Republic of Armenia. Small country located in the Transcaucasus region located between the continents of Europe and Asia. It was one of the republics of the former USSR. After its disintegration in 1991 it became an independent state like all the other republics that were part of the Union.
History
Origin
Yerevan is one of the oldest cities in the world, its foundation dates back to the 8th century BC. n. and. with the foundation of the Urartian fortress of Erebuní in the year 782 a. n. and. (hence the name of the city).
The city under different dominations
After being dominated mainly by Romans, Parthians and Arabs, the city became part of the empire of the Mongol conqueror Tamerlane in 1387. In the 15th century. Yerevan was under the hegemony of Persia and from the 16th to the 18th centuries, in the Turkish-Persian wars, the city successively passed from Persian to Turkish rule fourteen times. On 7 June as as 1679 an earthquake devastated the city devastating.
From 1747 the city was part of the Canaanite of Yerevan, a Muslim principality under the rule of the Persian Empire. In 1827 it was conquered by Russia.
On April 24 of the year 1915, the Turkish government carried out the slaughter of the Armenian people. Tsitserakaberd is a monument to the victims of the genocide. There is a museum there with many photos.
Present-day Armenia, whose current territory corresponds to much of eastern Armenia, gained independence once again in 1918, with the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Armenia. Yerevan was from 1918 to 1920 the capital of independent Armenia.
It was soviet
From 1920 to 1991 it was part of the Soviet Union (USSR) being the capital of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. The Soviet era transformed the city into a modern industrial metropolis of more than a million people, according to prominent Armenian architect Alexander Tamanián. Yerevan also became an important cultural and scientific center. Tamanián incorporated national traditions with contemporary urban construction. Its design presents a radial-circular arrangement on top of the current city.
Independence from the Soviet Union
In 1991 Armenia became independent from the Soviet Union and Yerevan became the capital of the current Republic of Armenia
Modern yerevan
The center of the city is the Republic Square surrounded by beautiful ministerial buildings, the Marriott hotel, the Central Post Office and some commercial establishments. The central part of it represents a motif imitating the designs of traditional Armenian rugs. In the background is the building of the Museum of History and the National Gallery of Art in front of which there are musical fountains.
On the pedestrian avenue of the North, the Plaza de la República joins the Plaza de Libertad (Azatutiún) where the Opera and Ballet Theater building (architect A. Tamanián) is located. The design and model of the building were presented at the 1936 World Exhibition in Paris and awarded a Grand Prix.
Not far from the opera is the Cascade with the monument to the great architect A.Tamanián, some statues, donations from Latin American sculptors, among which is the Cat by Fernando Botero. It is a monumental architectural complex of 5 floors, the favorite place of young people. Through the escalator you can go up to each floor, the last of which serves as a viewpoint from where the entire panorama of Yerevan opens with Mount Ararat in the background.
In the viewpoint stands the obelisk commemorating the fallen of the Great Patriotic War of 1941 – 1945 against the Hitlerite fascists. Behind it is the Victory Park with the Mayr-Hayastán (Mother Armenia) monument.
In the vicinity of the waterfall are Matenadarán, the Ervand Kochar museum, Djotto workshop-museum (Guevorg Grigorián), Martirós Sarián museum, Hovhanés Tumanián house-museum, Ara Sargsián and Hakob Kodjoián house-museum and the church of the Holy Mother of God, also called Zoravor (Mighty, 1693) with the tomb of Saint Ananias.
In front of Matenadarán lies Mashtots avenue at the end of which you can visit the Blue Mosque (the only one in Armenia, 1765), the Surb Sarguís Cathedral (Saint Sergius, 15th century) and the covered market with its magnificent door, the museum of modern art and near the Paradjanov museum.
The Mariscal Bajramián avenue that has many private houses, newly built and official buildings: Aram Jachaturián house-museums, Avetik Isahakián; House of writers, House of architects, National Assembly, presidential palace, diplomatic representations, Academy of Sciences, American University.
Between the Plaza de la República and that of Shahumián extends the Boulevard de Fuentes that received its name thanks to 2,750 small fountains installed in 1968, on the occasion of the 2750th anniversary of the founding of Yerevan (782 BC). Going straight ahead, you will reach Gregorio el Illuminador avenue where the City Hall and the Museum of the History of Yerevan are located.
Near the Zoravar Andranik metro station is the Saint Gregory the Illuminator church, the largest in Armenia, built in 1996 – 2001 on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the adoption of Christianity in Armenia as the official religion (301). In September 2001, Pope John-Paul II himself celebrated the church’s inaugural mass.
Sports
According to topb2bwebsites.com, Yerevan was one of the venues for the 1985 Youth Soccer World Cup, played in the Soviet Union. In the Hrazdan Stadium, the six matches of Group A were played, made up of the teams of Bulgaria, Colombia, Hungary and Tunisia, and one of the quarterfinals. The city is also home to the Pan-Armenian Games, which have been held in 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2007, and the next edition will be held in 2011.
Six of the eight teams that participated in the 2007 Armenian Football League season are Erevanese: Ararat, Banants, Kilikia, MIKA, Uliss and Pyunik. The latter is the most successful team in post-Soviet Armenia, having won eight of the fifteen championships played so far.
Sports infrastructure
The Hrazdan Stadium, built in 1972, is the largest in the country, with a capacity for 72,000 spectators. It is used mainly for football matches, but it also has facilities for practicing karate, gymnastics, basketball, boxing, fencing and table tennis. It is home to FC Ararat, one of the most popular teams in the country.
The Hanrapetakan Stadium, built in 2000 and with a capacity for almost 35,000 people, is home to the Armenian soccer team and FC Pyunik. Other Erevanese stadiums are the Banants Stadium, the Mika Stadium and the Nairi Stadium.
