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Explore Armenia holidays and discover the best time and places to visit. | Few nations have histories as ancient, complex and laced with tragedy as Armenia (ՀԱՅԱՍՏԱՆ). And even fewer have a culture that is as rich and resilient.

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These two Byzantine monasteries in the Tumanian region from the period of prosperity during the Kiurikian dynasty (10th to 13th century) were important centres of learning. Sanahin was renown for its school of ...

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In the 13th century, the monastery was acquired by the Mkhargrdzelis, a noble Armenian dynasty at the service of Georgian royals. The Mkhargrdzelis converted Kobayr into a Chalcedonian monastery, as a result of which the monastery stayed under the tutelage of the Georgian Orthodox Church for some time.

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Monastery in the middle of Lake Sevan

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հայկական վանական համալիր սևանի թերակղզու վրա

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Սևանավանք, հայկական վանական համալիր Սևանի թերակղզու վրա

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XIV AD - Vayots Dzor Marz

In medieval Armenia many buildings were built along commercial routes for the accommodation of travelers. One of those, the caravanserai of Selim (Սելիմ), was built in 1332 by Prince Chesar Orbelian, according to an inscription in Armenian and Arabic. This caravanserai offered hospitality to travelers along the highway crossing the Selim (Sulema) mountains. The best preserved of all medieval caravanserais in Armenia, it comprises a vaulted antechamber and a large hall partitioned into three sections lighted through openings in the ceiling. This building is an excellent example of Armenian secular architecture in the Middle Ages. [Paragraph Source: Monuments of Armenia]

Selim Caravansaray** lies below the road just before the summit on the south side of Selim Pass (2410 m), a splendid relic of the days when an international trade route connected Vayots Dzor to the Sevan basin and points North. According to the Armenian inscription on the right inside the door, Prince Chesar Orbelian and his brothers built this rest-house in 1332 in the reign of Abu Said Il Khan, "the ruler of the world," whose death in 1335 deprived the world of an enlightened Mongol despot and ushered in a new wave of invasions. The Persian inscription on the outside lintel (almost effaced by recent vandals) gives the date 1326‑7. The Armenian inscription reads:

"In the name of the Almighty and powerful God, in the year 1332, in the world-rule of Busaid Khan, I Chesar son of Prince of Princes Liparit and my mother Ana, grandson of Ivane, and my brothers, handsome as lions, the princes Burtel, Smbat and Elikom of the Orbelian nation, and my wife Khorishah daughter of Vardan [and ...] of the Senikarimans, built this spiritual house with our own funds for the salvation of our souls and those of our parents and brothers reposing in Christ, and of my living brothers and sons Sargis, Hovhannes the priest, Kurd and Vardan. We beseech you, passers-by, remember us in Christ. The beginning of the house {took place} in the high-priesthood of Esai, and the end, thanks to his prayers, in the year 1332.

The best preserved caravansaray in Armenia, Selim is built of basalt blocks, with a cavernous central hall for animals separated from the two vaulted side aisles by rows of stone mangers. Bring a flashlight (though the dim light through the smoke holes in the roof adds a proper medieval flavor). There is a little spring/fountain monument just uphill beyond the caravansaray. The road that leads up to the Caravanserai and thereafter to Martuni, has recently been repaved, and is an awesome drive in the springtime. (3 Paragraph Source: Rediscovering Armenia Guidebook)

In old times many roads traversed Armenia, connecting different parts of the country and neighboring countries: they were of economic and military importance. To serve the roads caravanserais were built, unique architectural monuments of Medieval Armenia.

One of them is the caravanserai of Selim, situated in the Selim (Sulema) mountain pass, 2410 m above the sea level, on the old road that connected historical Gegharkunik with Vayots Dzor. According to the two building inscriptions (one of which is in Arabic) the caravanserai was built in 1332 by Prince Orbelyan Chesar.

The caravanserai, built of basaltic stone, stretches from east to west. It belongs to a type of caravanserai of Armenia with one hall and three aisles. To the eastern part of the quite large hall (13.0 x 26.0 m) a chapel was added (now half-destroyed).

The hall is divided into three naves by seven pairs of pillars. From the western side, at the end of the narrow aisles small rooms were built for the men that accompanied the caravan. The animals of the caravan settled in the hall's narrow aisles, where stone troughs were built for them between the pillars and in one of the corners of the hall there was a whole water-pool.

The roof of the three-aisle hall was realized by means of the three parallel vaults, that of the nave or central aisle taller and wider than those of the two lateral aisles. The vaults are supported by arches stretching from pillar to pillar (in the nave) and from the pillars to the walls (in the side aisles). Through three roofings of the roof some light falls into the hall and airs it too.

The only entrance (1.65 x 2.0 m) to the hall is from the adjacent vestibule, a rectangular room (5.35 x 9.0 m) covered with a roof leaning on three arches. On the east these arches rest on the window edges; on the west on the polyhedral pillars. The building inscription in Armenian was inscribed on the eastern wall, opposite the entrance leading to the wall. The different size and style bays covered with stalactites give the vestibule a richer look.

The vestibule too has a gabled single roof, tiled just like the roof of the hall. The architecture of the caravanserai correctly expresses its meaning. The interior construction was dictated by the practical purpose of the building. The architecture of the caravanserai concluded in plain walls is simple in general.

The only place covered with architectural decorations is the southern wall of the vestibule together with its entrance. The entrance is surmounted by a half-rounded lintel on which is the Arabic inscription. The entranceway itself is crowned with a stalactitic passage.

Over the stalactitic-decorated belts there are two high-reliefs: of a winged animal (to the left) and a bull (to the right).

The caravanserai of Selim was restored in 1956‑1959.

Another smaller caravanserai is situated 12 km down from the caravanserai of Selim, at the southern foot of the mountain pass, near the village of Lernantsk (Aghdenk). It belongs to the type of single-nave caravanserais and is also built of basalt. The foundation date is unknown. A not very big hall (7.8 x 10.8 m) is covered with a cylindrical vault built on 6 supporting arches.

There are stone troughs inside. The only entrance is from Western side. This monument also is lit through the roof, a feature that, together with certain other details, witnesses to the influence of Armenian dwellings on the architecture of caravanserais.

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XIV AD - Vayots Dzor Marz In medieval Armenia many buildings were built along commercial routes for the accommodation of travelers. One of those, the caravanserai of Selim (Սելիմ), was built in 1332 by Prince Chesar Orbelian, according to an inscription in Armenian and Arabic.

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"This is it: the genesis," exclaims winemaker Paul Hobbs, walking through a tight opening into a mass of monolithic rocks. "The cave where it all began."

Hobbs and his partners are taking a break from their vines to explore one of the world's oldest known winemaking operations. It's in a cave. In Armenia. And not just any cave: a massive, primordial, bat-infested, Transcaucasian caveman cave. The Areni-1 complex, uncovered in 2007, contains a 6,100-year-old winery replete with fermenting vats, a grape press, and subterranean clay storage vessels. Altogether, it's the best-preserved archeological site in the ongoing search for winemaking's birthplace. And it's only 60 miles from Mount Ararat, where Noah is said to have parked his ark after the flood and planted the earth's first vineyard.

When you're inside the cave, where the National Geographic Society and UCLA are continually excavating, you can't help wondering what life must have been like back then. It's quite cool-"temperature controlled," as Hobbs puts it, meaning wine-friendly. Like a sandy beach, the floor is soft and springy, covered in a layer of fine dirt. Hobbs rests his hand on a guano-encrusted wall and gazes down at the gray-white earthenware jugs sunk into the powdery floor. "These have been sitting here for thousands of years," he says. "It's hard to fathom. We don't have words for this feeling; it's something mystical, something ethereal."

Few people outside the former Soviet Union have ever tasted Armenian wine, but Hobbs and his team are part of a growing movement here hoping to change that. In addition to his own winery in Sebastapol, California, Hobbs consults on dozens of projects around the globe, from Uruguay to Ontario. And the 62-year-old vintner played a pivotal role in shaping the modern Argentinean wine industry two decades ago. His Armenian venture is a partnership with two Los Angeles-based Armenian brothers, Viken and Vahe Yacoubian. The first releases from Yacoubian-Hobbs Wines -made in the vineyards of Rind, a short drive from the Areni-1 archeological site-will launch next year.

Visiting Areni-1, it's easy to share Hobbs' enthusiasm for the chance to make wine at the cradle of viticulture. The cave is situated at the conjunction of an ancient canyon and a steep, narrow valley. From the fertile base of this X-shaped gorge, sweeping green hillsides give way to immense jagged red stone formations seemingly erupting from the earth's core. These cliffside spires must have been just as awe-inspiring to the people who began cultivating grapes here millennia ago.

Imagine a band of hunter-gatherers standing on a ridge across the Arpa River, surveying these craggy rifts as a place they might find shelter and protection from the leopards and jackals competing for survival here in the Armenian highlands. Areni-1 was inhabited during the early Copper Age, a transitional epoch between the Stone Age and the Bronze Age also known as the Chalcolithic period. At that point, we were still pretty much cartoon cavemen who hadn't yet invented writing or wheels. The advent of alcoholic beverages would help kick-start those breakthroughs.

Consider: Only by domesticating animals and tending crops did we evolve away from pure survival and into a mode of life where division of labor and increased specialization developed into critical thinking. This cave is a key locus in that development.

Over the past decade, archeological excavations at Areni-1 have uncovered not just the first-ever winery, but also the oldest known leather shoe and a human skull containing the most ancient fragment of brain tissue in existence. It's been suggested the skulls and wine were linked in ceremony, and in its earliest days, the mystery of fermentation and inebriation was considered a gift of the gods-something to be ritualized. That's why, as organized religions arose, wine became linked to divinities like Teshub, Osiris, Dionysus, and Jesus.

Early forms of booze included broken-rice grogs, grain mashed with fruit, and other proto-beers. But wine's centrality in human history is due to the simplicity with which grape juice transforms itself into alcohol. As soon as grapes release their juices, the yeasts living on their skins break down the sugars, producing alcohol and carbon dioxide. A pile of grapes, left to their own devices, will start to ferment automatically. "Other fruits don't generate the same amount of alcohol as grapes, nor do other fruits turn into juice as easily," Hobbs says.

The discovery of wine would have been an alluring reason for nomadic humans to give sedentary existence a go. As the pomologist Edward Bunyard once wrote: "We can picture the Father of our civilization, genial and complacent amid the stir of camp-breaking, answering those who urged him to his packing, 'No! I stay here until this grape juice is finished. It gets more tasty every day.'"

Of course it wouldn't have been the only reason we settled, but wine's nascence is a key moment in the Neolithic revolution, when humans gave up nomadism for agriculture. Armenia is adjacent to the Fertile Crescent, where founder crops like emmer and einkorn wheat, barley, flax, and lentils were tamed and developed. This particular region is also the place of origin for the wild grapevine.

It's uncertain where, exactly, viticulture began, but the strongest theories suggest that it arose between the Black and Caspian Seas in Transcaucasia (which includes Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan), as well as in eastern Turkey, the Levant, and northern Iran. The earliest evidence for grape domestication, in the form of 8,000-year-old grape seeds, was found just north of Armenia at Shulaveri gorge in Georgia. The oldest example of wine-7,400-year-old residue on clay pots-was discovered just south of Armenia at Hajji Firuz Tepe in Iran. Across the Black Sea in northern Greece, findings from a settlement called Dikili Tash suggest that grapes were being crushed into wine there 6,300 years ago. But Areni-1, at 6,100 years old, is the first place where grapes and winemaking tools have been discovered together. To put things in perspective, it's not until a millennium or so later that wine shows up in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs.

How the first prehistoric wines were made remains a matter of speculation. One hypothesis entails nomadic humans collecting wild grapes, which, left aside, accidentally fermented, and presto: vino. "When our prehistoric ancestors first drank wine, they felt its euphoric effects," Hobbs says, "which certainly made them want to keep at it."

Hobbs and the Yacoubian brothers have also had to keep at it. They've been working on this ambitious project since 2008, and they still haven't actually released any wines. But things are getting closer: Their areni vines are healthy, their nursery with Hobbs' California varietals is in the ground, and the first batch of their wines is imminent. "This is the longest cycle of any project I've ever worked on," notes Hobbs, who also accepts that things take as long as they need to in a place this remote.

A certain level of tenacity and dedication is required just to access the Areni-1 site. Traveling to Armenia from North America is a multitransfer slog, and the drive to the cave from the capital city, Yerevan, takes a couple of hours along bumpy mountain roads. Throughout the journey, Mount Ararat's snowcapped peak dominates the biblically epic view. The road to Areni is lined with farm stands selling fresh red cherries and plastic gallons of homemade, semisweet, rustic red wine. "Many of them are riddled with microbial sanitation problems, oxidation, or overextraction," Hobbs laments. "It's a shame, as more and more people are making pilgrimages here to taste great wine in its birthplace."

Ancient wines have little in common with the roadside plonk available around Areni. Given the relentless global demand for wines with a true sense of place, there are opportunities here. Take the amber wines of nearby Georgia, made as they always have been in underground qvevri amphorae. Unsung until recently, they're increasingly praised in the international wine scene. Armenia, too, is ground zero for wine culture, yet it's still to be seen how it will reconcile the past with the present.

The indigenous areni grape, for example, seems ideally suited for lighter-bodied wines, yet many winemakers use it in saccharine Soviet-style wines or in brawny oak bombs. There's little consensus about what would make for a "typical" Armenian wine because nobody can say with authority what the wines used to be like. Part of the thrill is the desire to try and find out-even though the country's ancient wine culture nearly died over the past couple of centuries.

Areni-1 was inhabited during the early Copper Age, a transitional epoch between the Stone Age and the Bronze Age.

There's a simple reason why Armenia is simultaneously one of the oldest and the youngest wine-producing nations in the world: It was decreed a brandy-producing country during the 19th-century czarist era. As a result, most grapes here have ultimately ended up being distilled. The emphasis on brandy only deepened during Soviet years, and to this day, 95 percent of the grapes grown on a commercial level are used for spirits.

The rebirth of Armenian wines began only around a decade ago-barely enough time for newly planted vines to come to fruition. The producers moving things forward include Zorah, which ages a Karasì cuvée in reclaimed amphorae; Voskeni of the Ararat Valley; and Kataro, a family-run winery in the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region. Irina Ghaplanyan, a political science professor and driving force in the revival, makes an excellent red called Zabel. "Armenia's wines aren't yet at their full potential," she explains, knowingly. "We're still discovering what they can truly offer."

This is a nation where the tradition of simply drinking wine was broken. Annual consumption of vodka per capita is 5.6 liters, for example, to wine's 1.6 liters. Compare that with Georgia, where the average citizen consumes upwards of 21 liters a year. Granted, Georgia was deemed a "country of wine" in the Soviet-dominated 20th century, supplying Stalin with his favorites, and the tradition of making wine in qvevris was never interrupted. If Armenia can find a way to leverage its own historical position into a vibrant new wine culture, however, its mountainous reds may soon be drunk side by side with Georgia's skin-contact amber wines.

Since the discovery of Areni-1 nine years ago, seismic changes have already taken place in Armenia. The first-ever wine bars in Yerevan opened just a few years ago. The clientele still skews female and young, but it's a significant step in a place where most men consider wine drinking unmasculine. The sense that a new generation is coaxing things forward is palpable. Post-Soviet-style wine (read: dry) is being exported by domaines like ArmAs Estate, Hin Areni Vineyards, and Van Ardi, and there is an increasing uptick in quality. "That's where we come in," says Hobbs, who is conscious of the need to retain the wines' connection to the land. "The soul of a wine is when it speaks to a place. If you don't have that, then you've missed everything. And that quest is why we're so fired up to be here."

The quest to bring world-class wine back to Armenia would be a lot more complicated without Vahe Keushguerian, the winery manager for Yacoubian-Hobbs. Born into the diaspora and educated in the United States, he started making wine in Tuscany and Puglia in the 1990s. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he bought land in the Areni region, relocated in 2009, and began working with the country's winemakers. These days, he runs a company called Semina Consulting that helps with everything from harvesting to bottling to sales to shipping. "The ringleader of the Armenian wine mafia" is what the media here have dubbed Keushguerian. That may be true, but he's also a nature lover who spends his free time tagging and propagating wild grapevines.

Not far from the cave, Keushguerian walks over to some tangled, overgrown grape bushes. These grapevines haven't been here for millennia, but they've overlooked these cliffs for at least a few generations. The varietals translate to names like "foxtail," "the shah's empress," and "a Kurd's forehead."

"Whenever I come out here it makes me realize the total insignificance of our own lives," Keushguerian says to Hobbs as they gaze up at the cliffs. As much as Keushguerian is entranced with Armenia's ancestral grapes and Areni-1, it's his opinion that it doesn't matter which country actually came to make wine first. "Being the birthplace of wine is something the countries around here all share," he contends. "In fact, it's one of the few things we all have in common."

Early forms of booze included broken-rice grogs, grain mashed with fruit, and other proto-beers.

Relations between Armenia and its neighbors are highly fraught. The borders to Turkey and Azerbaijan are closed. The only land routes in or out pass through either Georgia or Iran, making it logistically difficult to export wines. There have long been disputes over the Azeri exclave of Nakhchivan as well as the mountainous independent territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which shares a currency, legislation, and much of its population with Armenia-but which Azerbaijan claims belongs to it. Perhaps the ultimate symbol for how complex the geopolitical situation is in this region is Mount Ararat itself, which lies in a part of Turkey primarily inhabited by Kurds who consider it part of the as-yet-unrecognized nation of Kurdistan.

Areni-1 is located near Ararat in Vayots Dzor, a province whose name translates as the "Valley of Sorrows." So many wars have been fought here, and the painful memory of the Armenian genocide a century ago remains fresh. Cross-cultural tension and lingering wounds are part of the country's DNA.

As Keushguerian, Viken Yacoubian, and Hobbs leave the cave site, a picnicking group of older men waves them over. They're drinking homemade white wine and vodka from plastic water bottles. When they learn that Hobbs is American, they kiss him on the cheek and hold forth in Russian about Armenia's tragic past. Keushguerian tries to translate, but the men speak over one another with increasing urgency. Pretty soon, they are crying and hugging as Hobbs attempts to console them. He can't grasp a word they're saying. Still, he's in a land capable of expressing its emotions in ways that transcend language.

To encounter grown men crying here is not atypical. In fact, souvenir stores often sell small figurines of a doleful, bulbous-nosed, dark-haired, flower-bearing man with tears running down his face. Armenians are a deeply emotional and empathetic people; it's part of the reason they've been able to survive in such a harsh environment, but also why their communities have flourished around the world. The global Armenian diaspora is estimated to be between 7 million to 8 million people; the country's population is itself only 3 million.

William Saroyan, the legendary Armenian-American writer, felt that the secrets to life were to breathe deeply, laugh like hell, and really "taste food when you eat." Meals here are so incredibly flavorful and abundant that it's impossible to not follow his advice. After bidding the tipsy, now laughing picnickers dasvidaniya, the group heads to an outdoor grill restaurant near the base of the cave. (Part of the cave itself was damaged when someone tried to build a restaurant inside its western gallery.)

Armenia was decreed a brandy-producing country during the 19th-century czarist era.

Lunch begins with platters of brightly flavored pickles, thick Caucasian yogurt, savory pan-seared apricot patties, carrots with dill, thin slices of eggplant wrapped around creamy walnuts, and local cold cuts like basturma and dried soujouk, as well as a briny, subterranean-aged cheese and heaping plates of fresh herbs: chervil, chives, cilantro, purple basil, mustardy arugula, and tarragon. And no Armenian meal would be complete without dolmas, whether cabbage-wrapped rice and meat, or forest-green vine leaves swaddling crayfish. The main course is a parade of grilled sturgeon, trout, pork chops, lamb, and potatoes.

The other tables fill with raven-haired women and muscular men with pale blue eyes wearing Adidas tracksuits. The impression of being in 1970s U.S.S.R. is amplified when Hobbs and the others depart for their nearby vineyards, jostling past blue-smoke-spewing Ladas, donkey-pulled chariots, and a rumbling bulldozer slowly dragging boulders on chains behind it.

"Most of the vineyard practices here are archaic," Hobbs says, strolling through his vines in Rind. "We've worked to revamp growing methods, slashing yields, and harvesting later to achieve ripeness."

Viken Yacoubian is a rugged force to Hobbs' Hollywood good looks. He recalls that when Hobbs arrived there was no infrastructure for modern winemaking. "Everything was ancient and dilapidated, left over from the Soviet period," Yacoubian says. "It really felt formidable to attempt this."

But now, eight years later, it's coming together. The final blends for their first release will be chosen tomorrow. Everyone takes a moment to inhale deeply. A shepherd pauses with his flock on a ravine in the distance. Purple wildflowers and blood-red poppies dance among the vines. "What I love about this place is the purity," Hobbs says. "In the air, in the plants, in everything."

Born in upstate New York, Hobbs notes the similarity between his homeland and Armenia. "The winters here are as cold as the Finger Lakes," he says. "The flowers and soil and manure and leaves-it smells like my childhood on the farm. Every time I visit the cave, I end up feeling like a kid. I feel like I am my three-year-old daughter here. Everything is so new and marvelous for her, so fresh."

The next afternoon, Hobbs, Yacoubian, and Irina Ghaplanyan from Zabel gather at Chateau Qvartel, Keushguerian's offices and winery. The "chateau" is an immense, rusting Soviet hangar located in Yerevan's derelict 16th quarter. A number of the buildings around here have collapsed, some are in a permanent state of incompletion, and many are windowless. It's a reminder of post-Soviet dissolution, when supply chains crumbled and the ruble was replaced with the still-precarious dram. Electricity was barely available at night from 1991 until around 2005. During those years, hotels here would give guests a wake-up call if hot water happened to become available for showering. "This part of town is kind of the projects," Keushguerian says.

"The soul of a wine is when it speaks to a place. If you don't have that, then you've missed everything."

Unlikely though it may seem, this urban-bunker facility is central command for the new wines of Armenia-eight or so winemakers all operate under this one roof. Keushguerian makes his own wines here, as do Ghaplanyan, Yacoubian-Hobbs, and a handful of other idealists. There are the usual stainless-steel fermenting tanks and oak barrels for aging, but there's also a large map on the wall to help explain how all these Greater Caucasian and Near East countries fit next to one another.

"The grapes for my Keush Origins sparkling wine come from there," Keushguerian says, pointing at the region of Khachik. It's right up against the border of Azerbaijan, close to the trenches in a militarized zone. "To make sense of wine in Armenia, we need to accept that it is a combination of history, geography, resilience, and defiance-plus a sense of duty to our ancestors," he continues. "Wine is a way to introduce people to Armenia. You see its reality through its wine."

Yacoubian chimes in: "The fact is these wines allow us to discuss identity. I am an Armenian, and I am making wine, but who am I? I was born in Lebanon and grew up in Los Angeles, and I came here searching for a way of defining my Armenian-ness." Wine is helping him, and his country, define their voice.

On that note, they taste the final blend of their first vintage. The Yacoubian-Hobbs take on the areni grape smooths out its rough tannins, placing it somewhere between a mondeuse from Savoie, a Chianti riserva, and a volcanic red from Etna. It's definitely a mountain wine, but with a velvety, new-world, Hobbsian signature-and it adds density without any of the clunkiness found in other local wines.

Keushguerian and Ghaplanyan recently coauthored a paper on what they call wines from the "historical world," distinguishing that term from "Old World" and "New World." They wanted to identify this region-Armenia and Georgia, but also Jordan, Israel, and Lebanon-differently from the ancient world. "The ancient world is a sexy idea," Ghaplanyan explains, "but it is something that has ceased to exist-as opposed to history, which is constantly evolving."

Keushguerian interjects: "The ancient world is a fossil, and nobody wants to be a fossil." Their notion that this part of the world is distinct from old-world and new-world labels allows for historical-world wines to be made with a new-world palate, as Yacoubian-Hobbs is doing, or in an old-world style, emulating European cuvées, or in a historical-world way, as are Georgia's amber wines. "There is room for all preferences and tastes with this framework," he says.

Ghaplanyan insists that Armenian wine should be in no rush to define itself-or to limit itself. "Our people first lost our statehood in 1045 c.e.-and we only finally became a sovereign republic again in 1991," she points out. "Twenty-five years to find ourselves again after almost a thousand is a very short time." Armenia is an in-between place, not exactly European, Asian, or Middle Eastern. "A liminal place," Ghaplanyan says. "That has to be the source of our strength."

Armenians have long used wine as a way of maintaining their Armenian-ness. In 2013, the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology published a paper about the spread of early Transcaucasian culture (ETC) across the Near East in the third millennium b.c.e. The Areni-1 site was a prime ETC settlement, and as the Transcaucasians wandered, they brought wine culture with them. The archeological record suggests that winemaking is what enabled them to retain their social identity wherever they settled.

Returning from exile, Yacoubian, Ghaplanyan, and Keushguerian are essentially following their predecessors in a quest to discover themselves through wine. There's a beautiful symmetry to the idea that modern-day Armenians would define themselves in such a way. This is a place where a wine-drinking civilization learned to thrive 6,000 years ago, and where people are once again using grapes to help them find their identity-even as they search for the true nature of their wines.

The Armenian Grapes
Cultivated in Armenia's rich, volcanic soil at high altitudes, these grape varietals are entirely indigenous and vital to the tradition of winemaking in the cradle of viticulture.
Areni
The best known of Armenia's varietals, areni is a thick-skinned, late-ripening grape. It's considered one of the country's finest, and produces fresh, bright red wines with soft, elegant red fruit flavors.

Kakhet
This late-ripening varietal is thinner-skinned than areni, and deep violet-purple in color, with small berries that make for sweet, fresh, floral juice.

Sireni
Originally from Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory in South Caucasus, sireni is a thick-skinned red grape with tannic structure. It ages and develops reliably well in barrel.

Tchilar
Rare and nearly extinct until recently, tchilar is a grape to watch in the coming years. It's mildly floral with a distinct structure, and falls somewhere between a sauvignon blanc and a grüner veltliner.

Now Cook This

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"This is it: the genesis," exclaims winemaker Paul Hobbs, walking through a tight opening into a mass of monolithic rocks. "The cave where it all began." Hobbs and his partners are taking a break from their vines to explore one of the world's oldest known winemaking operations. It's in a cave.

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There are many amazing spots in Armenia that most tour guides will take you too, especially if they are easy to get to from Yerevan. Khor Virab, Garni and Gerhart, Matenadaran... so on. Here are a few special places... a bit off the beaten path, but worth it if you can make the trip.

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Given no level ground on which to build, the ancient population of Eastern Armenia did the only thing left to them and dug into the sloping hillsides, creating the cave dwellings at Old Khndzoresk which were still inhabited well into the 20th century.

The historic cave village, located on the steep slope of a gorge, is comprised of both natural and manmade caves. At the inhabiting community's height, some estimates suggest that population grew to as many as 15,000 people. Since many of the dwellings were carved out over and around each other, a complex system of ropes and ladders were required for people to reach many corners of the community. The village even had two churches and three schools. The cave dwellings were inhabited until as late as the 1950s at which point it is said that Soviet officials deemed the caves unfit and uncivilized, forcing the remaining villagers to leave.

Today, Old Khndzoresk is frequented mostly by local livestock which graze amongst the caves, some of which have been converted to stables or storage spaces. Visitors are welcome to explore the cave system, but a trip across the gorge is not for the faint of heart. However, making the trip a bit easier if no less harrowing, is a 160-meter long suspension bridge that was built using nothing more than local funds and labor in 2012 and which shakes with every footstep. The new bridge connects Old Khndzoresk and New Khndzoresk, the modern village, bridging Armenia's history with the present day both figuratively and literally.

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Given no level ground on which to build, the ancient population of Eastern Armenia did the only thing left to them and dug into the sloping hillsides, creating the cave dwellings at Old Khndzoresk which were still inhabited well into the 20th century.

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Ancient Fortress

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Amberd 1: History. Legend - Amberd - Armenian Heritage

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In 1196 Amberd was liberated by the joint Armenian-Georgian army lead by general Zakareh Zakarian, as a result the fortress was granted into his tenure.

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What to do in armenia: Visit Armenia, Tatever ropeway, Tatev Gateway complex, Tickets and hours of operation, Hiking Trails, Restaurant-cafe Tatevatun, Tatev Monastery Complex, Vorotan Gorge, Arts and culture, Travel information and advice, How to get to Tatev, Where to stay, tatever, Wings of tatev

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Armenian Stonehenge

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In the mountains of nowadays Armenia (in the south, close to town Goris), the first observatory Carahunge (Car-means stone, hunge-means voice

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the Petroglyphs

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Petroglyphs on Ughtasar (mountain), Armenia

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10,000 year old Petroglyphs in Armenia. Music by Revolution of Ants.

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Located in Eurasia's South Caucasus region, and nestled between Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Iran (along with a couple others) lays Armenia. Home to some of the world's oldest monuments, breathtaking vistas, a hospitable culture with a rich history and a delightful food and drink scene, Armenia offers a gamut of travel experiences that will not disappoint. It's also not overcrowded with tourists yet, a fantastic ingredient in the recipe for a unique and awesome modern day travel experience.

But in case you were looking for more motivation, here are reasons to travel to Armenia... RIGHT NOW:
Read the full story on CheapOAir Miles Away blog
This entry was posted in Armenia, Travel and tagged Armenia, CheapOAir, Christianity, Eurasia, Lake Sevan, monastery, spa, Yerevan. Bookmark the permalink.

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10 Reasons to Travel to Armenia Right Now

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Located in Eurasia's South Caucasus region, and nestled between Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Iran (along with a couple others) lays Armenia. Home to some of the world's oldest monuments, breathtaking vistas, a hospitable culture with a rich history and a delightful food and drink scene, Armenia offers a gamut of travel experiences that will not disappoint.

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Travel Blogs

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For those planning to travel Armenia, here are some of the best places to see in Armenia. Hope you love the country as much as I do!
We've all heard of Armenia or have Armenian friends, yet most of us know nothing about this Caucasus country. In case you too are clueless about it, Armenia is an Eurasian country located in the Caucasus region between Europe and Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran to the south. As a result of its geographical location, the country has a compelling blend of European and Asian heritage, culture and food. It's very cheap and relatively safe - read on for my full Armenia travel blog.

Armenia isn't usually an instant hit with travelers. But strangely, I love Armenia, more so than neighbouring Georgia which is a big hit with backpackers, or its current arch enemy Azerbaijan. Perhaps because of my propensity for unconventional places or my interest for places with a tragic past. Regardless, Armenia won my heart despite the short amount of time we spent there.

Beyond the capital city, Armenia is defined by looming mountains and dramatic landscapes punctuated by medieval churches and Soviet bloc style buildings. Its extraordinary collection of medieval monasteries is impressive, but its canyons, lakes and ski slopes are what make this country so damn beautiful. Let's not forget the surprising delight of Yerevan, so exuberant and vibrant it reminds me of Asia more so than Europe.

In comparison to its Caucasus neighbors, Armenia is truly unique in its culture and history. The country has got its own alphabets and language family, own ethnicity, and cultural identity. At times it feels like Asia and at times it's very much European. The charming blend of East and West is very evident here, in this intriguing country.

1. Yerevan: A Vibrant Eurasian Capital

It comes as a surprise to many (including myself) that the Armenian capital city of Yerevan is actually very modern and vibrant. Few traces of the city's ancient past remain, with much of the city constructed from scratch during the Soviet era. Fortunately, there's a network of gardens and parks all over the city.

The heart of Yerevan is at Republic Square, which centres on a massive fountain, backdropped by the national museum. The tree-lined boulevards are packed with everything from chic wine bars to old-fashioned teahouses, kebab shops to pumping nightclubs and outdoor cafes. A great place to really get a feel of the city's vibes and pick up some knick knacks is the Sunday Market just a few steps from the Republic Square.

For those of you who are curious about Armenia's history, the Yerevan Genocide Memorial and Museum is an essential place to visit. Over 1.5 million Armenians were killed or displaced by the Ottoman empire in the early 1900s. This was dubbed the first genocide in history, though the Turkish government has yet to offer an official apology. The genocide also resulted in the Armenian diaspora, leaving more Armenians abroad than in Armenia, even to this day. The museum gives insights into this tragic chapter of Armenia's history.

To travel overland from Georgia to Armenia, most people catch the direct train from Tbilisi to Yerevan, but we wanted a unique journey that would let us see the countryside along the way. That's why we signed up for the Enlinking Caucasus day trip with Envoy Tours that would take us from one capital city to another, while exploring northern Armenia.

As our guide Yerv said, "This northern region is said to be the most beautiful part of Armenia." I couldn't agree more. The canyon manages to pack in more history and culture than anywhere else in the country. Debed Canyon is dotted with old world villages, obscure Soviet-era buildings, and two World Heritage-listed monasteries, Haghpat and Sanahin, as well as stunning mountain landscapes. Here's a look the trio of monasteries that we visited on this day trip and why they're worth visiting:

The first monastery we explored right after crossing the Georgian border is the Akhtala Monastery, also known as Pghindzavank. This 10th-century fortified monastery is also an apostolic church, although it's not functioning these days. The fortress played a major role in protecting the north-western regions of Armenia is among the most well preserved of all in modern Armenia. Unlike most Armenian churches, this one has a colourful interior, decorated with artistic frescoes.

Backdropped by a panoramic view of the Debed Canyon, this monastery has the most beautiful setting, and is undoubtedly my favorite of the three. Dating back to 976, the medieval monastery complex was founded by Queen Khosrovanuysh. The location of Haghpat Monastery was chosen so that it overlooks the Debed River. It was built, not on a peak, but halfway up a hillside chosen to protectand conceal from prying eyes.

Built around the same time is the Sanahin Monastery. Like Haghpat, this monastery also lies in plain view to the public on a dissected plateau formation, separated by a deep "crack" formed by a small river flowing into the Debed river. The monastery is home to numerous khachkars (stones with elaborate engravings representing a cross) and bishop grave sites scattered throughout it.

If you're looking to get a feel for an Armenian small village near Yerevan, I'd recommend checking out Tsaghkadzor, a quaint ski town that's also rich in history. We passed by Tsaghkadzor and wandered around for a quick visit on our day trip to Lake Sevan with Ararat Tour, but wished we had more time to stay here and explore more.

Translated to mean 'valley of flowers', Tsaghkadzor (don't ask me how to pronounce it!) is quite a popular destination for Armenians in winter thanks for its ski centre on the slopes of Mount Tegenis.The village itself is small and quaint, easily navigable on foot. The main attraction in town is the Kecharis Monastery, a restored historical complex comprising of a 10th century church, and a13th-century cathedral.

From town, you can easily drive up to the ski base where the ropeway leads you up to the mountain peak. We took a ride on the ropeway (which is opened all year round) and drank in a beautiful panorama of the valley from above. At this time of the year (October), the grassy patches made for great hiking and horseriding. In winter the whole area is blanketed in snow and transformed into a busy ski piste.

7. Lake Sevan - Armenia's Most Beautiful Sight

Situated at 1,900m above sea level, this is the largest high-altitude lake in Armenia and the Caucasus region. It covers almost 5,000 square kilometres in area - an area so massive that makes it look more like a sea than lake.

Sadly, Lake Sevan was heavily exploited for irrigation of the Ararat plain and hydroelectric power generation during the Soviet period. Consequently, its water level decreased by around 20 m and its volume reduced by more than 40%. Luckily, underground tunnels were later built to divert water from highland rivers, which halted its decline.

Today the lake's ecosystem is protected for it environmental, economical, and spiritual value and it is regarded as a national treasure of the country. The lake still supplies almost 90% of the country's fish supply, and you'll find some of the freshest seafood in Armenia right here on its shore.

8. Sevanavank: Medieval Monastery Built on an Island

Because of the drop in water level, the lake's only island has sadly become a peninsula now, easily accessible by cars on the southern shore. The peninsula is topped by one of the most famous attractions in Armenia: the Sevanavank, a monastic complex founded in 874.

Sevanavank has a picturesque setting, surrounded by water. It sprawls across a large hilltop area, with two main churches surrounded by monks' living quarters and remains of khachkars (engraved stones). It's worth spending some time hiking around the area and exploring the trails surrounding the monastery.

How to Travel to Armenia

Travelers from the USA, the EU member-states and the Schengen Acquis states do not need Armenian Visa. If you need a visa (like I do), you can easily get it online on the Armenia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. It's cheap (only US$6) and is also processed very quickly; you'll usually get it within 24 hours of application. Once you have the e-visa, you just need to have it on your phone or print it out and present it at the border crossings. Whether you are entering Armenia at the airport or the overland border, you'll need to have your e-visa to travel Armenia.

Getting into Armenia from Georgia

Most people traveling the Caucasus will fly into Tbilisi, the capital city of Georgia first. It's easy to find cheap flights to Tbilisi from many major cities in Europe. My flight from Madrid to Tbilisi on Pegasus Airline was only 150 euros return. I met an Austrian guy who paid only 70 euros for his return flights on Wizz Air.

To cross from Georgia into Armenia, your best bet is to use the Sadakhlo-Bagratashen border crossing, which is just an hour's drive from Tbilisi. I traveled on a day trip, so unfortunately I can't advise on how to cross the border independently. But based on research, it's relatively easy to get a mini-bus from Tbilisi to Ortachala Bus Station and then taxi to the border.

The border crossing is very modern, clean and organized. It took our group of around 15 people to cross from one country to another in less than an hour. However, if you have an Azerbaijan passport stamp, you'll be asked a few more questions than usual. Read below to know why.

Getting in Armenia from Azerbaijan

Armenia and Azerbaijan are still currently at war and it is impossible to go from one country to the other. The two countries have been fighting for political authority of the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh for years. Nagorno Karabakh is inhabited by mostly ethnic Armenians but it was given to Azerbaijan by the Russians during the Soviet era. Since the ceasefire in 1994, it is considered a de facto independent state.

Today, travel is not allowed between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan. If you have the passport stamp for Nagorno Karabakh, you will not be allowed entry into Azerbaijan.

To go from Armenia to Azerbaijan or the other way round, you'll need to go back to Georgia. Some people say that it's better to go to Azerbaijan before Armenia (rather than after), as custom officers at the Azerbaijan borders can refuse you entry if they see an Armenian passport stamp. I didn't have a problem going to Azerbaijan after Armenia despite having a stamp, and there were no questions asked at all. That said, keep in mind that I flew into Baku (sometimes airport arrivals can be easier than overland border crossings).

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For those planning to travel Armenia, here are some of the best places to see in Armenia. Hope you love the country as much as I do! Best Places to Visit in Armenia We've all heard of Armenia or have Armenian friends, yet most of us know nothing about this Caucasus country.

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Where would you guess was the first Christian country on earth? Italy perhaps? Nope! It was Armenia. This small country in the Caucuses was the first nation to adopt Christianity as its state religion in 301 AD. In fact,...

After 5 great nights in Tbilisi, a beautiful city well suited for backpackers, we hopped on another bus and headed to the neighbouring country of Armenia, to the capital of Yerevan. The bus ride there was ridiculous and...

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Armenia Travel Guides | Best Things To See & Do In Armenia

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Where would you guess was the first Christian country on earth? Italy perhaps? Nope! It was Armenia. This small country in the Caucuses was the first nation to adopt Christianity as its state religion in 301 AD. In fact,...

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Armenia (Armenian Հայաստան, Hayastan) is the only country remaining from 3,000 year old maps of Anatolia. It became the world's first Christian country more than 1,700 years ago in 301 AD and has a large Diaspora all over the world.

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Explore the spirit of Armenia

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"Cultural Renaissance" foundation represents the Golden Collection of Armenian Traditional Music. More than 550 examples of folk, spiritual and instrumental music in one digital music library.

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Clear and Concise History

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The Armenian genocide was the systematic killing and deportation of Armenians by the Turks of the Ottoman Empire. In 1915, during World War I, leaders of the Turkish government set in motion a plan to expel and massacre Armenians.

By the early 1920s, when the massacres and deportations finally ended, between 600,000 and 1.5 million Armenians were dead, with many more forcibly removed from the country. Today, most historians call this event a genocide: a premeditated and systematic campaign to exterminate an entire people. On April 24, 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden issued a declaration that the Ottoman Empire's slaughter of Armenian civilians was genocide. However, the Turkish government still does not acknowledge the scope of these events.

The Roots of Genocide: The Ottoman Empire

The Armenian people have made their home in the Caucasus region of Eurasia for some 3,000 years. For some of that time, the kingdom of Armenia was an independent entity: At the beginning of the 4th century A.D., for instance, it became the first nation in the world to make Christianity its official religion.

But for the most part, control of the region shifted from one empire to another. During the 15th century, Armenia was absorbed into the mighty Ottoman Empire.

The Ottoman rulers, like most of their subjects, were Muslim. They permitted religious minorities like the Armenians to maintain some autonomy, but they also subjected Armenians, who they viewed as "infidels," to unequal and unjust treatment.

Christians had to pay higher taxes than Muslims, for example, and they had very few political and legal rights.

In spite of these obstacles, the Armenian community thrived under Ottoman rule. They tended to be better educated and wealthier than their Turkish neighbors, who in turn grew to resent their success.

This resentment was compounded by suspicions that the Christian Armenians would be more loyal to Christian governments (that of the Russians, for example, who shared an unstable border with Turkey) than they were to the Ottoman caliphate.

These suspicions grew more acute as the Ottoman Empire crumbled. At the end of the 19th century, the despotic Turkish Sultan Abdul Hamid II - obsessed with loyalty above all, and infuriated by the nascent Armenian campaign to win basic civil rights - declared that he would solve the "Armenian question" once and for all.

"I will soon settle those Armenians," he told a reporter in 1890. "I will give them a box on the ear which will make them...relinquish their revolutionary ambitions."

The First Armenian Massacre

Between 1894 and 1896, this "box on the ear" took the form of a state-sanctioned pogrom.

In response to large scale protests by Armenians, Turkish military officials, soldiers and ordinary men sacked Armenian villages and cities and massacred their citizens. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians were murdered.

Young Turks

In 1908, a new government came to power in Turkey. A group of reformers who called themselves the "Young Turks" overthrew Sultan Abdul Hamid and established a more modern constitutional government.

At first, the Armenians were hopeful that they would have an equal place in this new state, but they soon learned that what the nationalistic Young Turks wanted most of all was to "Turkify" the empire. According to this way of thinking, non-Turks - and especially Christian non-Turks - were a grave threat to the new state.

World War I Begins

In 1914, the Turks entered World War I on the side of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. (At the same time, Ottoman religious authorities declared a holy war against all Christians except their allies.)

Military leaders began to argue that the Armenians were traitors: If they thought they could win independence if the Allies were victorious, this argument went, the Armenians would be eager to fight for the enemy.

As the war intensified, Armenians organized volunteer battalions to help the Russian army fight against the Turks in the Caucasus region. These events, and general Turkish suspicion of the Armenian people, led the Turkish government to push for the "removal" of the Armenians from the war zones along the Eastern Front.

Armenian Genocide Begins

On April 24, 1915, the Armenian genocide began. That day, the Turkish government arrested and executed several hundred Armenian intellectuals.

After that, ordinary Armenians were turned out of their homes and sent on death marches through the Mesopotamian desert without food or water.

Frequently, the marchers were stripped naked and forced to walk under the scorching sun until they dropped dead. People who stopped to rest were shot.

At the same time, the Young Turks created a "Special Organization," which in turn organized "killing squads" or "butcher battalions" to carry out, as one officer put it, "the liquidation of the Christian elements."

These killing squads were often made up of murderers and other ex-convicts. They drowned people in rivers, threw them off cliffs, crucified them and burned them alive. In short order, the Turkish countryside was littered with Armenian corpses.

Records show that during this "Turkification" campaign, government squads also kidnapped children, converted them to Islam and gave them to Turkish families. In some places, they raped women and forced them to join Turkish "harems" or serve as slaves. Muslim families moved into the homes of deported Armenians and seized their property.

Though reports vary, most sources agree that there were about 2 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire at the time of the massacre. In 1922, when the genocide was over, there were just 388,000 Armenians remaining in the Ottoman Empire.

Did you know? American news outlets have also been reluctant to use the word "genocide" to describe Turkey's crimes. The phrase "Armenian genocide" did not appear in the New York Times until 2004.

Armenian Genocide Today

After the Ottomans surrendered in 1918, the leaders of the Young Turks fled to Germany, which promised not to prosecute them for the genocide. (However, a group of Armenian nationalists devised a plan, known as Operation Nemesis, to track down and assassinate the leaders of the genocide.)

Ever since then, the Turkish government has denied that a genocide took place. The Armenians were an enemy force, they argue, and their slaughter was a necessary war measure.

Turkey is an important ally of the United States and other Western nations, and so their governments had been slow to condemn the long-ago killings. In March 2010, a U.S. Congressional panel voted to recognize the genocide. On October 29, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution that recognized the Armenian genocide. And on April 24, 2021, President Biden issued a statement, saying, "The American people honor all those Armenians who perished in the genocide that began 106 years ago today."

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The Armenian genocide was the systematic killing and deportation of Armenians by the Turks of the Ottoman Empire. In 1915, during World War I, leaders of the Turkish government set in motion a plan to expel and massacre Armenians, whom they blamed for siding with Russia against the Ottoman Empire.

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Since the time of the Battle of Avarayr in 451 AD, Armenian’s sense of religious and cultural identity has been threatened and continues to be a point of political tension with the ongoing denial of the Armenian Genocide on the part of Turkey and the contentions surrounding Artsakh - the independent region governed and populated by Armenians that borders Azerbejian, (who continues to lay claim to the land). This is considered a “frozen conflict”. More about that here...

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Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

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Highlights by region

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The history of Armenia dates back to early civilization. Visit the Areni cave, home to the the 4000 BC-year old wine-producing facility and the site where the world’s earliest known leather shoe was discovered 5,500 years ago. Stargaze the old-fashioned way at Carahunge, also known as the Armenian Stonehenge, estimated to be 7,500 years old (about 4,500 years older than Stonehenge). It’s believed to be the oldest observatory on the planet.
Although Christianity is a strong definer of culture in Armenia, pagan roots and signs of early civilization appear in temples and petroglyphs.

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Armenia (Armenian Հայաստան, Hayastan) is the only country remaining from 3,000 year old maps of Anatolia. It became the world's first Christian country more than 1,700 years ago in 301 AD and has a large Diaspora all over the world. As a former Soviet republic lying in the Caucasus region straddling Asia and Europe, Armenia has a rich and ancient culture.

Landlocked, Armenia is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, Iran to the south, Azerbaijan to the east, and Azerbaijan's Naxcivan exclave to the southwest. Five percent of the country's surface area consists of Lake Sevan (Sevana Lich), the largest lake in the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Armenia's many mountains and mountain valleys create a great number of microclimates, with scenery changing from arid to lush forest at the top of a mountain ridge.