Armenian travel guide

Armenia is an Eastern European country with rich historical and cultural connotations. It is also the latest European country to sign visa exemption with China. Armenia's tourist attractions include natural landscapes and a large number of cultural and historical buildings, which will make your trip more colorful.

On June 65438+1October 19, 2020, the visa-free agreement between China and Armenia came into effect, and Armenia will become the 15 th country with full visa-free access to China. For many people, this country in Transcaucasia is very mysterious. So what kind of country is Armenia? Is it fun? How to play? The following text will be revealed for you one by one.

Overlooking Mount Ararat from the capital Yerevan.

An ancient transcaucasian country with a long history of civilization.

Caucasus is the corridor and crossroads of Eurasia. The area north of the Great Caucasus Mountains has always been a part of the Eurasian steppe, and various nomadic peoples are the protagonists here in turn. The history of the area south of the Great Caucasus Mountains is basically written by Armenia and Georgia. In the past 3,000 years, the Caucasus, which guards the dividing line between Asia and Europe and blocks the southward passage of Eurasian grasslands like a cork, has always been a stage for the historical drama of invasion and resistance: Assyrians, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Byzantines, Arabs, Mongols, Ottoman Turks and Russians come in droves.

From a religious point of view, the Christian belief in Transcaucasia is almost submerged in neighboring countries that believe in Islam: North Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iran are all Islam. But Armenia, like Georgia, was the first country in the world to make Christianity the state religion-even before Rome. There is also a long history of Armenian writing. Armenia was used by Mesrop until modern times.

Mashtots was created in Armenian script in the 5th century.

In the 5th century, Armenia was annexed by Sassanbos, and then gained autonomy. Since then, Byzantium and Seljuk Turkey have successively become the suzerain of Armenia. 1223, Mongolian generals Subutai and Zhe Bie conquered the Caucasus from the Arab invasion, then climbed the Caucasus and entered the Qincha grassland. On the yuan dynasty history, the Caucasus Mountains have a very China name: "Taihe Ridge". Sultan Zalandin, who won many battles with Genghis Khan, also invaded Armenia several times. 1453 After the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople, Armenia completely disappeared as a country until the end of World War I nearly 500 years later.

From Cultural Sites to Natural Scenery

Anyone who flies to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, will see a postcard-like scenery outside the porthole-a snow-capped mountain, Alarat Mountain, all year round. It is one of the most famous mountains in the world and undoubtedly one of the highest religious positions. Believers of Abraham's three major religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) differ in many things, but they all believe the description in Genesis of the Old Testament, that is, when God caused the world to flood, the last place Noah's Ark docked was Mount Ararat.

Although Mount Ararat is actually located in Turkey, it adds a lot of color to the beautiful scenery of Yerevan. The majestic Caucasus Mountain and the historical sites brought by thousands of years of civilization have filled Armenia with surprises everywhere.

Elb Ni Castle

This is the place where Algis I founded Yerevan in 782 BC. Now people can visit its ruins and walk in the remaining stones and walls. St. Salci's Cathedral was rebuilt between 1835 and 1842, and it is the seat of Jalas parish of Armenian church.

The outer wall of the castle of Eribuni

Echemi Hejin Church

Echimi Hejin, the oldest cathedral in the world, is located 20 kilometers west of downtown Yerevan. In 30 1 A.D., the prophet Santigregori saw a scene in which Christ fell from the sky and smashed a piece of land with a golden axe, telling him where the first Armenian cathedral should be built. The Church of Echemi A Jin, which means "the only son born on earth", was built here and has been the main church of Armenian Apostolic Church ever since. The church complex and the affiliated archaeological site of ZWalteno also vividly present the development process of Armenian central dome-shaped and corridor-piercing churches, which have had a far-reaching impact on the development of architecture and art in this area. In 2000, they were listed as world cultural heritage.

Echemi Hejin Church

Gegard monastery

It is also one of the world cultural heritages. It was originally established by Gregory, next to the natural spring near the cave where he often prayed. The monastery we see now was built in the13rd century, and most of the buildings were chiseled on rocks, which is its greatest feature and represents the peak of Armenian medieval architecture. The church is inlaid with many ancient cross stones and engraved with a large number of reliefs, which is beautiful.

Gerhard monastery next to the rocks.

At the same time, it is also famous for its collection of sacred objects, the most famous of which is the spear that Jesus stabbed when he was on the cross. It is said that every Armenian should make a pilgrimage to Gegard monastery at least once in his life. Today, the behavior of pilgrims still embodies the ancient tradition: before you set foot here, you should throw a pebble on the cliff to ensure that your wish can come true. In the bushes and trees of the monastery, you will also see small broken ribbons tied to branches. Every small broken ribbon is left by believers, representing a kind of prayer.

Gegard Monastery and Upper Azat Valley

Hall Virab Monastery

In order to stick to his faith, Gregory was waterboarded and hot cinders, and was thrown into a dungeon, and then into a deep pit full of mud and poisonous snakes. In that deep pit, Gregory stubbornly persisted for 14 years. It is said that a widow received an order from God in her dream to throw a loaf of bread into the pit for Gregory to eat every day.

Hall Virab Monastery with the majestic Mount Ararat as the background.

To commemorate Gregory's painful experience and his unshakable faith, believers built a monastery above the deep well. This monastery facing Mount Ararat was named Hall Virab Monastery. Now, pilgrims will still come here to pray for Gregory. They can climb into this 5-meter-diameter circular pit along a ladder with 25 steps and experience Gregory's feelings in those days.

Add _ ni Shen _

This is a Greek and Roman building dedicated to Mitra, the sun god of Zoroastrianism. When Alexander the Great led his army through here and went to Central Asia and more distant lands, there were probably many such temples in this area.

The Gani Temple was severely damaged in the Armenian earthquake, but fortunately, the ruins remained intact until 1909 was rediscovered by archaeologists. The renovation project was completed on 1975.

The restored Greek temple

Hagpat Monastery and Sanashin Monastery

From 10 to 13 century, these two monasteries were important local universities, especially Sanaxin Monastery, which was famous for its annotation and calligraphy schools. Hagupat Monastery was built from 967 to 99 1 year. It was jointly built by the wife of the Abbasid dynasty, Queen KoSlova Nukosrovnosh, and her two sons, Gu riegel and Subat, and expanded continuously in the following three centuries, becoming a model of Armenian religious art, with magnificent churches and elegant arcades. Sanashin Monastery, located on a wooded hillside near Sanashin village in Armenia, consists of several buildings built in different periods: the larger Anakitz Church in Oman and the smaller Astvasadin Church, Gregory Annular Church, college, bell tower and library adjacent to it. During 1235, due to the invasion of Mongols, monasteries declined and many buildings were destroyed. Today, these two monasteries are also world cultural heritage.

Hagpat Monastery and Sanashin Monastery

Sevan L.

The ancient town of Dililan, where Saifan Lake is located, is also known as Little Switzerland, with high mountain scenery and dense forests. And this beautiful scenery is only 60 kilometers away from Yerevan.

Lake Sevan is one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world and the largest freshwater lake in the Caucasus. Twenty-eight rivers and streams feed the lake, and the snow-capped peaks and white beaches around the lake form a perfect postcard landscape. On the island on the lake stands the Sevanawank Monastery, which means "Black Monastery" and was built in the 9th century. It is worth mentioning that the Soviet Union's water diversion project in the last century caused the water surface of Sefan Lake to dry up, and now the picturesque Sefan Lake we see is the result of the local government's policy revision and ecological restoration.

Overlooking the lake from Sevanawank Monastery

Away from the hustle and bustle of ski resorts

In addition, thanks to the perfect and primitive natural climate conditions in the Transcaucasian Mountains, Armenia is also a skiing country. Valley of flowers (also known as Zor Town, Saked) has a vast snowfield with a total length of 27.

Km, the altitude of ski resort can be increased from 1966 meters to 28 19 meters.

Rice and high-quality flour snow every year, and the snow season can also last from 1 1 to April of the following year. This place was originally built to train Soviet athletes to participate in the Winter Olympics (1988), with perfect facilities.

Armenia in winter is also worth visiting.

Sevan Snow Resort is located in the only passage of Sevan Lake. Although there are few snow trails, the view is quite broad. Its skiing season can be from the end of October to the beginning of June. Aragatz Mountain near Lake Sevan stands 40 kilometers northwest of Yerevan, with an average elevation of 4,000 meters, and its peak area accounts for almost 1/5 of Armenian territory. It is also a ski resort for local people.