Things to see

Not everything that shines is gold, and not everything that sparkles is a diamond. There are a myriad of countries, which will offer you an adventure travel, a historical travel, a cultural travel, but not many of them have the capability of offering all that in one bunch because it’s a luxury not every country can afford, while Armenia can. The only thing in which a traveler might be interested but in which Armenia might appear a bit lame are the places of entertainment, which are mainly concentrated in capital Yerevan and greatly lack in the rest of other cities.

Being a Christian country and being the first country to adopt Christianity as state religion (301), Armenia is one state where visitors constantly come across religion-related structures, particularly churches and monasteries, which seem to be scattered throughout Armenia. Since the adoption of Christianity Armenia has faced difficult times, especially wars. It’s not that before it Armenia was only enjoying a flourishing period without wars and battles, but if previously those wars mainly bore territorial nature, then from then on they carried religious character too.

Numerous attempts were made to convert Armenians to other religions, but they never gave up. Many Armenians even chose to die for their faith, then live worshipping other Gods. Christian faith has played a fatal role in the fate of the Armenians and though because of that they have faced hard times, today they agree upon one thing – it’s due to their faith that the Armenian nation has not merged with others and exists until today. Basically, that is one of the primary reasons why travelers encounter so many sacred sites in Armenia. One thing to consider, though, is that being religious people, Armenians never bind their faith upon anyone, and they scarcely speak up about religion, so an impression should not be formed that as you visit Armenia you will be forced to hear or meet people reciting religious lines and ideas all day long.

Some of the sacred places you should visit once in Armenia are Ejmiatsin Cathedral, Garni Temple, Geghard Monastery and Khor Virap. If you are in love and are traveling with your sweetheart, you might wish to consider Mughni Church; it’s where lovers visit and ask for blessing before they turn to their parents.

If Armenia were a girl, then she would beyond doubt go for the natural looks and would definitely outline her natural beauty. Nature has been very creative in regard to Armenia and has granted it with a line of natural wonders, which are breathtaking and which very often seem too good or too unimaginable to be true. Among those nature-carved wonders are the Devil’s Bridge, Garni Canyon and Mozrov Cave.

If you are more for the nature and wildlife, then on top of your list should be Khosrov Forest State Reserve, Dendropark and Dilijan National Park. Note that Dilijan National Park represents an entire complex where other than unique animal and plant species, visitors can also enjoy the Monasteries of Haghartsin and Goshavank as well as see the beautiful Clear Lake.

They say every old house has its mysteries and riddles. Being a country with a history of thousands of years Armenia is not devoid of them either. A lot of riddles in Armenia still remain with the question marks firmly hanging on them. In this regard of particular interest are the archaeological sites, where even though many items and objects dating to the ancient times have been discovered even more are yet waiting to be uncovered. One of such mysterious places where various archaeological excavations have been held but which still is an object of dispute and interest is Karahunj, which is believed to be older than the British Stonehenge.

A kingdom without castles and fortresses would be the same as a government without people. There would be only the concept but not its reflection. Considering the fact that for rather long years Armenia has been a kingdom and one of the most powerful ones, it would simply be something unimaginable if there were no at least remainders of those once beautiful and most impressive castles and fortresses. Today in Armenia there is no any fortress, which has been preserved in its original form and that is because of the various invasions and attacks Armenia has suffered throughout its existence and as history shows, the castles and fortresses are being one of the primary targets of the invaders.

Currently all Armenian fortresses and castes lie in ruins, but if you need a bit of history then you should visit at least one of them. Consider Amberd Fortress Castle, especially if you are in Armenia during the March-July period.

Armenian monuments are erected to commemorate some of the most important events in the Armenian history. One such monument is the self-defense battle monument dedicated to the 40 days of Musaler resistance during 1915 Armenian Genocide. There are things in which Armenians have been the first to experience; unfortunately, they are not always the good things. One of them is the Genocide the memorial to which can be found in capital Yerevan.

To sum up Armenia is a mall, which has everything every customer would need, but it’s the customer who should make up his/her mind to enter. So make that step and discover this precious country with the most hospitable nation on earth.