Interesting facts about Armenia and Armenians

We have collected 100 facts about Armenia and Armenians in order to surprise and delight you. And so that you learn even more about this country and its people.

Contents

1. Life in Armenia
2. History, culture, traditions
3. Armenia and Armenians in the world
4. Economics and politics

Life in Armenia

1. One of the main features of Armenians is friendliness and affability. When meeting in Armenia, they always ask how the interlocutor is doing, and he should ask in return. There are responsive people here who are ready to help passers-by and tourists, bring them to the right place. And if a person becomes ill on the street, they will not pass by him and call an ambulance. Foreigners are loved here, they are welcome and want to show their hospitality.

2. Armenians have a special relationship with their neighbors. They may be closer than relatives. Everyone goes to visit each other, celebrate holidays together. It is interesting that the neighbors do not react to the noise from other apartments and do not come to sort it out even if other neighbors play music at midnight.

3. It's not just hot in Armenia. The number of sunny hours in July in Yerevan is 343. You can see it on sunshine map. For comparison: sun shines for 271 hours in Moscow in July.

4. And more about the weather in Yerevan. The lowest point above sea level is at an altitude of 900 m, and the highest is at an altitude of 1,300 m. Make sure by looking at topographic map. Due to the difference in altitude, the temperature varies in different regions.

5. Pulpulaks - drinking fountains - help to survive the heat. They are often installed in memory of fallen soldiers. In Armenia, clean water comes even from the tap, so they don’t use water filters at home, and people look at relocants with five-liter bottles with surprise. Review of the best pullulaks – on Instagram Move2Market.

6. Armenia is located in a seismically active region. The zone of 8 magnitude earthquakes covers 70% of territory (take a look at seismic zone map). Because of this the buildings are built using special technologies to withstand shaking.

7. Armenian houses have one more feature - most are built from tuff. This is a porous and at the same time durable stone. Such buildings are cooler in summer and warmer in winter. Tuff comes in different colors. Since the center of Yerevan is dominated by buildings made of pink tuff, the capital is called the “pink” city. But in the second largest city of Armenia Gyumri the houses are black.

8. Let's pay attention to the roads. Tourists from the former USSR countries will be surprised to see how many Soviet cars —"Lada" and "Moskvich" there are in Armenia.

9. There are a lot of stray dogs on the streets, but most of them have a tag on their ear. This means that the animal is registered, vaccinated, sterilized and treated for infections and parasites.

10. Armenia has the highest number of chess grandmasters per capita - 30 champions per 3 million inhabitants. And all because chess is a compulsory subject in school.

11. They also love nardi (backgammon) here. One can always see men playing nardi in the yards which tourists like to photograph.

12. Armenians are good at wrestling. It was the wrestler Armen Nazaryan who won the first Olimpic gold medal for the Republic of Armenia.

13. In schools, starting from the second grade, Russian is taught as a foreign language. According to estimates by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2010, about 70% of the population of Armenia spoke Russian. Now the adviser to the Russian Embassy in Armenia is talking about approximately 80%. English is also taught in schools. In any case, you will find a common language with the Armenians. You can learn Armenian in language centers from our catalog.

14. A frustrating fact for many visitors: there is no McDonald's in Armenia.

15. On the other hand, in Byurakan there is a snail farm.

16. From 2022 from tables in cafes and restaurants The salt shakers have disappeared - they are brought at the request of visitors. The Ministry of Health of Armenia cares so much about the health of its residents.

17. Properly baked Armenian lavash can be stored for a year. It can be dried and stored in a dry place. They moisture it with water before serving to restore the softness.

18. But dry lavash also has a use: they crumble khash into soup so that you can even eat it with your hand. Khash is a beef leg broth that is boiled for 8–9 hours. The finished dish is salted to taste; in addition to the pita bread, garlic is added. The soup is served with pickles, cheese and vodka. Traditionally, they eat on Saturday mornings during the cold months, and after eating they go to bed. Details can be found in our article "Classic khash and how to cook it".

19. If you order okroshka in Armenia, you will not be served the usual dish with sausage, vegetables and herbs. Armenian okroshka consists of matsuna (matsoni) and mineral water with cucumber and finely chopped herbs.

20. Of course, speaking about traditional dishes, we cannot forget about shish kebab (khorovats). Here it is fried even in city parks, courtyards, garages and balconies.

21. Armenians love unusual combinations of tastes. For example, watermelon and grapes are eaten with cheese. Plus, all this can be wrapped in pita bread, and you get a brtuch dish.

22. Studies have shown that on average 3.5 cups of coffee are drunk per day in Armenia. The pot in which they cook it is called jazve.

23. Alcohol is sold from the age of 18, but they ask for a passport only when they are not sure of the buyer’s age. Sometimes children are sent to buy alcohol, and at the checkout the seller communicates with the parent on the phone. Alcohol is sold around the clock, and you can even order delivery. Our “alcohol” articles: "Top 10 Armenian cognacs", "The truth is in the — pomegranate wine".

24. Since 2017 Wine Days have been held in Yerevan: a festival for which the main bar streets of the city are closed. For three days you can taste drinks from winemakers from all over the country. Beer lovers also have their own Beer Days, which have been organized since 2014.

25. Despite the fact that Armenia is famous for its alcohol drinks, you will not meet drunk people on the street. And the point is not even in the relevant law, but in the unspoken rules of decency.

26. It is not customary to swear and speak rudely even on the streets because girls can hear profanity.

27. There are casinos in Armenia, betting is not prohibited.

28. They love Jazz here very much. If music plays in a restaurant in the evening then it is jazz. Read about special attitude to jazz in Armenia, as well as places where to listen to music in our article. And Yerevan bars with live music listed in the catalog.

29. Before arriving in Armenia, foreign women wonder if Armenian women wear short and open clothes. Although this is a religious country where traditions are honored, girls dress as they want. Armenian women follow world trends and look stylish.

30. In 2023, the first fashion week was held in Yerevan. Representatives of FAULT Magazine, ELLE Italy, Vogue Italy, Wear UK and other world-famous magazines attended the event. Move2Armenia covered this event.

31. Armenians love to give their children unusual names. For example, Napoleon worked in our company. The boys were called Kamo, after the nickname of the Soviet revolutionary. You can meet an Armenian with the full name Sasha, and all because his parents, who were friends with a Russian guy, liked this name.

32. Tourists may be upset that there is no sea in Armenia, but this is not entirely true. The largest lake in the Caucasus is Sevan called the “Armenian sea”. Its area is 1240 km², and its depth is 80 m. Two Guinness records were set here: the longest swim in the lake and the crossing of the highest mountain lake.

33. Right in the capital there is salt Lake, in which, like in the Israeli Dead Sea, the water keeps swimmers on the surface. More details about the reservoir and its coordinates in our video.

34. In the Syunik region, not far from the city of Sisian, there is a Shaki waterfall. This is a beautiful natural landmark, which is “turned on” on demand for tourists.

35. Leopards live in Armenia, and you can meet them in 20 km from Yerevan in the Khosrov Forest reserve. here you can find a map of the habitat area of the leopard.

36. In Armenia there are four types of poisonous snakes. The largest and most dangerous of them is the viper, which is found even in Yerevan. You can find out what Yerevan Zoo specialists say about her from video..

37. According to various sources, from 345 to 370 species of birds nest in Armenia. In comparison, there are 530–589 species throughout whole Europe.

38. Separately, let's talk about storks because there is a settlement in Armenia, Surenavan, which is called “the village of storks”. They have woven nests on each pole there. We have been in the village and made a video.

History, culture, traditions

39. Armenia is the first country to adopt Christianity as a state religion. This happened in 301, but Christianity appeared in Armenia even earlier. Armenians belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church, founded by the apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew, the first preachers of Christianity in the country. We talked more about the Armenian religion in another article.

40. Etchmiadzin Cathedral – the oldest in Armenia. It was built on the site of a pagan temple. Some researchers also call it the first Christian cathedral in the world.

41. 97% of the population of Armenia refer themselves to the Armenian Apostolic Church. At the same time, Orthodox and Catholic churches, mosques and synagogues operate in the country.

42. As is known, with the advent of Christianity, pagan traditions were preserved, but changed their purpose and symbolism. Yes, fThe rite of matah is considered a form of charity. On a holiday or when an important event occurs, both joyful and sad, salt is illuminated in the church. It is then fed to a lamb, calf or red rooster outside the churchyard. The animal is slaughtered and boiled. The meat is distributed to everyone who leaves the church, or simply to those in need. Read even more about traditions, customs and Armenian mentality here.

43. Pagan holidays have been preserved, which coincided with church holidays. For example, beloved by Armenians and surprising foreigners Vardavar. It is celebrated on the day of the Transfiguration of the Lord - 14 weeks after Easter. On the streets all over the country, people pour water on each other, because on this day it gives health and happiness. Even firefighters take part in the celebration, spraying passers-by with water from their cars. On Terendez - the Presentation of the Lord - it is customary to jump over the fire. And Bun Barekendan resembles Maslenitsa with its festivities and fairs.

44. The national symbol of Armenia is Mount Ararat. It was to this very mount that Noah's Ark landed. The famous Armenian cognac is named after this sacred mountain. There are many restaurants and cafes with its name. There is a football club "Ararat-Armenia" in Yerevan.

45. However, since 1923, according to the Treaty of Kars, Ararat passed into the territory of Turkey, which the Republic of Armenia has not yet recognized. The mountain was even placed on the coat of arms of Armenia, with which in the 1920s. The Turkish authorities did not agree. The protests stopped when the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR asked why the Turkish flag did not have a crescent moon that belonged to it.

46. Apricot is also one of the symbols of Armenia. It is believed that it was from here that the fruit was brought to Europe, where it was called the Armenian apple. And the third color on the flag of Armenia is not orange, but apricot.

47. According to the master plan of the architect Alexander Tamanyan, the center Yerevan was supposed to be a garden city. And from the main square there was a view of Mount Ararat, until high-rise buildings appeared.

48. The Armenian language has its own alphabet. It was created by Mesrop Mashtots in 405–406. Initially it had 36 letters, in the 11th century. two more were added. The letters had numeric values, they were in use until the 17th century.

49. The last, 39th letter entered the Armenian alphabet in the 20th century, although it was used before. It is believed that this is due to joining to the USSR and the need to write surnames with the ending -ev.

50. There are two words with which Armenians express gratitude: the long one “shnorakalutyun” and the short one “mersi”. There are several theories of the appearance of French-borrowed word, but they all have one thing in common: the close relationships between the Armenians with the French.

51. We call Armenia with this very word because it comes from Latin. But the Armenians in their language call the country “Hayastan”, the Armenian language – “ayeren”, and the Armenian will say “ay” to himself. According to the most common version, they named the country, language and themselves in honor of the progenitor of all Armenians, Hayk Nahapet. Where did the Armenians come from, read here.

52. Hayk defeated the titan Bel, piercing him with an arrow, and from that day - August 11 - not only the history of Armenia began, but also the chronology according to the Armenian calendar. It had 13 months, that is, 12 months of 30 days and one five-day month. Every month and every day had its own name.

53. The current capital of Armenia,Yerevan was founded in 782 B.C., which makes it 29 years older than Rome.

54. About 20-30 thousand petroglyphs—rock paintings were found in the mountains on the territory of Armenia.

55. The oldest winery in the world was discovered in a cave near the village of Areni. She is 6,100 years old. You can look at it from guides and travel agencies from our catalogue.

56. The oldest leather shoes were also found there. According to scientists, it is 5,500 years old.

57. But life in caves is not such a distant past. People remained in the cave village of Khndzoresk until the 1950s. You can learn about this fascinating place from this article.

58. Many Armenian families believe that children should marry only the representatives of their own nationality. This is how traditions and cultural identity are preserved.

59. Speaking of traditions. There is a belief that the hair of a long-awaited son should not be cut before the age of seven, otherwise he will have weak offspring.

60. When relatives leave for somewhere for a long time water is poured after their car for the trip to be easy, and for loved ones to find their way back home.

61. We have already spoken about the fact that many people know the Russian in Armenia. More than that, Yerevan State Russian Drama Theater named after K. Stanislavsky stages plays only in Russian.

62. In the city of Gyumri there is an art gallery with works from an unusual material—cobwebs. Learn more about museums and galleries in this article.

63. And if you are going to one of these galleries or museums, then know that from May 1, 2023, ticket prices are the same for Armenians and foreigners.

Might be interesting: Move2Armenia Culture: free history lectures, trips to museums, Armenian language courses, dance and cooking lessons.

Armenia and Armenians in the world

64. Armenia ranks third in the list of mono-ethnic countries in the world. 95% of the population are Armenians.

65. The majority of Armenians live abroad: 7-9 million people. And the population of Armenia is 2.7 million people.

66. Every year, Armenia hosts the Pan-Armenian Games, a sports competition in which representatives of the Diaspora from all over the world take part.

67. It seems that there were always many Armenians abroad. Even in Byzantium there were 20 emperors of Armenian origin.

68. The famous marine painter I.K. Aivazovsky was a Crimean Armenian.

69. There are also Armenians among the Nobel laureates. In 2007, Dork Sahagyan, an Armenian scientist from the United States who fights against global warming, received the Peace Prize. In 2021, the medical award was given to Ardem Pataputyan, a Lebanese Armenian living in the United States.

70. American writer of Armenian origin William Saroyan was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the drama The Best Years of Your Life, but declined the award. He also won an Oscar for writing The Human Comedy.

71. Let's list some famous Armenians of our times: the music group System of a Down, singer Cher, media stars the Kardashian family, chess player Levon Aronian, tennis player Andre Agassi, football player Henrikh Mkhitaryan, film director Atom Egoyan.

72. The most famous Armenian films are: "The Color of Pomegranate" by Sergei Parajanov, "Men" by Edmond Keosayan, "Tango of Our Childhood" by Albert Mkrtchyan.

73. World-famous companies and brands founded by Armenians: PicsArt for photo processing, BetConstruct, a developer of gaming platforms, Tchibo, a coffee manufacturer, a developer of vaccines and medicines Moderna, Reddit a website.

74. The list of the richest people in the world according to Forbes in 2023 included: the founder of the Magnit chain of stores Sergey Galitsky (Harutyunyan), the president of the Tashir group of companies Samvel Karapetyan, the creator of Yota Albert Avdolyan, the co-founder of Fix Price Artem Khachatryan and five more billionaires.

75. The UNESCO list includes: Haghpat Monastery, Sanahin Monastery, Etchmiadzin Cathedral, St. Hripsime Church, St. Gayane Church, archaeological site Zvartnots, Geghard monastery, upper reaches of the Azat River. And among the intangible cultural heritage recognized: the musical instrument duduk, khachkars (cross stones), the epic “David of Sasun”, lavash, dance "Kochari", Armenian writing and pilgrimage to the monastery of St. Thaddeus the Apostle.

76. A little more about lavash. According to the TasteAtlas culinary guide, Armenian lavash entered the top ten best breads in the world.

77. In 2022 in Martuni The 8 billionth inhabitant of the Earth, Arpi, was born.

78. “Wings of Tatev” is the world’s longest pendulum-type passenger cable car. It stretches 5.7 km and connects Halidzor with the Tatev Monastery. More about Tatev - here.

79. The largest cemetery of khachkars is located in the village of Noratus. The oldest of them dates back to the 5th century.

80. There is a repository of ancient manuscripts Matenadaran in Yerevan. You can see the smallest and the largest books in the world there.

81. In the same repository there is the world's first textbook of arithmetics, created by the Armenian philosopher David Anakht.

82. As you know, only a drink produced in the French province of the same name can be called cognac. But there is a legend according to which the Armenian alcohol, first created by Narses Tairyan, won the Grand Prix at an exhibition in France and has since been officially recognized as cognac.

83. It is not a legend but a fact that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill loved Armenian cognac.

Economics and politics

84. The RA Minister of Economy reported that in 2022, 108–110,000 Russians moved to Armenia for permanent residence.

85. The economic growth of Armenia in 2022 amounted to 14.2%. Many companies, restaurants, cafes, bars and shops open here.

86. In 2022, inflation in Armenia was 8.3%. This is the lowest figure in the entire post-Soviet space.

87. At the same time, Armenia became the most expensive country to live in the region, according to the calculations of the portal numbeo.com.

88. Armenians prefer to go abroad for vacation, and one of the reasons is the high cost of domestic tourism.

89. There is a big wage gap between men and women in Armenia. Thus, according to the report on the socio-economic situation of the Republic of Armenia in March 2023, the gap between salaries in the financial sector amounted to 176%. The participation of women in the economy also remains low, 25% for 2022.

90. Many sources report that drams cannot be taken out of Armenia in cash.

91. There is no law in Armenia regulating digital assets. That is, you can buy and sell cryptocurrency. There are exchangers and crypto terminals, you can withdraw AMD from your account. We talk about this in another article.

92. At the end of the 20th century a tax on dust was imposed. For each m² of your residencial house you need to pay 1.91 drams.

93. According to the ranking of the numbeo.com portal, Armenia ranked seventh in terms of life safety among 168 countries where 99.7% of the world's population live.

94. Armenia shares borders with four countries: Georgia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran. At the same time, the land border can only be crossed with Iran and Georgia, air traffic has been established with Georgia and Turkey.

95. The citizens of Armenia have only one passport. Those who wish can also apply for an ID-card.

96. Citizens of the EAEU member states, that is of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia can enter Armenia with an internal passport. These countries do not require a visa for the citizens of Armenia as well.

97. Armenian citizens can also travel to 33 countries without a visa (including electronic and issued on arrival). China, Georgia, Brazil, Argentina, Iran, Serbia, etc. among them.

98. In Armenia they serve for two years in the army, military training is held periodically. Universities do not have military departments.

99. An Armenian nuclear power plant has been installed near the city of Metsamor. This is the only nuclear power plant in the South Caucasus.

100. Armenia is engaged in space exploration. It has its own space agency ArmCosmos and the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory. SpaceX rocket Falcon 9 launched the first Armenian satellite into orbit in 2022.

Bonus 101st fact. There is Move2Armenia in Armenia, a company that helps those who have recently moved to Armenia, get comfortable in a new country: get a job, open a business, get legalized, get acquainted with the culture and find like-minded people.