Category: Armenia Top List Travel
Source: https://top-list.co/top-things-to-know-before-traveling-to-armenia-v217.html
History
Armenia established an autonomous country for a brief period between 1918 and 1920. Following an invasion of Armenia by the Soviet Red Army in late 1920, local communists took control, and Armenia joined the Trans-Caucasian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1922. It was renamed the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1936.
Every hamlet, town, and city you visit will teach you about Armenia’s rich past. Armenia is littered with monasteries and temples. You can sense the past when you go into one of these brilliantly constructed structures. Despite the fact that some of these ancient structures are approximately two thousand years old, they are all very new.
Armenian history predates Christianity by thousands of years. Joining a free walking tour of Yerevan is an easy way to learn about Armenian history from the past to the present. This is absolutely one of the things to know before traveling to Armenia. The trip lasts roughly 2.5 hours on average. That’s correct, it’s completely free, unless you wish to tip the volunteer guides. Tours are another excellent method to learn a lot about history.
https://www.outofyourcomfortzone.net/
Religion
Armenia takes pride in being the first country to embrace Christianity. The Armenian Church is thought to have been formed by two of Jesus’ apostles who taught Christianity between 40 and 60 AD. This is why their religion is known as the Armenian Apostolic Church. As a result, you will witness some of Armenia’s earliest Christian churches. Despite the fact that Christians account for 95% of the population, members of other faiths are cordially welcomed. They even have the largest Yazidi temple in the world.
Most Armenians are Christians (97%) and belong to Armenia’s own church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, which is one of the oldest Christian churches in the world. It was established in the first century AD and became the first branch of Christianity to be recognized as a state religion in 301 AD.
According to a December 2018 Pew Research report, Armenia is the second most religious country in Europe, with 80 percent of respondents stating that they believe in God with total confidence.
https://www.worldatlas.com/
Language
Armenia is an ethnically homogenous nation where Armenian is the official language and the majority of the people speaks it as a first language. Armenian is a pluricentric language with two standardized forms: Eastern and Western Armenian. The language standard of Armenia is not specified in the constitution. This is absolutely one of the things to know before traveling to Armenia. In practice, Eastern Armenian is the dominant language in Armenian government, business, and daily life.
Russian is still, by far, the most widely spoken foreign language among Armenians today. In recent years, English has grown in popularity. French, as well as a number of other languages, has begun to be learned and utilized. Kurmanji is Armenia’s biggest minority language, spoken by the Yazidi community.
Assyrian, Greek, Russian and other minority languages are also recognized by the Armenian government. Russian is the most popular foreign language used by the majority of Armenians for political and historical reasons. In Armenia, English is the second most often studied language and the fastest growing foreign language. This is absolutely one of the things to know before traveling to Armenia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/
People
There are ten million Armenians living in various parts of the world. Only three million Armenians exist in what is left of their nation after a century of genocide. The Armenian Diaspora is mostly concentrated in Russia, Europe, Iran, the United States, Canada, and Georgia. You will find that the Armenian people are quite welcoming to guests. They are a very generous people that greet their visitors with open arms.
Opinions about Armenia vary not just from one individual to the next, but also from one nationality to the next. Armenia, like any other nation, has its fair share of cultural clichés. Some observers relate Armenians’ anger with the country’s geographic position, concluding that Armenians, like citizens of all of Armenia’s bordering nations, are hot-tempered Caucasians.
Armenians are all pleasant, but the clientele of this establishment are just the greatest – and the cuisine and snacks are second to none. Armenians treat one another as though they were a single family. There’s always coffee and food for visiting neighbors, and there’s always room in the house for more family members to sleep.
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Customs
Armenians are a family-oriented people. They frequently inquire about their relatives from strangers. Children might be seen smiling and playing with their parents and grandparents in public squares and parks. Younger individuals often dress in a fashionable manner when they are out in public.
The elder generation dressed more formally, with males wearing pants, a button-up shirt, and a coat, and women wearing a dress, a blouse, and a smart-looking jacket. Men smoke in large numbers, whereas women, especially in public, do not. Although many buildings now prohibit smoking indoors, several eateries continue to do so.
Armenian culture and customs date back thousands of years. Armenians are known for being hospitable, polite, and kind people who respect elders, treat children gently, and uphold strong family values. Before visiting the nation, tourists should be aware of the following customs. It’s usually a good idea to be informed of local greeting and farewell customs while visiting a new area. Visitors visiting Armenia may witness residents greeting one other by kissing on the cheek, which is the most popular greeting among friends and relatives.
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Foods
Armenian cuisine is comparable to Mediterranean cuisine, although it is distinctively different. It is frequently less spicy, focusing on the flavor of fresh herbs, legumes, nuts, and fruit. Many of the streets and boulevards are lined with mulberry trees. This is absolutely one of the things to know before traveling to Armenia.
You’ll most likely want to eat the delicious, juicy berries in late May and early June. In Armenian mythology, the pomegranate is a powerful emblem. Pomegranate images may be seen in carpets, artwork, cookery, and stone sculptures. If you visit Armenia in the early summer, you will be able to sample some great fresh apricots. Don’t worry if you miss the apricot season; dried apricots are very tasty. Their national fruit is the apricot.
Traditional Armenian meals and dishes are included in Armenian cuisine, as are Armenian foods and culinary skills. The food reflects the history and location of Armenian settlements while also incorporating influences from European and Levantine cuisines. Traditional crops and animals farmed and bred in Armenian-populated areas are also reflected in the cuisine.
https://www.iarmenia.org/
Land
Armenia is a hilly nation with a wide range of landscapes and geologic instability. Above sea level, the average land is 5,900 feet (1,800 meters). There are no lowlands: half of the country is between 3,300 and 6,600 feet in height, with just approximately a tenth below that.
Mount Aragats (Alaghez), Armenia’s highest peak (13,418 feet, or 4,090 meters), is a mix of tall mountain ranges, deep river basins, and lava plateaus scattered with extinct volcanoes in the northwestern region of the Armenian Highland. The Somkhet, Bazum, Pambak, Gugark, Areguni, Shakhdag, and Vardenis ranges of the Lesser Caucasus go across Armenia’s northern sector to the north and east.
The Sevan Basin, which contains Lake Sevan (525 square miles) and is surrounded in by hills towering as high as 11,800 feet, is located in the eastern portion of Armenia at a height of roughly 6,200 feet. The Ararat Plain sits at the foot of Mount Aragats and the Geghama Range in the southwest; the Aras River divides this major plain into two halves, with the northern half in Armenia and the southern half in Turkey and Iran.
Armenia is prone to earthquakes that cause significant damage. An earthquake struck Armenia’s second largest city, Leninakan (now Gyumri), on December 7, 1988, destroying the town of Spitak in the northwest and severely damaging Leninakan (now Gyumri). It is estimated that 25,000 people were murdered.
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Transportation
By most measures, transportation in Armenia is quite inexpensive. A ride in an intercity marshrutka, minibus, or bus in Yerevan should cost you 100 drams (approx. 20 cents). They’re fairly common. The single Metro line, which runs every 5 to 7 minutes and traverses north/south, is likewise 100 drams each trip. Alternatively, you may use a cab, which costs around 100 drams each kilometer (generally a minimum charge of 400 to 600 drams).
Let’s also have a look at cab. In Armenia, taxi service is not particularly expensive, and it is sometimes the preferable option when you are in a hurry. The cost of each kilometer is 100 AMD, with a minimum payment of 600 AMD (from 1 to 4 km). The usual cost of a taxi journey inside Yerevan’s city center is 600-700 AMD, however this may increase during rush hours.
Most major cities and many smaller villages are served by buses and minivans (locally known as marshrutka) for only 100 dram (less than $0.30). Buses are means of transportation that generally run throughout the day but on a set timetable.. Vans, on the other hand, are more frequent and speedier than buses, and they operate on a variety of routes around the country.
https://armenia.travel/
Currency and Phone
The dram is Armenia’s currency. You may get approximately 50,000 drams for one hundred dollars. In Armenia, you will undoubtedly feel like a billionaire! Because the cost of food and lodging is low, your drams will go a long way. You can simply seek an ATM outside of a bank or a grocery.. They accept most major credit and debit cards, and their exchange rates are typically favorable.
The dram was originally created on November 22, 1993. 100 lum may be made from 1 dram. The word dram in currency is derived from the Greek word dramos. The word was originally mentioned in the 12th century, when silver coins were known as drams. Today’s coins and banknotes come in a variety of denominations. Coins typically come in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 drams, while banknotes come in 1,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, and 100,000 drams.
Purchase a SIM card from Viva Cell if you have an unlocked cell phone. The most basic package costs only 2500 drams. This provides you 2GB of data for one month, as well as enough of minutes to speak, including 47 minutes to Russia, the United States, or Canada. Try to find a better deal anyplace else, and the plans improve for not much more money.
https://travelservicesupport.com/
Festivals
Attending festivals in a new nation is one of many excellent methods to learn about the local culture and customs. Armenians like celebrating numerous occasions, therefore each year is jam-packed with exciting and entertaining activities. Come experience Armenian hospitality, join the throng in water splashing, sample the country’s different wines, or visit a film festival during these events. There’s certain to be something that appeals to you.
On April 30, jazz fans can go to Yerevan’s Cascade Complex for the annual Jazz Day. International Jazz Day Festivals is observed all around the world, and Armenia is no exception. The festival brings together Armenian jazz ensembles as well as foreign performers to promote the importance of music as a means of communication that transcends cultural barriers.
Next, on May 11-12, Arena Festival Fund will hold Yerevan Wine Days, a two-day event staged on Saryan Street. Representatives from 15 of the area’s top wineries will be on hand to sell their wares, while notable restaurants will be displaying similar meals for tourists to sample. You don’t want to miss any of the activities because each day has a different program.
https://armeniadiscovery.com/
