All you need to know before you travel to Armenia
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
All Seasons Are Beautiful in Tsaghkadzor!
I am Armenian and have lived most of my life in Armenia. In the course of my life it happened that I paid some visits to Tsaghkadzor. Then it was very lovely because there were dense woods and high mountains. All these together make a very beautiful composition! I try to recall my impressions when I first saw Tsakhkadzor and try to compare them with my impressions now, when I am working in Tsaghkadzor.
I adore Tsaghkadzor! I assumed my job as hotel manager in Tsaghkadzor in summer of 2010, when all the nature was blossoming and was deep green and the sky was deep blue! From the balcony of the hotel I used to enjoy the opening view and breathe the crystal clear mountain air that is very rich with oxygen. It was so beautiful then that I enjoy every single day of my work in Tsaghkadzor.
... to be continued...
I adore Tsaghkadzor! I assumed my job as hotel manager in Tsaghkadzor in summer of 2010, when all the nature was blossoming and was deep green and the sky was deep blue! From the balcony of the hotel I used to enjoy the opening view and breathe the crystal clear mountain air that is very rich with oxygen. It was so beautiful then that I enjoy every single day of my work in Tsaghkadzor.
... to be continued...
Sunday, December 20, 2009
CHRISTMAS IN YEREVAN
2010 is approaching and all the streets are being decorated with snowflake-like neon lights, brunches of green furs and Christmas trees. The New Year craze is awaited in a couple of days, when everybody will rush to the supermarkets to buy the biggest swine leg, nuts and raisins, chocolates and everything else at double or triple prices of those on regular times. It's the same story every year: the celebration of the biggest holiday of the year is taking a big chunk out of the total savings of an ordinary Armenian family.
Resort areas of Armenia like Tsaghkadzor and Jermuk are sold out since September! The rates in hotels in those regions are sky-rocketing on New Year holidays. Sometimes you can't believe that the global crisis is plaguing the Earth. Those, that didn't guess to book a super-expensive holiday in Tsaghkadzor, have the option to stay in Yerevan and enjoy a one-night party in a fashionable hotel or restaurant. If you have a full pocket, you can enjoy your New Year Eve party in the company of big starlets of Armenia by paying roughly around 300 USD per person. Of course you wouldn't go to the party alone unless you are a sworn lonely wolf and enjoy yourself alone. Otherwise at least 600 USD will be thrown to the wind. Let's hope that at least vodka is going to flow for free on the tables. Don't think it is possible for a normal man to rejoice after losing that many greenbacks in a second and staying sober.
Usually hotels in Yerevan are empty on those days and offering big discounts on rooms to allure those, who may feel it is a good idea to open eyes in a splendid bed in a nice hotel in the first morning of the year after a crazy party. The foreigners are leaving for their homes, while many Yerevanians prefer to stay away of Yerevan or just party somewhere.
With regards to hotels in Yerevan, Visitarm.com, Visitarm Armenian Hotel Reservation Center will provide with info about the special promos available at Yerevan hotels. Golden Tulip Hotel Yerevan has a special Christmas menu available in its splendid Rossini Restaurant, which you can check at http://www.visitarm.com/yerevanhotel/Promo.html . As for other hotels, please check http://www.visitarm.com/ for more info.
Congress hotel in Yerevan is also offering great special rates for New Year period. Please check the link http://www.visitarm.com/congress/congress-hotel.html should you be thinking of spending your holidays there.
Just after the 31st of December, all the entertainment establishments are closed for a couple of days - no shops, no restaurants are open. Just everybody is drunk and visiting friends and relatives to wish them a Happy New Year and Merry upcoming Christmas. Christmas will be on the 6th of January, unlike the Catholic calendar.
It is a great time in Yerevan these days! The Christmas tree is already erected in Republic Square, the decoration works are about to finish, the streets are becoming lighter and lighter in the evenings. The usual winter fog is still delaying its attack on Yerevan, so warmer and clear weather unusual for these days guarantee an enjoyable holiday celebration in Yerevan.
Come and enjoy a memorable Christmas in Yerevan this year!
Resort areas of Armenia like Tsaghkadzor and Jermuk are sold out since September! The rates in hotels in those regions are sky-rocketing on New Year holidays. Sometimes you can't believe that the global crisis is plaguing the Earth. Those, that didn't guess to book a super-expensive holiday in Tsaghkadzor, have the option to stay in Yerevan and enjoy a one-night party in a fashionable hotel or restaurant. If you have a full pocket, you can enjoy your New Year Eve party in the company of big starlets of Armenia by paying roughly around 300 USD per person. Of course you wouldn't go to the party alone unless you are a sworn lonely wolf and enjoy yourself alone. Otherwise at least 600 USD will be thrown to the wind. Let's hope that at least vodka is going to flow for free on the tables. Don't think it is possible for a normal man to rejoice after losing that many greenbacks in a second and staying sober.
Usually hotels in Yerevan are empty on those days and offering big discounts on rooms to allure those, who may feel it is a good idea to open eyes in a splendid bed in a nice hotel in the first morning of the year after a crazy party. The foreigners are leaving for their homes, while many Yerevanians prefer to stay away of Yerevan or just party somewhere.
With regards to hotels in Yerevan, Visitarm.com, Visitarm Armenian Hotel Reservation Center will provide with info about the special promos available at Yerevan hotels. Golden Tulip Hotel Yerevan has a special Christmas menu available in its splendid Rossini Restaurant, which you can check at http://www.visitarm.com/yerevanhotel/Promo.html . As for other hotels, please check http://www.visitarm.com/ for more info.
Congress hotel in Yerevan is also offering great special rates for New Year period. Please check the link http://www.visitarm.com/congress/congress-hotel.html should you be thinking of spending your holidays there.
Just after the 31st of December, all the entertainment establishments are closed for a couple of days - no shops, no restaurants are open. Just everybody is drunk and visiting friends and relatives to wish them a Happy New Year and Merry upcoming Christmas. Christmas will be on the 6th of January, unlike the Catholic calendar.
It is a great time in Yerevan these days! The Christmas tree is already erected in Republic Square, the decoration works are about to finish, the streets are becoming lighter and lighter in the evenings. The usual winter fog is still delaying its attack on Yerevan, so warmer and clear weather unusual for these days guarantee an enjoyable holiday celebration in Yerevan.
Come and enjoy a memorable Christmas in Yerevan this year!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Will Turkey open border with Armenia after U.S. President’s visit?
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey pledged to open the border with Armenia within a month, Hurriyet quoted a European Commission representative as saying.
“Ankara is awaiting U.S. President Barack Obama to arrive. The Turkish-Armenian border will be opened in April. We are hopeful for normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan as well. Establishment of peace in the region is in the interests of Europe,” the source said on condition of anonymity.
“Ankara is awaiting U.S. President Barack Obama to arrive. The Turkish-Armenian border will be opened in April. We are hopeful for normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan as well. Establishment of peace in the region is in the interests of Europe,” the source said on condition of anonymity.
GERMAN FAMOUS SOCIOLOGIST TILLMAN ALERT ARRIVES IN ARMENIA
Famous German sociologist Doctor Tillman Alert, as Panorama.am sources report, is going to visit Armenia on 31 May. Panorama.am did not manage to find out the mission of Doctor’s visit but one thing is obvious – Doctor’s mission varies from its previous ones. Once the German sociologist visited Armenia to have some lectures but this time Mr. Alert is looking for some materials for his current surveys.
Tillman Alert is a sociologist and professor from J.W. Goethe University. He is the author of various surveys and scientific works.
Doctor Alert is also famous for his great interest towards Armenian oriented topics, such as Armenia as a partner of Europe, Armenian culture, Armenian art, Armenians. The German professor has also discussed Armenian Genocide in his works.
Source: Panorama.am
Tillman Alert is a sociologist and professor from J.W. Goethe University. He is the author of various surveys and scientific works.
Doctor Alert is also famous for his great interest towards Armenian oriented topics, such as Armenia as a partner of Europe, Armenian culture, Armenian art, Armenians. The German professor has also discussed Armenian Genocide in his works.
Source: Panorama.am
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office of Germany to visit Armenia
Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office of Germany Gernot Erler will visit Armenia March 29-31 accompanied by the Chairman of the Germany-South Caucasus Parliamentary Group of the German Bundestag, MP Steffen Reiche.During the visit Gernot Erler is expected to have meetings with the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, Chairman of the National Assembly Hovik Abrahamyan, Vice-Speaker of the National Assembly and Chairwoman of the Armenian-German Deputy Group Arevik Petrosyan and Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.
! Reproduction on full or in part is prohibited without reference to Public Radio of Armenia
! Reproduction on full or in part is prohibited without reference to Public Radio of Armenia
Gyumri has preserved the aura and architecture of the 19th century
Gyumri, Armenia - The devastating earthquakes of October 22, 1926, and December 7, 1988, which claimed the lives of about 750 and 17,500 residents of Gyumri respectively, ruined most of the city's buildings except those built during the czarist era - from the second half of the 19th century to the 1920s. When you walk through the central streets of Gyumri, you feel the aura of the 19th century and become fascinated by the city's architecture. That city, however is not present-day Gyumri, it is Alexandrapol, a city which in its day used to be the second richest, most beautiful and attractive city after Tbilisi.
At the beginning of the 19th century, present-day Gyumri was just a village named Kumayri. However, after a dozen years it became one of the most important railway junctions in the Caucasus. In 1837 Russian Czar Nicolai I visited Kumayri and in honor of his wife, Alexandra Fiodorovna, renamed Kumayri, Alexandrapol. Three years later in 1840 Alexandrapol received the status of a city.
In order to learn the history of today's Gyumri and feel the breath of former Alexandrapol, the available volumes of history books and ethnography are not enough. A visit to the museum of the Dzitoghtsians, which is in the center of the city, in old Kumayri, is a must. In general, Gyumri is very rich with museums. I always try to avoid using the ambitious phrase "open-air museum," regardless of which country or city and site it may refer to. However, when it refers to Gyumri's center, where 100-150-year-old architecturally valuable buildings, villas, museums, churches, and other structures with black, sometimes black-and-yellowish stones, are located, the phrase "open-air museum" can be used.
There are three house-museums in the center of the city, on Varpetats Street: Armenian writer Avetik Isahakian's, Hovhannes Shiraz's, and actor Mher Mkrtchian's, who is loved by Armenians throughout the world. The crafts museum of the Aslamazian sisters is located a short distance away. However, the most famous museums, where diasporans and tourists to Gyumri visit, are without a doubt that of the Dzitoghtsians and sculptor Merkurov.
The museum of the Dzitoghtsians
The Dzitoghtsians Museum or the museum of national architecture and urban life of Gyumri was constructed in 1872. The house that is the museum today used to belong to one of the wealthiest people in Gyumri, Petros Dzitoghtsian. I toured the museum with Karine Mkrtchian, one of the employees of the museum.
The museum comprises several sections, where belongings of the former owners have been preserved. Here you can get a clear idea of how wealthy Armenians lived 150 years ago, their tastes, preferences, and interests. Their furniture has been preserved in the rooms of the Dzitoghtsians: the piano and watch brought from Austria 130 years ago, paintings by famous painters brought from Italy and other pieces of furniture brought from Russia and Europe.
Alexandrapol was truly considered the city of arts and crafts. Armen Tigranian staged the opera Anush for the first time in Alexandrapol. The instruments on which they played at that time including the bagpipe, kyamancha, shvi, duduk, and tar have been preserved in the museum. Jivani and Sheram, the famous Armenian ashughs (minstrels) of that time sang in Alexandrapol.
The arts of jewelers, silversmiths, blacksmiths, lace work, and other crafts were developed in the city.
"There were two beer factories in Alexandrapol. One belonged to the Dzaghikians and was constructed in 1881 and the second, which opened sometime later, belonged to Mkrtich Dzitoghtsian, who was Petros Dzitoghtsian's brother. He sent his son to Munich, where he learned the art of making beer. The beer produced in Alenxandrapol was in demand not only in Armenia and the Caucasus, but also outside its borders," explains Karine Mkrtchian.
In the Dzitoghtsians museum you feel that you are in the 19th century, the time when Alexandrapol was the richest Armenian city. At that time Eastern Armenia, which was a part of czarist Russia, only had six cities: the richest and the most important one was Alexandrapol, then came Yerevan, New Bayazet (today's Gavar), Goris, Shushi, and Kars.
In the 1920s the Dzitoghtsians left their house and moved to the Crimea and from there to France. There are no other details about them and their heirs. In 1984 the house was turned into a museum. However after 1988 it was inhabited.
Sergey Merkurov's museum
Sergey Merkurov's museum is next to the Dzitoghtsians museum. Director Arshak Manukian says that Merkurov's creations are phenomenal in the development of Armenian sculpture genre. The creation of monumental memorials of renowned people in pre-revolution Russia is linked to him.
Sergey Merkurov was Greek by origin. To be more precise, in his own words, which he repeated several times, "I am a Greek Gyumretsi [resident of Gyumri] or a Greek-Armenian Gyumretsi." Decades after moving from Alexandrapol, not only did he not forget Armenian, which was like a native language to him, but he always talked and like all residents of Gyumri, joked in the Gyumri dialect.
The Merkurovs, their true surname Merkuridi, moved to Alexandrapol in the mid-19th century, along with another 100 Greek families. Merkurov's grandfather was a trader who had shops in Kars, Tbilisi. and Baku, as well as baths in Alexandrapol. The Merkurovs were among the wealthiest families of the city.
The future sculptor lived and studied in Alexandrapol till the age of 15, then moved to Tbilisi and studied and worked in Zurich, Munich, Paris, Moscow, and many other cities. He studied philosophy and, apart from Armenian, he was also fluent in English, Russian, German, and French.
"Merkurov was a sculptor and monument maker. His huge sculptures were placed in the open air in squares. When we opened this museum we had some difficulties since we could not move some of those sculptures here. Merkurov is famous for being a master of death masks. In the pre-Soviet and Soviet period Merkurov was the most famous death-mask-maker," recounts Manukian.
by Tatul Hakobyan
Published: Friday March 27, 2009
At the beginning of the 19th century, present-day Gyumri was just a village named Kumayri. However, after a dozen years it became one of the most important railway junctions in the Caucasus. In 1837 Russian Czar Nicolai I visited Kumayri and in honor of his wife, Alexandra Fiodorovna, renamed Kumayri, Alexandrapol. Three years later in 1840 Alexandrapol received the status of a city.
In order to learn the history of today's Gyumri and feel the breath of former Alexandrapol, the available volumes of history books and ethnography are not enough. A visit to the museum of the Dzitoghtsians, which is in the center of the city, in old Kumayri, is a must. In general, Gyumri is very rich with museums. I always try to avoid using the ambitious phrase "open-air museum," regardless of which country or city and site it may refer to. However, when it refers to Gyumri's center, where 100-150-year-old architecturally valuable buildings, villas, museums, churches, and other structures with black, sometimes black-and-yellowish stones, are located, the phrase "open-air museum" can be used.
There are three house-museums in the center of the city, on Varpetats Street: Armenian writer Avetik Isahakian's, Hovhannes Shiraz's, and actor Mher Mkrtchian's, who is loved by Armenians throughout the world. The crafts museum of the Aslamazian sisters is located a short distance away. However, the most famous museums, where diasporans and tourists to Gyumri visit, are without a doubt that of the Dzitoghtsians and sculptor Merkurov.
The museum of the Dzitoghtsians
The Dzitoghtsians Museum or the museum of national architecture and urban life of Gyumri was constructed in 1872. The house that is the museum today used to belong to one of the wealthiest people in Gyumri, Petros Dzitoghtsian. I toured the museum with Karine Mkrtchian, one of the employees of the museum.
The museum comprises several sections, where belongings of the former owners have been preserved. Here you can get a clear idea of how wealthy Armenians lived 150 years ago, their tastes, preferences, and interests. Their furniture has been preserved in the rooms of the Dzitoghtsians: the piano and watch brought from Austria 130 years ago, paintings by famous painters brought from Italy and other pieces of furniture brought from Russia and Europe.
Alexandrapol was truly considered the city of arts and crafts. Armen Tigranian staged the opera Anush for the first time in Alexandrapol. The instruments on which they played at that time including the bagpipe, kyamancha, shvi, duduk, and tar have been preserved in the museum. Jivani and Sheram, the famous Armenian ashughs (minstrels) of that time sang in Alexandrapol.
The arts of jewelers, silversmiths, blacksmiths, lace work, and other crafts were developed in the city.
"There were two beer factories in Alexandrapol. One belonged to the Dzaghikians and was constructed in 1881 and the second, which opened sometime later, belonged to Mkrtich Dzitoghtsian, who was Petros Dzitoghtsian's brother. He sent his son to Munich, where he learned the art of making beer. The beer produced in Alenxandrapol was in demand not only in Armenia and the Caucasus, but also outside its borders," explains Karine Mkrtchian.
In the Dzitoghtsians museum you feel that you are in the 19th century, the time when Alexandrapol was the richest Armenian city. At that time Eastern Armenia, which was a part of czarist Russia, only had six cities: the richest and the most important one was Alexandrapol, then came Yerevan, New Bayazet (today's Gavar), Goris, Shushi, and Kars.
In the 1920s the Dzitoghtsians left their house and moved to the Crimea and from there to France. There are no other details about them and their heirs. In 1984 the house was turned into a museum. However after 1988 it was inhabited.
Sergey Merkurov's museum
Sergey Merkurov's museum is next to the Dzitoghtsians museum. Director Arshak Manukian says that Merkurov's creations are phenomenal in the development of Armenian sculpture genre. The creation of monumental memorials of renowned people in pre-revolution Russia is linked to him.
Sergey Merkurov was Greek by origin. To be more precise, in his own words, which he repeated several times, "I am a Greek Gyumretsi [resident of Gyumri] or a Greek-Armenian Gyumretsi." Decades after moving from Alexandrapol, not only did he not forget Armenian, which was like a native language to him, but he always talked and like all residents of Gyumri, joked in the Gyumri dialect.
The Merkurovs, their true surname Merkuridi, moved to Alexandrapol in the mid-19th century, along with another 100 Greek families. Merkurov's grandfather was a trader who had shops in Kars, Tbilisi. and Baku, as well as baths in Alexandrapol. The Merkurovs were among the wealthiest families of the city.
The future sculptor lived and studied in Alexandrapol till the age of 15, then moved to Tbilisi and studied and worked in Zurich, Munich, Paris, Moscow, and many other cities. He studied philosophy and, apart from Armenian, he was also fluent in English, Russian, German, and French.
"Merkurov was a sculptor and monument maker. His huge sculptures were placed in the open air in squares. When we opened this museum we had some difficulties since we could not move some of those sculptures here. Merkurov is famous for being a master of death masks. In the pre-Soviet and Soviet period Merkurov was the most famous death-mask-maker," recounts Manukian.
by Tatul Hakobyan
Published: Friday March 27, 2009
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