Armenia Packages/Deals & Travel Agents Near Me

This small, landlocked country is one of the oldest in the world, and there is a surprising beauty in its stark rocky countryside, where the fruits of human culture and cultivation stand out in contrast against the stony background. Orchards and vineyards provide unexpected color, and historic cities and monasteries perch on scenic mountaintops or in temperate rain forests. In Yerevan, the capital, street life is blossoming, with outdoor cafes sprouting up during warmer months.

Armenia's infrastructure for tourism is developing rapidly, and the number of visitors is expanding even faster. Outside the capital, there are few amenities for travelers. Most visitors base their stay in Yerevan, taking day trips out to the regions. However, new highways and Western hotels across the country are changing this pattern.

Geography

History

A Babylonian map of the world from 2,300 years ago shows Armenia as one of just seven nations. Up to the time of Christ, Armenia was an important power in the Middle East, with the empire of Tigran the Great extending from the Caspian to the Mediterranean Sea. This power was steadily eroded, as some of the world's greatest empires clashed with the Armenians. From the Greek, Roman and Persian empires to the Mongol, Ottoman and Russian, Armenia found itself a battleground and at one point went six centuries without an independent state. After Armenia became the first country to declare Christianity as its state religion in AD 301, Armenians often paid for this choice with their lives, as Persian, Ottoman and even Byzantine armies tried to convert them to their own faiths by force.

Armenians began the 20th century divided between two empires: Imperial Russia and Ottoman Turkey. Fifteen years later they were the victims of mass genocide, when the Turkish government took the land called Western Armenia and massacred an estimated 1.5 million Armenians—more than half the world's Armenian population. As the genocide was transpiring in the Ottoman Empire, one of Armenia's traditional supporters, imperial Russia, collapsed in turmoil and completely withdrew from the region until Lenin consolidated his power. This led to a brief period of independence for the easternmost parts of Armenia, until Russian forces reentered the region and forcibly incorporated Armenia into the Soviet Union in 1920. The League of Nations drew up the western boundaries between Armenia and Turkey, and invited the U.S. to oversee this state, but a new isolationist mood in the U.S. led to a rejection of this proposal. Turkish troops then invaded what was left of Armenia, taking Mount Ararat and more before stopped by Armenia's tiny armed forces at Sardarapat.

In early 1988, Yerevan saw demonstrations of more than 1 million people, something unprecedented in the Soviet Union, calling for the union of the Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in the Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan with the Soviet Republic of Armenia. Later in 1988, the Soviet Republic of Armenia was hit with a double tragedy. Nearly 50,000 people were killed in an earthquake that devastated the Spitak and Gyumri area in northwestern Armenia, and the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh led to outbreaks of violence in Azerbaijan.

When the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, Armenia once again found itself an independent country, although only encompassing a fraction of historic Armenia, which once continued into parts of Turkey and Iran. Independence, however, came with an economic blockade on its borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan. Access in and out of the country for trade and supplies was very limited, and the natural gas that had been coming from Azerbaijan was cut off. Fuel shortages got so bad that within a year more than 1.5 million trees were chopped down for fuel. The beautiful city parks in Yerevan lost most of their wooden park benches, for years leaving only the curved ironwork sides standing as a sad reminder of a terrible year. In 1994, a cease-fire was signed between Azerbaijan and Armenia, but there has been no agreement on a final peace settlement. Turkey insists it will not open the border with Armenia until the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh is settled, but the U.S. and the European Union continue to pressure the Turkish government to end the blockade, as do many Turkish businesses.

For years after the war, Armenia's economy was stagnant and emigration was rampant, but after a slow turnaround in the late 1990s, the country has been experiencing double-digit economic growth, has seen massive spending on infrastructure (mostly thanks to the Armenian diaspora, specifically Kirk Kerkorian, the richest Armenian in the world), and the center of Yerevan is booming with construction. The center of the city has been completely demolished to build a pedestrian avenue that has been planned for 80 years.

Gradually, Armenia is taking a significant role in world affairs: It simultaneously boasts excellent relations with the U.S., Russia and Iran and is the only link to the unrecognized Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Snapshot

Armenia's chief attractions are scenic mountainous terrain, churches, monasteries, historical sites, art and friendly people.

Armenia will appeal to adventurous travelers who are looking for something truly different, don't mind roughing it and are accustomed to travel in the Middle East or Central Asia. Although Yerevan has great hotels, restaurants and bars, as well as sidewalk cafes that are open in warm months, some of the farthest regions lack many amenities outside the capital. If you travel outside Yerevan, you'll need a translator or an English-speaking guide.

Potpourri

Stones have been such a prevalent part of their culture that Armenians even joke about it. The favorite joke is that when God was handing out land to the different nations, Armenians were late as usual, and God had given out all the land. When they asked if he couldn't do anything for them, God replied that all he had left was these stones, but Armenians could have them.

The Armenian genocide, though less well-known than the Holocaust of World War II, has inspired a number of excellent books and films, including the books Rise of the Euphrates and Nine Armenians, the Canadian film Ararat by Atom Egoyan and, most recently, Peter Balakian's memoir Black Dog of Fate.

Khachkars, the stone crosses found throughout Armenia, are all unique. Instead of an image of Christ, khachkars are embellished with knot-work patterns similar to those of the Celts, geometric patterns and flowers, leaves or fruits.

Some of Armenia's best monasteries are Tatev (on the edge of a huge canyon), Haghpat (considered by many the most beautiful in Armenia), Noravank (at the end of a canyon with large red cliffs) and Akhtala (with some of Armenia's finest preserved frescoes). Fine examples of traditional architecture can be seen in the towns of Dilijan, Goris, Meghri and in the oldest parts of Gyumri.

Traditional Armenian instruments are the dehol (a drum played while tucked under an arm), duduk (wooden flute), khanun (a small harp-shaped stringed instrument held on the lap and picked or strummed) and kemancha (a string instrument played under the chin, like a violin). The duduk can be heard on one of Peter Gabriel's albums, as well as on the soundtrack to the movie Gladiator.

Artyom Mikoyan, designer of MiG fighter planes (Mikoyan is the Mi in MiG), was born in Sanahin, and his brother Anastas became the deputy premier of the USSR. The village that houses the Mikoyan brothers' house-museum is also known for the Monastery of Sanahin, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.