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When we visited the Cascade in 1986 all the nicily designed fountains were working. It was lovely to walk and sit there for a while.In a recent guidebook I red, that the many fountains were turned on in 1997 for the last time before shut down. The local government didn't have the money any longer to pay for the huge amount of energy and water needed to let the fountains and waterfall run.
The giant construction of the cascade, the artificial waterfall, was combined with a huge theaterhall and sport and leisure complex. There were also elevators constructed in the inside of the complex. An easier way to go up to visit the facilities at the top than by climbing the many steps.
At the Cascade you can climb the many steps to the top, from where you will have a great view of the city of Yerevan. The Cascade is a huge artificial waterfall, coming down from the Soviet memorial, built in 1970 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the former Soviet power in Armenia.We planned to visit the Matenadaran not far from the cascade, the famous library with more than 12.000 ancient Armenian manuscripts. A pity, it was closed for two days for scientifical research. How big a contrast can be by visiting this modern monstrous construction of the Cascade instead.
From the Republic Square, opposite the museum, you can make a walk to a pedestrian area, called the Vernissage.It's a nice green park with a lot of fountains.During our visit we were almost the only persons, who walked there. It was such a peaceful place in the centre of the town. Nowadays there is a lifely market in the weekends, where you can buy books, art and souvenirs.
The Republic Square, or former Lenin Square, is the place, where people gather. We visited the square everyday during our stay in Yerevan.Our first evening in Yerevan it was very crowded at the square with lots of schoolkids. It turned out to be the last schoolday. The boys were wearing suits and the girls white aprons. They collected each others names on their white shirts and aprons, but we were also asked to write or names on several shirts and aprons. The boys and girls liked to talk with us and were very curious, where we came from. Also the second evening we met a lot of people - some we talked to allready the day before - and had some interesting discussions in the streets and -when it started to rain- at the covered terrace, while drinking coffee together. We talked about politics, history of the Armenians, Kurds, life in Armenia and Europe.
The large Republic Square in Yerevan, or the Lenin Square at the moment we visited Yerevan in the Soviet times, is very impressive. It's the central place in town, where people gather and meet. The square is surrounded by buildings of a striking architecture. At the square you find the Armenian History Museum and the National Art Gallery, but also governmental buildings, a hotel, restaurant, terraces and foodstalls. In the middle of the square are impressing fountains.We visited the Armenian History Museum and the National Art Gallery. The historical part was interesting, but during our visit in 1986 the explanations were only in Armenian and Russian. In the Art Gallery you can find about 20.000 art objects of Armenian, Russian and West European artists.
In the picture, you can see a larger picture of Statue of Mother Armenia by night illuminated by projector lights and in the foregroud, a smaller more detailed picture, by day. The View of the city of Yerevan from where the statue is located is breath taking.. You can see the entire city from the top.The 21 meter Statue of Mother Armenia was constructed in 1950 as the Victory Memorial in memory of the Great Patriotic War. This bronze statue, a heroic figure holding a sword actually occupies the space formerly occupied by a 16.5 meter tall statue of Stalin. The Statue and its location is perhaps the best place to get a view of the city. Don't miss the opportunity.
St. Hripsime was one of the refugee nuns from Rome in the late 3rd century who were persecuted under the rule of King Trdat III and the king himself tried to marry first then rape her. This 7th century church dedicated to her is unquestionably one of Armenia's architectural gems. It was built by order of katholikos Komitas in 618. Standing on a raised paved area above the road and with the old fortified wall on the west side, the very pale pink tuff church is essentially a cross-dome church, with a 16 sided tambour, although it is more square most. It has four apses with a corner room between each apse. We were fortunate to visit this church on 3 separate occasions. Since it was located fairly close to some friends who lived on the same street that church is, we walked over to it and spent a good chunk of time exploring. We also attended our good friend's wedding there as well.When...
St. Gayane church is another famous church in the city of Ejmiatsin after Ejmiatsin main Cathedral and St. Hripsime Church. They all all located near one another hence one can walk from one church to the other. The history of St. Gayane Church has it that this Church was the abbess of the fleeing nuns persecuted by Trdat III king. The church was built by order of Katholikos Ezr in 630 on the site of Gayane's martyrium. By early 17th century it was forlorn, roof having collapsed to leave just the walls and piers standing. Major reconstruction was therefore carried out in 1651-53 and a chapel was constructed under the east apse of the saint's relics. In 1683 a gallery was added at the west end. the 3 cathedral arches are open while the smaller side ones built to house the remains of dignitaries of the church are blanked off and topped with six column belfries. On Sundays, St Gayane's...
On the basis of Archaeological evidence, the first monastary at Ejmiatsin is of the basilica form and built and rebuilt in the 480s. This monastary was built on the site where St. Gregory the Illuminator is said to have seen the light from above. It is a complex of many buildings with the main church in the center. There are theology students studying the religion of Christianity in some of the buildings surrounding the church. On Sundays, there is an extensive mass with many people visiting the church. Thousands of tourists each year visit the city of Ejmiatsin including the one and only Pope residing in Italy who visited Armenia in the past couple of years. I would recommend visiting the monastary and the church on a sunday to see the sermon and the mass. It was an overwhelmingly emotional visit for the both of us to visit this holly site. One important tip to remember about the church...
Hotel Meg Yerevan
1 Review and 53 Opinions I decided to give this place a try. Normally I would opt for a cheaper option but due to the short...
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1 Review and 0 Opinions Nur Hotel is an absolutely amazing place to stay! It's neat and clean, and a perfect place for...
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3 Reviews and 78 Opinions I guess if you are staying here you probably do not need VT much as you will be able to afford a...
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Q: Plan to travel next fall in Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. What is your opinion of renting cars in these countries and driving?
A: I can't speak specifically for renting in the other 2, but renting in Azerbaijan is more hassle than it's worth. Rental cars are expensive, $70+ per day. On top of that,...
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