majestic lion once lived in Armenia in ancient times, before becoming an extinct species in the region. The lion can be found in Gir Forest National Park of northwestern India. Now only 523 exist in …
Armenia’s folk remedies and botanical traditions are getting a new look There is something remarkable about the communities that line the former Silk Road. Bound together by a shared natural environment, there is a reservoir of knowledge here, safeguarded and passed down from one generation to the next. In some parts of the world, you …
In Sebastia, animal footprints and remains have been found, presumably belonging to deer, antelopes, and horses. Lecturer in the Faculty of Engineering and Geology at Cumhuriyet University, Dr. Mesjin reports that the fossils are between 23 and 33 million years old. According to Mesjin, “Although the traces are not very clear, one is small and …
According to Ermenihaber, unprecedented mass mortality of gulls was observed in Lake Van in August 2020. This phenomenon has caused panic among the locals, as people think that it is due to the COVID-19 pandemic or environmental pollution. Professor Lokman Aslan, a Turkish scientist, said that the gull mortality is normal. But leaving the dead …
Hazar (Turkish: Hazar Gölü, Armenian: Ծովք, Tsovk) is a rift lake in the Taurus Mountains, 22 km southeast of the city of Elazig, Turkey. This lake is the source of the Tigris River. The ancient city of Elazig was founded by Armenians and historically has had many different names. Among Armenian and Byzantine authors, it …
A vegetable-fruit called shelengo grows only in Urfa, Historical Armenia. This unique fruit in appearance resembles a tiny watermelon. On the inside, it’s like a muskmelon, while the taste resembles a cucumber. This year, the shelengo crop ripened prematurely. Shelengo is harvested at temperatures above 45 degrees. The vegetable growing in Urfa has been widely …
According to scientists, the volcanic activity of Greater and Little Ararat began in the third millennium BC. Proof of this are the remains of human bodies found during excavations, as well as household items dating from the Bronze Age… (pay attention to the dating!). During the Common Era, the strongest eruption occurred in July 1840. …
The true habitat of the Adonis flower which is listed in the Red Book of Endangered Species is the wildlife of the province of Tunceli in Historical Armenia. This flower discovered by Russian naturalist and historian Pyotr Chikhachev in 1867 in the village of Shabin-Karahisar in the Giresun Province has not been seen since its …
8 years have passed since Avetis Sanoyan and his family moved from the Syrian city of Aleppo to the village of Ishkhanadzor in Artsakh. During recent years, he and his brother planted gardens, were engaged in grain production, and acquired their own agricultural equipment. They no longer think about returning to Syria. Last fall, they …
Dersim’s medicinal plants Saniye Ildeniz makes herbal mixtures from flowers and plants from Dersim. In an interview with a journalist from the PIRHA news agency, Ildeniz talked about the benefits of some herbs that can cure many diseases. Having received knowledge from her grandmother, she is now following the ideas of traditional medicine in Dersim. …
Numerous karst (shallow) lakes between Hafik and Zara have been formed in geomorphological gaps characteristic of this area. The 15 large and small natural lakes in the areas of Hafik and Zara in the province of Sebastia, Historical Armenia, are remarkable works of nature. One of the most striking features of these lakes is their …
The natural warm springs flowing from underground sources are considered one of the most visited tourist destinations in Artsakh. In particular, one popular spot is the town of Jermajur rich in natural hot springs and located at an altitude of 2,200-2,400 meters. The mineral water springs of Jermajur are renowned for their healing properties. The …
According to the latest scientific evidence, cats were domesticated about ten thousand years ago in the Middle East. Their ancestors were wild Libyan cats (Felis silvestris lybica), and the first cat owners were the farmers of Egypt and the Levant. Scientists suggest that among the first tamed cats, there were no animals with bright spots …
Lake Sevan is a high-altitude (roughly 2000 meters) freshwater lake surrounded by mountain ranges – the Pambak range from the northwest, Sevan and Areguni ranges from the northeast, and the Geghama and Vardenis ranges from the west and south. Sevan consists of two parts – Lesser and Greater Sevan. The depth of the lake reaches …
The Zarni-Parni complex is located in the vicinity of the Haghpat temple in the Lori Province of Armenia. Locals call this place “Old Fortress”. According to archaeologists and historians, the monuments in the complex date back to the 10th century. In antiquity, these structures have initially served as a fortress – more precisely, they have …
The deepest of the numerous gorges formed by Vorotan is located on the Tatev-Arzhis section at an altitude of 700-800 m. In this section, the gorge is so narrow that even the rays of the sun cannot penetrate and reach its bottom. In one of the deepest places of the gorge is the most picturesque …
The Mamrot Kar waterfall is also known as Hovanots or Shushva Umbrella. The root of the waterfall is a deep water source originating in the stone of the canyon, which gives rise to a continuously running waterfall in the form of a huge umbrella covered with moss (“mamur” in Armenian, hence the name “Mamrot Kar”, …