DISCOVER ARMENIA

"Armenia is a country of miracles ... If they ask me where on our planet you can find more miracles, I would call first of all Armenia ..."
Rockwell Kent

Yerevan is one of the world's oldest capitals, which was founded in782 BC. It is 29-years older than Rome.

Geographical borders: Armenia is located in the southern Caucasus, bordered by Georgia from the north, Azerbaijan from the east, Iran from the south and Turkey from the west.
Territory: Armenia has a territory of 29.743 square km.It is a mountainous country surrounded by land from four side. The average height from sea level is 1800 m.

The highest peak is mount Aragats (4090m).

The largest water coverage is Lake Sevan(4,890km, 1900 m above sea level).

Climate: Armenia is dry subtropical country.The sunny days are dominating in a year.The summers are hot,the temperature fluctuates between +22C to +36C.The winters are short but cold, the temperature is between -15C to -1C. The mountain peaks are covered with eternal snow, while their slopes are lined by alpine meadows.The best time to visit Armenia is from spring to autumn. You can get information about daily weather forecast in visiting the following websitehttp://www.meteo.am

Administrative divisions: Nowadays Armenia is administratively divided into two republics: Republic of Armenia (RA) and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR).

Armenia is divided into ten regions and its capital Yerevan.

Region

Regional center

Aragatsotn

Ashtarak

Ararat

Artashat

Armavir

Armavir

Gegharqunik

Gavar

Kotayk

Hrazdan

Lori

Vanadzor

Shirak

Gyumri

Siunik

Kapan

Tavush

Ijevan

Vayots dzor

Yeghegnadzor

Yerevan

Date of Creation: September 21, 1991 the day of the referendum for independence of Armenia. Based on the results of the referendum (99% voted for independence), the parliament (The Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR) adopted the Declaration of Independence and annonced the independence of the Republic of Armenia.This date is now a national holiday-the Independence Day.

National Flag and Emblem

A tricolor with horizontal lines of red, navy blue and orange evenly distributed from top to bottom. Red symbolizes Armenian Highlands, Armenians’ incessant struggle for survival, Christian faith, liberty and independence. Navy blue symbolizes the aspiration of the Armenian nation to live under the peaceful sky.Orange symbolizes the talent for creative work and diligence of the Armenian people.

Government System: Presidential Republic.
Parliament: National Assembly consists of 131 members of parliament.
Population: The population is about 3 million, 95 % out of which are ethnic Armenians. The remaining 5% are national minorities – Russians, Greeks, Assyrians, Ezdis and Kurds.
Diaspora: Armenia has a relatively large diaspora. In general Armenians in the world are about 8 million.The largest Armenian communities include Russia, France, Iran, the United States, Georgia, Syria, Lebanon, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Greece, Cyprus, Izraele, Poland, Ukraine.

Official Language: Armenian. Armenian is a separate branch of Indo-European language family and is one of the oldest possessing written form among the languages in the mentioned family. The alphabet was created in 405-406 A.D. by Mesrop Mashtots. There are 39 letters and the form of the letters doesn’t have similarities with any other characters.

Religion: Christianity.Most ethnic Armenians belong to the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox church. Christianity was first introduced in Armenia by the apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus in the first century AD. Armenians accepted Christianity as a state religion in 301 AD. The head of the church is the Catholicos of all Armenians, who resides in Holy Echmiadzin.The first Armenian Catholicos is St. Grigor Lusavorich in 302-325AD. At present the Catholicos of all Armenians is Garegin B. Nersisyan since 1999.

Membership in international organizations: Armenia is a member of more than 40 international organisations, including the United Nations; the Council of Europe; the Asian Development Bank; the Commonwealth of Independent States; the World Trade Organization; World Customs Organization; the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation; and La Francophonie. It is a member of the CSTO military alliance, and also participates in NATO's Partnership for Peaceprogramme.

Currency: Armenian Dram.
The national currency exchange of the Armenian currency is determined the U.S. dollar the euro, Russian ruble and other currencies ratio.

Currency exchange: Currency exchange can be done in many exchange offices of the city. American Express, Visa, Euro / Master Card these credit cards are accepted in all hotels, shops and restaurants. current currency exchange can learn about by visiting the official website of the Central Bank: http://www.cba.am

Banks: The banking system of Armenia is regulated by the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia. There are local and international banks, the numerous branch-offices of which can be found everywhere in Yerevan and in the main cities of the country.
Telephone Calls: The country code is - 374, Yerevan city code is -10. Outgoing international calls can be made by dialing - 00 followed by the country, city code and the number.There are three operators in Armenia` BEELINE, ORANGE, VIVACELL.

Post Office: The post office works every day, except for Sunday from 9:00 to 7:00 p.m. The branch offices can be found everywhere. Many branches (for example the one at the corner of Abovyan Street and Sayat Nova Avenue) sell international phone cards to make international calls. There are several express mail services operating in Yerevan, including UPS, DHL, Federal Express, and TNT Express Worldwide.

Public Transportation: The net of the public transportation is formed by buses, minibuses, taxis and metro.

Metro: The metro line has a single stretch with 11 stations. The fare is 100 AMD.
Buses: Buses run in different destinations in Yerevan with a fare of 100 AMD. The buses running from Yerevan to other cities differ in price starting from 250 AMD.
Minibuses: There are numerous minibuses running in Yerevan at a fee of 100 AMD and out of Yerevan at a price depending on the destination.
Taxi Services: Taxis can be called on phone from local taxi services, which offer a fee of about 100 AMD per km, while the ones caught in the street are not working on a fixed rate and negotiate the price.

Visa:Visa can instantly be obtained at Zvartnots airport upon arrival. It’s given for 21 days and costs about 30 USD. In case of necessity the visa can be prolonged at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Armenia. The visa can also be obtained before the arrival at the official web site of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of RA.

Flight: Zvartnots is the main airport of Armenia and is located in Yerevan. There is also another airport in Gyumri. The local and international airlines, like Aeroflot Russian Airlines, Air France, Armavia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Czech Airlines, Lufthansa connect Yerevan with any major city of the world.

Time: Armenian Time is 4 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+4). It has the same time as Moscow , +2 hours of European Time, with the eastern coast of America is +8 hours and +11 hours with the western.