Armenia has a millenary history full of emotion, tragic moments, of a glory, Armenia with its people does not give up, looks towards the future, builds and thrives.

A country in action in the past, present and future.

Several centuries after the clashes with the Hittites, the first empire that settled in Armenian territory was that of the Urartu, who occupied a large part of the Caucasus between 800 and 600 BC.

In 66 BC  Romans did not spare the country, they came to this remote region. Thus Armenia for several centuries was disputed between Romans, Parthians, Byzantines and Sassanids.

In 301 the Caucasian paradise was the first state in the world to embrace Christianity as an official religion, even before the Roman Empire or Christian Europe.

The Armenians did not surrender and between the 9th and 11th centuries this area returned to being independent, and went through an extraordinary phase of economic, social and cultural revival, interrupted in 1071 by the arrival of the Turks, which marked the most black and sadder for all of Asia, where they settled until the end of the 18th century.

In 1375 the Armenian sovereignty in Cilicia ended, when the Mamluks of Egypt took advantage of the country's weakness to invade it. However, they were unable to maintain possession; Turkish tribes entered the region and settled there, anticipating Tamerlane's conquest of Cilicia.

Many Armenians were killed, others fled and settled in different countries of Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East and cities such as Moscow and Sochi in Russia, Odessa, Sevastopol and the Crimea in Ukraine, Tiflis and Batumi in Georgia, Plovdiv in Bulgaria, Athens in Greece, Beirut in Lebanon and Aleppo in Syria. An important community took refuge in Jerusalem which gave rise to the Armenian Quarter. Others moved to Cyprus, which remained under Venetian rule until 1489.

Only a few Armenians remained in Cilicia, thus maintaining the presence of a community in the region until the Armenian genocide of 1915.

Their descendants dispersed in the Armenian diaspora and the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia which is now located in Antilyas, Lebanon presided over by His Holiness Aram 1.

Armenia for its strategic position, for its wealth from 1813 found itself under the control of the Russian Empire; folded, thanks to the great internal struggles and the glorious Revolution of 1917 which was followed by the creation of the Armenian National Council, which first paved the way for the proclamation of the Democratic Republic of Armenia, and then for the definitive independence from the USSR, which took place on 21 September 1991 .

This is a short story, many sad moments have been canceled but it is not easy to forget the genocide and the occupation of the territories, a diaspora that continues today. Yesterday’s Ottomans continue killing the Armenian people today, it is enough to recall the sending of Islamic terrorists whose task is to kill innocent Christians and Armenians and Muslims.

No country has ever suffered so many atrocities, it will be the most tragic diaspora in history. Very few are those who know and remember this serious historical event. There is a map of the diaspora and many museums to remember the innocent. By Armenian diaspora Haykakan spyurk 'we mean the flight of the Armenian communities living outside Armenia, from Nagorno-Karabakh, where Turkey supporting the Azerbejian continues to perpetrate actions of struggle and racial intolerance against the millenary Armenian civilization , and of the territories historically populated by Armenians.

The modern diaspora began after the Armenian genocide of the early 20th century on December 15, 1915.

The diaspora has ensured that the Armenians populate with their communities various states around the world, where although they have not stopped hoping to be able to return to their own country, they have perfectly integrated into the communities and laws of the host states.

They are present everywhere and enjoy an extraordinary reputation, characterized by a good cultural level, they live in peace and harmony with the local populations. An Armenian community has lived in the Holy Land for more than a millennium, and one of the four districts of the historic center of Jerusalem is the Armenian Quarter.

A sad and tragic chapter in history will remain unsolved, the wound will remain open until Turkey recognizes the sins of the Ottomans and changes its hostile attitude towards the Armenian people.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century some areas of the Ottoman Empire, inhabited by populations of Armenian origin, especially in Anatolia, had risen against the Empire. In the years 1894-1896 there was the first Armenian genocide, during the campaign against the Armenians led by the Ottoman sultan Abdul-Hamid II at the head of the Ottoman army, flanked by Kurdish irregular militias.

The episode remained silent until the invention of the telegraph and in 1890, the news of the massacres spread quickly throughout the world, leading to condemnation of the incident by most civilized nations.

Then the great massacre between 1914 and 1915 one and a half million innocents were massacred by the Ottomans. Yesterday's Ottomans and today's toucrks continue to suffocate this people who not only refuse to surrender but transform their country into a rare paradise.

1. Armenia is the oldest wine-growing country in the world.

In 2011, they discovered the oldest winery in a cave in the village of Areni.

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 2. These were the first people who accepted Christianity.

Although Christianity spread to the defunct Kingdom of Armenia immediately after the death of Jesus, it was not until the 4th century that it became the state religion. It was earlier than in any other country in the world.

 3. There are many churches in the country

 From thousand-year-old monasteries to demolished temples, Armenia is full of places of Christian faith, which is why it is no coincidence that it is called the “land of churches”. It is impossible to single out the best temple in the country, but one of our favorites is the 9th century Tat Monastery, a wonderful building in the indescribable beauty of nature.

 4. Chess is a school subject

This inexplicably explains why the Armenians are so strong in this area. The men's team won the European Championship (1999), the World Team Championship (2011), the Chess Olympiad (2006, 2008, 2012), the women's team won the European Championship (2003).

Geographical location

Armenia is a mountainous country:

It occupies about 29 thousand. 800 square kilometers (two: 360 km from southeast to southeast, 200 km from east to west).

Located in southern Transcaucasia, where the Caucasus communicates with Central Asia, the Iranian "plateau of Asia Minor" is almost 500m above them. That is why it is called "mountain island".

It borders Georgia (190 km) to the north, Azerbaijan (910 km together with Nakhichevan) to the east, Turkey (280 km) to the west, the Islamic Republic of Iran to the south (42 km) and the Republic of Nakhichevan .

The total length of the borders is 1,422 km.

In old maps, Armenia extends from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. However, its main core is the Armenian plateau, which is bordered on almost all sides by high mountain ranges. Pontus to the north, the Little Caucasus to the northeast and the Armenian Bull to the south.

Modern Armenia occupies the northeastern part of the Armenian highlands, with the Ararat valley in the center.

More than 90% of the surface is located more than 1000 m above sea level.

The highest point is the gigantic biblical mountain Aragats, 4090 m high, the lowest is the Debed river gorge (380 m), the average height is 1,800 m.

The Armenian highlands are often referred to as the land of extinct volcanoes, but Nemrut volcano (west of Lake Van) was still geologically active yesterday, in 1441.

Geographical features

It is the most mountainous of the Transcaucasian republics. Its mountains formed on the site of the ancient Tethys Ocean, the bottom of which is still found in different parts of the continent.

The structure of the surface is very high, the landscapes change with height, a new nature opens up behind each mountain range.

Armenia is a land of contradictions, fertile land and flourishing fields, but the kingdom of stones is vast.

Almost two thirds of the area is unusable for sowing.

The Highlands is a "geological museum" where you can find samples of almost all the rocks that make up the planet's crust, from the oldest to the youngest (Archaean or Pre-Cambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, modern, Cenozoic).

Relief parties are diverse. A region rich in honey, molybdenum, polymetals and iron ores.They are made of zinc, pig, barite with a mixture of gold and silver. Accumulations of nasturtica, mercury and arsenic found (relgar)

The variety and richness of useful excavations, such as gold, silver, precious building stones, which with unforgettable time, gained experienced Armenian masters, are distinguished. British archaeologist Gordon Child, among other researchers, found evidence that ancient Armenians were named after the first tribe in the world, who began to obtain useful excavations, equipped with iron and laid iron. The Armenian Highlands were the epicenter of the "Iron Age".

Climate

Armenia is located in a temperate zone,  at the same latitude as the Balkans, the Apennines, the Iberian Peninsula, and receives as much radiation during the year as the countries on those peninsulas. However, its climate is different, due to the fact that it is far from the Atlantic Ocean. The climate of Armenia is also influenced by other factors, namely, being above sea level (vertical zoning), the surrounding mountains, the direction of the winds. Armenia is located in a temperate zone, ie at the same latitude as the Balkans, the Apennines, the Iberian Peninsula, and receives as much radiation during the year as the countries on those peninsulas. However, its climate is different, due to the fact that it is far from the Atlantic Ocean. The climate of Armenia is also influenced by other factors, namely, being above sea level (vertical zoning), the surrounding mountains, the direction of the winds. The climate of Armenia is characterized by high rainfall, with an average of 2,500 hours per year. Due to this feature, the Republic of Armenia is called Arvavar. The longest weather in the lowlands is summer (more than four months), and in the highlands - winter (about six months). The most pleasant season of the year is autumn, which is longer than spring everywhere!

Climate Features:

Ivan Chopin, a Russian statistician studying the Caucasus, traveling to Armenia in the early 19th century, wrote: "In Armenia, a traveler can reach from one point to the equatorial heat in one day, ie almost a quarter of the Earth's circumference."

Indeed, sometimes you can see all four seasons at the same time. When apricots, peaches and grapes ripen in the Ararat Valley, from which the world's best brandy and delicious wines are made, and rise on the slopes of the surrounding mountains, the heat is not enough even for the grains to ripen, and at higher altitudes the snow does not melt all year round. Archaeological data and information provided by Armenian-Greek historians show that the climate of the Armenian highlands has changed very little during the historical period. The wine jars, grapes, apricots and peaches found during the excavations of the Urartian Teishebain fortress on the Red Hill prove that the hot and dry summers were also typical for the climate of the Ararat Valley in the distant past. This is evidenced by the remains of ancient irrigation canal. The climate of the middle mountain-steppe zone was "temperate" in the past, where in ancient times, as now, cultivated cereals. This is evidenced by the discovery of wheat grains in the tombs of Lchashen (near Lake Sevan). According to the sources, in the most distant historical times, the winters in the lowlands, as now, were quite cold, and in the high mountains - severe. The Greek historian Xenophon (IV century BC) in his "Anabasis" tells about the retreat of the Greek army through the mountains of Armenia, writes that at night, when the soldiers were asleep, snow fell, covered the people and their weapons, reaching overnight one meter thick. In the same work, he mentions that Armenians protected themselves from the cold by anointing their bodies with fat or bitter oil. One can get an idea of ​​the diversity of the climate of ancient Armenia by reading Plutarch. Thus, he considers that the reason for the retreat of the Roman general Lucullus (1st century BC) was that his troops found plenty of food in the lowlands of Armenia during the hot summer months, while climbing the mountains where the grain was not yet ripe, they were forced to starve. They left the country.