A taste of Armenia

Armenia is the only country remaining from 3,000 year old maps of Anatolia. It became the world’s first Christian country more than 1,700 years ago in 301 AD and has a large Diaspora all over the world. As a former Soviet republic lying in the Caucasus region straddling Asia and Europe, Armenia has a rich and ancient culture.

Landlocked, Armenia is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the North, Iran to the South, Azerbaijan to the East, and Azerbaijan’s Naxcivan enclave to the Southwest. Five percent of the country’s surface area consists of Lake Sevan (Sevana Lich), the largest lake in the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Armenia’s many mountains and mountain valleys create a great number of micro-climates, with scenery changing from arid to lush forest at the top of a mountain ridge.

Armenian history extends for over 3,000 years. Armenians have historically inhabited the “Armenian Highlands”, a vast section of mountains and valleys across eastern Anatolia and the Southern Caucasus. Armenian vassal states, principalities, kingdoms and empires have risen and fallen in different parts of this highland throughout history. They were only unified once, just before the time of Christ in the empire of Tigran the Great, an empire that stretched from the Caspian to the Mediterranean Sea. Much of Armenia’s history has been spent under the domination of the great powers of the region. The western parts of Armenia were under Byzantine or Ottoman Turkish rule for long periods, while the eastern parts were under Persian or Russian rule. These empires often fought their wars on Armenian territory, using Armenian soldiers. It was a rough neighborhood, but Armenians managed to hold onto their language and church and prosper whenever given a chance. Armenia was located on the silk road, and Armenians built a network of merchant communities and ties extending from eastern Asia to Venice. Eventually, with the rise of nationalism, Armenians paid a heavy price for their religion and their envy-inducing wealth.

This post is also available in: Упрощенный китайский, Английский, Французский, Испанский