Yerevan

Yerevan

Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country. It has been the capital since 1918, the thirteenth in the history of Armenia.

The ancient kingdom of Van (Ararat or Urartu or Biainili), was formed in the 9th century BC in the basin of Lake Van of the Armenian Highland, including the territory of modern-day Yerevan. King Arame was the founder of the state which was one of the most developed states of its age.

However, the territory of Yerevan-Erebuni was settled in the fourth millennium B.C. Archaeological evidence, such as a cuneiform inscription, indicates that the Urartian military fortress of Erebuni was founded in 782 BC (29 years earlier than Rome) by the orders of King Argishti I at the site of current-day Yerevan, to serve as a fort and citadel guarding against attacks from the north Caucasus. Yerevan, as mentioned, is one of the most ancient cities in the world.

In 658 AD, Yerevan was conquered, during the height of Arab invasions. Since then, and as a result of the Arab trade activities, the site has been strategically important as a crossroads for the Arab caravan routes passing between Europe and India through lands controlled by the Arabs. It has been known as "Yerevan" since at least the seventh century AD. Between the ninth and eleventh centuries, Yerevan was a secure part of the Armenian Bagratuni Kingdom, before being overrun by Seljuks. The city was seized and pillaged by Tamerlane in 1387 and subsequently became an administrative center of the Ilkhanate. Due to its strategic significance, Yerevan was constantly fought over, and passed back and forth, between the dominion of Persia and the Ottomans.

At the height of the Turkish-Persian wars, Yerevan changed hands fourteen times between 1513 and 1737. In 1604, under the order of Shah Abbas I, tens of thousands of Armenians including citizens from Yerevan were deported to Persia. As a consequence, population became 80 percent Muslim (Persians, Turco, Kurds) and 20 percent Armenian. Muslims were either sedentary, semi-sedentary, or nomadic. Armenians lived in Erevan or the villages. The Armenians dominated the various professions and trade in the area and were of great economic significance to the Persian administration. The Ottomans, Safavids, and Ilkhanids, all maintained a mint in Yerevan. During the 1670s, the Frenchman Jean Chardin visited Yerevan and gave a description of the city in his Travels of Cavalier Chardin in Transcaucasia in 1672–1673. On 7 June 1679, a devastating earthquake razed the city to the ground. During the Safavid Dynasty rule, Yerevan and adjacent territories were part of the Čoḵūr Saʿd administrative territory. This lasted until 1828, when the region was incorporated into Russian Empire.

At the start of the 20th century, Yerevan was a small town with a population of 30,000. In 1917, the Russian Empire ended with the October Revolution. In the aftermath, Armenian, Georgian and Muslim leaders of Transcaucasia united to form the Transcaucasian Federation and proclaimed Transcaucasia's secession.

The Federation, however, was short-lived and on 28 May 1918, the Dashnak leader Aram Manukian declared the independence of Armenia. Subsequently, Yerevan became the capital and the centre of the newly-independent Democratic Republic of Armenia, although the members of the Armenian National Council were yet to stay in Tiflis until their arrival in Yerevan to form the government in the summer of the same year.
However, after a short period of independence, Yerevan fell to the Bolshevik 11th Red Army who entered the city during the Russian Civil War on 29 November 1920, and Armenia was incorporated into the Soviet Union on 2 December 1920. Although nationalist forces managed to retake the city in February 1921 and successfully released all the political leaders, the city's nationalist elite were once again defeated by the Soviet forces on 2 April 1921.

During the Soviet era the city was transformed into a modern industrial metropolis of over a million people, to become a significant scientific and cultural centre.

Following the dismantling of the USSR or Soviet Union, Yerevan became the capital of the Republic of Armenia on 21 September 1991. Maintaining supplies of gas and electricity proved difficult; constant electricity was not restored until 1996 amidst the chaos of the badly instingated and planned transition to a market based economy.

Since 2000, central Yerevan has been transformed into a vast construction site, with cranes erected all over the Kentron district. Officially, the scores of multi-storied buildings are part of large-scale urban planning projects. Roughly $1.8 billion was spent on such construction in 2006, according to the national statistical service. Prices for downtown apartments have increased by about ten times over the last decade.

Tourism in Armenia is developing year by year and the capital city of Yerevan is one of the major tourist destinations. The city has a majority of luxury hotels, modern restaurants, bars, pubs and nightclubs. Zvartnots airport has also conducted renovation projects with the growing number of tourists visiting the country.

The location of Yerevan itself, is an inspiring factor for the foreigners to visit the city in order to enjoy the view of the biblical mount of Ararat, as the city lies on the feet of the mountain forming the shape of a Roman amphitheatre.

                                                        Yerevan’s Top 5:

   
1. Saint Sarkis Cathedral is an Armenian church in Yerevan. It is the seat of the Araratian Patriarchal Diocese. It is located on the left bank of the Hrazdan River in the Kentron District. Standing up on the upper part of Dzoragyugh village and facing the old Erivan Fortress on the left bank of the River Hrazdan, a hermitage-monastery was functioning since the earliest Christian era. This spacious complex, surrounded by a high, fortified wall, was made up of the Saint Sarkis, the Saint Gevork and the Saint Hakob churches, of the buildings of the patriarchal offices and school, of an orchard and of other buildings. The St. Sarkis Church was the official seat of the Patriarch, whereas the monastery was the patriarchal inn for the guests. The St. Sarkis Church, together with the hermitage-monastery, was destroyed by the large earthquake of 1679. It was, however, rebuilt on the same site during the rule of His Holiness Edesatsi Nahabet Catholicos (1691–1705). The present St. Sarkis Church was rebuilt once again during the period 1835-1842.
2. The Blue Mosque, also known as the "Iranian Mosque", was constructed by Persians in the 18th century. During the soviet era, because of secularist policy, the Mosque stopped its services and became the Museum of Yerevan. However, with the independence of Yerevan and with the help of Iranian government, the Mosque once again started acting as a Mosque.
3. The Yerevan Opera Theatre or, to give it's full title, The Alexander Spendiarian Armenian Opera and Ballet National Academic Theatre  was officially opened on 20 January 1933. The building was designed by the Armenian architect Alexander Tamanian. The building consists of two concert halls: Aram Khatchaturian concert hall and the hall of the Alexander Spendiarian Opera and Ballet National Theatre. The ground-breaking of the Opera-Theatre took place on 28 November 1930 during the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of Soviet Armenia. On January 20, 1933, the building was officially opened. Soon after the theatre foundation, a ballet troupe was established. Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was the first ballet performance in 1935. In 1938, the theatre was named after Alexander Spendiaryan, great Armenian composer, author of opera Almast which was performed in 1933 as a first performance at the theatre. The 2nd phase of the construction was completed in 1940 according to Tamanian's design and under the supervision of his son. Large-scale construction works were applied until 1953, when the building was finally completed with its current shape.
4. The Cascade is a giant stairway that links the downtown Kentron area of Yerevan with the Monument neighborhood. Inside the Cascade, underneath the exterior steps is an escalator going the length of the complex. There are also rooms connected to some of the landings along the escalators which comprise the Cafesjian Museum of Art. The exterior of Cascade, in addition to stairs has multiple levels with fountains and sculptures. The stairs afford walkers unobstructed views of central Yerevan and Mount Ararat. Construction began during Soviet rule, but stopped with the chaos that accompanied the disintegration of the USSR. The complex was purchased by an American-Armenian businessman Gerard Cafesjian in the early 2000s and a complete renovation was performed. A large museum complex was also planned for the top. Although construction began, it was frozen in the early stages and has not continued for years.
5. Erebuni Fortress  also known as Arin Berd meaning the "Fortress of Blood" is a fortified city from the ancient kingdom of Urartu, located in what is present-day Yerevan. It was one of several fortresses built along the northern Urartian border and was one of the most important political, economic and cultural centers of the vast kingdom. The name Yerevan itself is derived from Erebuni. Erebuni was founded by King Argishti I (r. ca. 785–753 B.C.) in 782 B.C. It was built on top of a hill called Arin Berd overlooking the Arax River Valley to serve as a military stronghold to protect the kingdom's northern borders. According to Margarit Israelyan, Argishti began the construction of Erebuni after conquering the territories north of Yerevan and west of Lake Sevan, roughly corresponding to where the town of Abovyan is currently located. Accordingly, the prisoners he captured in these campaigns, both men and women, were used to help build his town.