My favorite historical Armenian site is definitely the Zvartnots (Զվարթնոց) cathedral. The reason this is my favorite site is because everytime I go to visit my grandma with my dad, my dad asks me if I remember the site’s name. All my dad has told me is that it was a cathedral which collapsed due to an earthquake. I’ve always wondered about it’s history.

The Zvartnots cathedral’s construction was at a time when much of Armenia had very recently been overrun by the Muslim Arabs who were progressively occupying the Sasanian Persia/Iran of which Armenia was a part at the time. Under the guidance of Catholicos Nerses III (nicknamed Shinogh or the Builder), in 643 AD, Construction of the cathedral began. Dedicated to St. Gregory, its location was at the very place where a meeting between King Trdat III and Gregory the Illuminator was supposed to occur. According to a medieval Armenian historian who goes by the name Movses Kaghankatvatsi, the cathedral was consecrated in 652.^[1] From 653 to 659, Nerses was in Tayk and the construction of the cathedral continued under Anastas Akoratsi. Following the Arab occupation of Dvin and the slowly intensifying wars between the Byzantine and Arab armies on the former’s eastern borders, for safety, Nerses transferred the patriarchal palace of the Catholicos from Dvin to Zvartnots, away from harm.

Zvartnots stood for 320 years before collapsing in the 10th century. When the historian Stepanos Taronatsi wrote of the church, it was already in ruins. Most argue for one of two theories: Earthquake, or Arab raids.

Though the earthquake is the most common theory, the building was structurally integral, designed to last for 1,000 years, as it was projected for the second coming of Christ. Excavations showed burn marks, indicating someone tried to burn it to the ground, despite the construction including firing of obsidian and lime mortar to form the mortar joints.

The remains were found in the twentieth century. The site was excavated between 1901 and 1907 under the direction of vardapet Khachik Dadian, who uncovered the foundations of the cathedral itself as well as the remains of the Catholicos palace and a winery.

The Zvartnots cathedral is under Unesco’s world heritage list, meaning it is under protection. The land can not be bought and nothing can be built in the former cathedral’s land.

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Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zvartnots_Cathedral

Post the pictures of the symbols of Armenia and tell about them.

Apricots

One of Armenia’s most popular symbols is the apricot. The apricot is a fruit that has been around a long time, and its history dates back to IV. BC, when Alexander of Macedon brought this fruit from Armenia to Greece, then all the way to Rome, thereby giving it wide distribution all around the world. The mentions of apricots being “Armenian apples” in the works of Pliny, Dioscorida and Columella, further confirm this theory. It is undeniable that due to the climatic conditions of Armenian areas, the apricots have a taste filled with the sun and the winds of the Ararat valley. Today, the Armenian origin apricots is perpetuated by botanists who decided to name the fruit “Armeniaca”.

One of the most popular symbols of Armenia is the apricot. The history of apricots dates back to the IV. BC, when Alexander of Macedon brought this fruit from Armenia to Greece, and from there all the way to Rome, thereby giving it wide distribution. The mentions of apricots as “Armenian apples” (lat. Mela armeniaca, lat. Pomum armeniacum) in the works of Pliny, Dioscorida and Columella, further confirm this theory. It is undeniable that apricots, due to the climatic conditions of Armenia, have a unique taste filled with sun and winds of the Ararat valley. Today, the Armenian origin of apricots is perpetuated by botanists who named the fruit “Armeniaca”.

Duduk

Speaking of apricots, apricot trees are a source of wood use to make the most beloved and well-known Armenian instrument: The duduk. The duduk is a percussion instrument invented long before our era, during the days of the Urartu kingdom. The instrument’s original Armenian name is “tsiranapokh (ծիրանափող)”․ Because apricot wood resonates in a special manner, the duduk is made of apricot wood and only apricot wood. Unlike other instruments, the duduk can express the soul of the Armenian nation.

In turn, apricot trees serve as a source of wood for the most beloved and well-known Armenian musical instrument: duduk. The tool was invented before our era, during the days of the Urartu Kingdom. The original Armenian name of the instrument is tsiranapokh (apricot tube). The duduk is made exclusively of apricot wood, as this wood resonates in a special manner. The duduk, like no other instrument, is able to express the soul of the Armenian nation. The sound of duduk allows for a high spiritual experience that might sometimes lead you to tears.

Ararat

According to the Bible, Noah’s ark became the basis of the origin of Armenian people when he landed on Mount Ararat. For Armenians, Ararat is considered a saint mountain. It has extraordinary beauty and for every Armenian out there, it symbolizes the motherland. Ararat is the most recognizable cultural and national symbol of Armenia, and it can be seen everywhere, starting from the state emblem and all the way down to national brands.

According to the Bible, Noah’s Ark landed on Mount Ararat and became the basis of the origin of the Armenian people.
Ararat is considered a saint mountain for Armenians. It has extraordinary beauty and symbolizes the motherland for every Armenian. Ararat is the most recognizable cultural and national symbol of Armenia, it can be seen everywhere, starting from the state emblem and down to national brands.

Grapes

Noah planted a vine brought straight from the Garden of Eden when he came out of the ark. As a result, grapes grew and became a symbol of Armenia. It is believed that since then, grapes are grown on Armenian soil. They symbolize wealth and abundance.
One of Armenia’s most delicious national cuisine, dolma, is a meal that is made with grape leaves. And the famous Armenian cognac is made from grape raisins, and it’s known that Armenian cognac is considered to be the best cognac in the world. It’s interesting to note that partially due to their symbolism, the “Ararat” and “Noy” are the most recognizable brands.

Noah planted a vine brought from the Garden of Eden as he came out of the ark. As a result, grapes also became a symbol of Armenia. It is believed that since then the grapes are grown on Armenian soil, they symbolize wealth and abundance.
One of the most delicious dishes of the Armenian national cuisine, dolma, is prepared using grape leaves, and the famous Armenian cognac is made from the grapes themselves, and it’s widely known that the Armenian cognac is considered to be the best in the world. It’s interesting to note that the brands “Ararat” and “Noy” are the most recognizable, partially due to their symbolism. 

Wine

From the first vine harvest, Noy was able to make the first ever wine. With biblival traditions and scientific facts taken into account, Armenian is the birthplace of winemaking. In Armenian territory, the caves of Areni to be specific, acheological excavations helped discover the very first winery in the world, which is over 6000 years old. As the cradle of winemaking, Armenia rightfully considers wine to be one of the country’s national symbols. Remaining faithful to traditions, on the first Saturday of October each year, Armenia holds the annual Pan-Armenian wine festival: The Areni Wine Festival. It’s an exhibition, and wine tasting activities are held within the framework of the festival. As the famous quote by chanson Charles Aznavour says, “Fine Armenian wine contains everything that you can feel, yet cannot be expressed in words…”

From the first vine harvest, Noy was able to make the first wine. Taking into account biblical traditions and scientific facts, Armenia is the birthplace of winemaking. In the territory of Armenia, specifically, in the caves of Areni, archaeological excavations helped to discover the very first winery in the world, which is more than 6000 years old. As the cradle of winemaking, Armenia rightfully considers wine to be one of the countries national symbols. Remaining faithful to traditions, on the first Saturday of October each year, Armenia holds the annual Pan-Armenian wine festival: Areni Wine Festival. An exhibition and a wine tasting activities are held within the framework of the festival. As the famous chanson Charles Aznavour said, “Fine Armenian wine contains everything that you can feel, yet cannot be expressed in words …”

Khachkars

As the first state to adopt Christianity (at the beginning of the 4th century), Armenia, during the era when Christianity started to spread here, a new nature of religious expression began to emerge in Armenia. This expression slowly got integrated into the national identity as well. To replace temples and altars, the country began to establish wooden crosses. Since the crosses had a very short-lived nature, people began to carve crosses on stones. It is called a khachkar.

The khachkar is an integral part of Armenian history and one of the most recognizable Armenian symbols. Ancient khachkars or cross-stones are unique to Armenian culture specifically and are considered to have great architectural value. Historically, khachkars were made on many different occasions: In honor of Armenia’s victory, on the occasion of completing a bridge or temple’s construction, and most oftenly served as grave monuments. There are so many diverse patterns on khachkars that it’s almost impossible to find two fully identical khachkars. Khachkars are scattered all throughout the territory of historical and modern Armenia, and there fore Armenia could be considered an open-air museum.

As the first state to adopt Christianity (at the beginning of the 4th century), Armenia, in the era when Christianity started to spread here, new nature of religious expression began to emerge in the country. This expression slowly, yet surely integrated the national identity as well. Instead of temples and altars in the country began to establish wooden crosses. Since the wooden crosses had a short-lived nature, people began to engrave crosses on the stones (khach – cross, kar – stone). 

Khachkar is an integral part of Armenian history and one of the most recognizable symbols of Armenia. Ancient khachkars or cross-stones are unique to Armenian culture and are considered to have great architectural value. Khachkars historically were made on a variety of occasions: in honor of the victory, on the occasion of the completion of the construction of a temple or a bridge, yet more often they served as grave monuments. Patterns on khachkars are so diverse that you’ll hardly be able to find two identical ones. Khachkars are scattered throughout the territory of historical and modern Armenia, therefore Armenia is considered an open-air museum.

It’s amazing to see how Armenian symbols came to be and how they influence each other over time. Today, we are able to trace exacly how closely these symbols are related to each other.

It is amazing how each of the national symbols of Armenia came to be and influenced each other in the process of historical development. Today, we are able to trace how closely these symbols are related.

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Links:

https://armenia.travel/en/national-symbols

I copied from this site and rewrote every paragraph in my own words. I’ve put the actual paragraphs at the bottom so you can determine if i’ve changed it enough or pretty much plagiarised the original.

a. person I study with classmate
b. my father’s brother uncle
c. person I live beside neighbor
d. my husband’s mother mother-in-law
e. person I am engaged to marry fiancé
f. my uncle’s daughter cousin
g. my sister’s son nephew
h. person I share my apartment with roommate
i. my father’s sister aunt
j. person I work with colleague
k. my brother’s daughter niece
l. my husband’s father father-in-law

During the summer holiday, me and my family didn’t really do much due to Covid-19. I read a bunch of books though. I re-read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (but this time in Armenian) which I liked no less than the first time. I read Treasure Island (in English), and two Armenian books: Four Golden Buttons, and The Adventures of Sur and Sam.

The only family trip we did during the summer holidays is visiting the Syunik region. It was very nice there, the view of the mountains was great, and although I’m usually much more interested in games, I gotta admit that seeing all the historic stuff in Syunik and learning about them was really interesting. I was interested, but it wasn’t visible. If you looked at me, you wouldn’t think I was interested, you’d think I was tired.

The reason I was tired is because all day we were walking. With every hotel except the last one we went to, we only went back to sleep, woke up, and continued exploring all day before going to the next hotel. The last hotel had a pool, and it was fun to swim in there, which is why we stayed home all day. I also had my feet bleed from the bottom twice because of doing stupid stuff. Good times.

During the trip, we went to the longest cable car in the world, and got a good view of the tall and beautiful mountains of Syunik. At the other end, we went to Tatev monostry, and ate Tatev gata, which was really good. I actually rode a horse in this nearby park (near the monostry and cable car). The guy was letting people pay so that they can ride a horse.

We also went to Խնձորեսկ where people used to live a hundred years ago. They lived in these caves which had two benefits: The homes were hidden under the grass and it was hard to gain access to the homes.

This is unrelated to Syunik, but I’m gonna mention it cause we went here during the summer. We went to Garni temple and Geghard church. Near that area there were some natural hexagon cliffs which looked really cool.