Famous landmarks in Armenia

Armenia is a small, mountainous, landlocked country in the South Caucasus, where Europe and Asia meet. Its capital is Yerevan, and about 3 million people live there. Armenia is known for its ancient stone monasteries, its own alphabet, apricots, and the view of snow-capped Mount Ararat, which rises just across the border in Turkey. Its people have kept their language, faith and traditions alive for thousands of years.

On My Earth Toy you can visit Khor Virap monastery with Mount Ararat behind it, Geghard Monastery, partly carved into the cliffs of a gorge, and the Mother Armenia statue holding a sword above Yerevan.

Geography and nature

Armenia sits on a high plateau, and much of the country is more than 1,000 metres above sea level. Its highest peak is Mount Aragats. Lake Sevan, a large, cool mountain lake, is one of the biggest high-altitude freshwater lakes in the world. Summers are hot and dry, and winters can be very cold and snowy. Deep river gorges, forests in the north and orchards of apricots and grapes in the valleys give the land a lot of variety.

People, languages and culture

Almost everyone in Armenia is Armenian and speaks Armenian, which is written in its own 38-letter alphabet. Many more Armenians live abroad than in Armenia itself, in places such as Russia, the United States and France. The Armenian Apostolic Church is very important to national life. Lavash, a thin flatbread baked in a clay oven, is part of daily meals, and its making is listed by UNESCO. Chess is so popular that it is taught in schools.

History in a nutshell

Armenia has one of the oldest cultures in the world. Yerevan traces its founding to the fortress of Erebuni in 782 BC. In the early 300s AD, Armenia became the first country to make Christianity its state religion. Around 405, the scholar Mesrop Mashtots created the Armenian alphabet. Over the centuries Persians, Byzantines, Arabs, Ottomans and Russians ruled the area. Armenia became part of the Soviet Union and gained independence in 1991.