HISTORY
Origins  
Armenians are an Indo-European race, whose origins are not clearly known. Specialists speculate that the Armenians migrated to the Armenian Highland via the Balkans or the Caucasus. At that time the area was inhabited by the Urartians, who seem to have assimilated very quickly and absorbed the language of the newcomer Armenians. An advanced Urartian nation existed at the turn of the first millennium before Christ, later replaced by the first Armenian kingdom in the sixth century B.C.. This kingdom united the tribes of Hayasi and Armen.

Tigran the Great  
Armenia was independent on and off starting in the ninth century, BC. At times it was splintered, at other times engulfed temporarily by neighbors, but until the Armenian genocide in 1915, large numbers of Armenians lived throughout the Caucasus and Anatolia, from the Mediterranean, to the Black and Caspian seas. At its largest, the Armenian Empire encompassed that entire area under the rule of Tigran the Great, shortly before the time of Christ's birth.

Christianity
The work of the apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew in Armenia after Jesus' crucifixion set the stage for the official conversion of Armenia in 301 A.D. to Christianity, the first country to officially do so.  Traditionally, it was Saint Gregory the Illuminator who's prayers healed the king, causing the pagan king, and country to become officially Christian.  A century later the monk Mesrop Mashtots invented the Armenian alphabet in order to translate the Bible.

Cilicia  
As large parts of Armenia became parts of the Persian and Byzantine Empires, the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia was born on the Mediterranean coast in 1080. It existed for hundreds of years and was very helpful to the crusaders. Eventually it was conquered by the Mameluks 1375.

Ottoman & Russian Occupation
In 1047, Seljuk Turks invade Armenia for the first time and by the 1300s were ruling large parts of historic Armenia in Anatolia.  At the same the Persians were ruling Eastern or Caucasian Armenia, which caused the political separation of the Armenian people.  Even as Persian rule over Caucasian Eastern Armenia gave way to Russian rule, the political separation of the Armenians did not change, and along with the mountainous terrain caused a large overall rift in the eastern and western Armenian dialects, and other associated differences.  As the concept of nationalism reached Armenia, new international Armenian organizations were formed, and new Armenian literature crossed borders, desires for an end to the separation spread.

Genocide
Unfortunately, a virulent form of nationalism was adopted by the leadership of the Ottoman Empire before the beginning of the first world war.  As they saw their European holdings disappearing, and saw a national consciousness forming among Armenians, they began formulating a plan to rule all of the Turkic peoples across Anatolia, Caucasia, and Central Asia.  The Armenians were the only nationality between Anatolian Turks and the eastern Turks, so the Ottoman rulers, primarily Talaat Pasha decided to eliminate them completely so that they could never threaten the heartland of this new empire. The mass killings began in 1915, and by the time Mustafa Kemal formed the Republic of Turkey and expelled all of the remaining Armenians in Anatolia in the early 1920's the Armenian population went from 2 million to virtually zero in Anatolia.  A fledgling Armenian Republic was born in Caucasia with the collapse of the Russian Empire which was attacked by Mustafa Kemal's forces which resulted in the annexation and depopulation of Armenians from Kars and Ardahan as well.  This Armenian Republic was attacked by Soviet forces which were repelled once, but not the second time.

Soviet Union
Armenia was attached to Georgia and Azerbaijan as part of the Transcaucasian Soviet Federated Republic from 1922 until 1936, when the three states once again became separate republics.  The borders were very unfavorable to Armenia with hundreds of thousands of Armenians left out of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic in adjacent lands such as Karabakh, Nakhichevan, Akhalkalakh, and Javakh.  Nevertheless Armenians were no longer in physical danger and Armenia began to develop into an advanced economy.  Yerevan, a village at the turn of the century exceeded a million residents, high tech computer and defense industry was located here, as well as large scale chemical and many other industries.  Tourists from throughout the Soviet Union and beyond began to flock to Dilijan, Sevan, Jermuk and other resorts, and a few hundred thousand Armenians moved to Armenia from abroad.  At the same time there was oppression, with tens of thousands of Armenians dying in the numerous purges, and with Armenians in Azerbaijan being treated as second class citizens in Karabakh and Nakhichevan.   These actions by the Azerbaijanis led to the Armenian population of Nakhichevan dropping from 50% of the population to zero, and the Armenian population in Karabakh dropping by about 15% before the war of independence began in 1988.

Independent Armenia
The policies of glasnost and perestroika were first tested on a revolutionary scale by the one million strong peaceful Armenian protests demanding the union of Karabakh with Armenia in February, 1988.  These protests shocked the world and led to outbursts of nationalism throughout the East Bloc countries and eventually splintered the Soviet Union in December, 1991.  The last few years of the Armenian SSR saw the most destructive earthquake it had known, the start of a brutal war in Karabakh, and a suffocating blockade of Armenia by Azerbaijan and Turkey.  The fighting ended in 1993 but a peace treaty has not been signed to this day.  This meant that in addition to privatizing the economy, forming a new government, and dealing with the collapse of the heavily interdependent Soviet factory system, landlocked Armenia had to spend much of its budget on the military, and develop entirely new supply systems over the long windy mountain roads linking to Iran, and the uncontrolled streets of Georgia.  Today Armenia's economy is growing again with tourism, information technologies, and other fields of business rapidly expanding.

GEOGRAPHY
The two geographical features that stand out most about Armenia are the mountains and Lake Sevan.  The average elevation is between 1,000 and 2,500m, with the lowest point being 500 meters.  The capital Yerevan is on the large, dry Ararat plain which is about 1,500m above sea level.  Although Armenia is landlocked, you will notice that Lake Sevan takes up about 5% of the countries surface area and is at a very high elevation.  The waters are crystal clean,  often blue or turquoise, and always cold.  The highest point in the Republic is the peak of Mt. Aragats, which is 4090m high. Below is a list of the highest peak of each of Armenia's mountain-chains.

MOUNTAIN PEAKS

Aragats	4090m	Aragats Massif
Kaputjukh	3906	Zangezur Chain
Ajhdahak	3598	Geghama Chain
Mets Ishkhanasar	3549	Karabakh Chain
Vardenis	3522	Vardenis Chain
Aramazd	3392	Bagrushat Chain
Bagats-sar	3250	Meghri Chain
Khustup	3214	Khustup-Katar Chain
Legli	3157	Javakh Chain
Gogi	3113	Hayotsdzor Chain
Tej-ler	3107	Pambak Chain
Mets Gukasyan	3049	Egmakhag Chain
Bovakar	3016	Khalabak Chain
Urasar	2994	Bazum Chain
Murguz	2993	Murguz Chain
Kashatakh	2901	Sevan Chain
Arayi-ler	2576	Arayi Massif

DISTANCES TO YEREVAN

Moscow	1820km	Baghdad	845
St. Petersburg	2470	Tehran	910
Riga	2210	Beirut	1105
Helsinki	2860	Delhi	3315
Stockholm	3120	Cairo	1625
Warsaw	2450	Beijing	6240
Berlin	2990	Tokyo	8450
Hamburg	3380	Vladivostok	7345
London	4030	Singapore	7430
Dublin	4550	Jakarta	8190
Paris	3835	Canberra	12870
Bern	3315	Wellington	14690
Vienna	2405	Antananarivu?	6630
Sofia	1885	Rejkavich	5850
Prague	2795	Ottowa	10270
Belgrade	2210	San Francisco	14560
Budapest	2405	Los Angeles	14430
Rima?	2810	Washington	10465
Athens	1850	Mexico	13520
Madrid	3705	Rio de Janiero	10725
Lisbon	4745	Buenos Aires	12545
Damascus	1040	La Paz	12285

CLIMATE
Due to its high elevation and inland location, most of Armenia has a continental climate, despite being latitudinally equivalent to more Mediterranean countries such as Spain, Italy and Greece.  This means the summers are very hot and the winters moderately cold, especially on the Ararat plain.  Due to the very mountainous terrain however, Armenia has innumerable microclimates which include temperate rain forests in the north and south, and arctic tundra like conditions on some of the highest peaks.  If you venture into Karabakh, you will even see palm trees in some parts.

FLORA & FAUNA
For the same reason as the large number of climates in Armenia, there is also a great variety of flora and fauna which can be seen at different times of the year in different parts of Armenia.  There are bears, mountain cats, boars, and deer among others.  Additionally there is a huge variety of migratory birds which stop in Armenia, the land bridge from Europe to Asia.  Many of the worlds bulbs originate in the Armenian Highland, and there is a great variety of wild bulbs in the country.  Large parts of the country are relatively undisturbed and still have wild grasses, flowers, trees and shrubs growing.  

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
Armenia is a parliamentary democracy with a strong executive branch.  Many parties have formed and disappeared in Armenia's first decade of independence, and the parties often are based on the popularity of one leader, or dislike of a current leader.  There are also some political parties which formed over a hundred years ago and were represented in the Armenian government in 1918-1921, which have survived in diasporan communities and have come back and reestablished themselves after independence.

ECONOMY
The transition from communist to capitalist economy was very difficult for Armenia, because it came shortly after the devastating earthquake of 1988 and during the blockade of Armenia by Azerbaijan and Turkey.  Armenia was one of the leaders in privatization, and its currency has been very stable since the introductory year ended.  The widespread collapse of the interdependent Soviet industries as well as the blockades prevention of raw material import and product export however caused a severe shrinking of the economy.  Electricity shortages caused by the blockade forced the reopening of the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant, and now Armenia is once again exporting electricity.  Agriculture, Information Technologies, Tourism, and other industries are re-emerging as the infrastructure and economy recover.

POPULATION & PEOPLE
The Republic of Armenia has a population of under 3 million due to large scale emigration after the earthquake, and the collapse of the Soviet Union.  Over 95% of the residents are ethnically Armenian, with Yezidis comprising the largest minority and few Russian, Greek, Assyrian villages remaining.  There are more Armenians living outside of the borders of Armenia today than inside, due to the Armenian Genocide, and the recent emigration.  The Armenians diaspora formed large communities throughout the Middle East, Europe and Asia after the Armenian Genocide, which are still thriving today.  Beirut, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, Paris, Moscow, Isfahan and many other cities have significant Armenian communities.

ARTS
Throughout history Armenian art and culture have been influenced by far off places due to its location in the middle of the silk road.  At the same time a uniqueness has been preserved in the architecture, music, khachkar carvings, and illuminated manuscripts that have left a rich legacy for today's Armenia, and which in turn have influenced art in Europe and Asia as well.  The Soviet Union encouraged many artists, and Armenians living in the diaspora also excelled as the likes of Arshile Gorky, Aivazovski, Carzou, and many others of the 20th century are featured prominently in the world art museums and galleries.

SOCIETY & CONDUCT
Armenia lays across Anatolia and Caucasia, the two land bridges from Europe to Asia.  It has been a Christian country surrounded almost entirely by Muslim neighbors since the dawn of these religions.  These factors have influenced the society heavily, and caused a pleasant mixture of east and west.  They are extremely proud of their culture and history, which includes a level of hospitality unseen by most westerners.  You will hear many times that Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity as its state religion, even though the vast majority of Armenians are not churchgoers.  Many who have not traveled about Armenia as much as the average two week tourist will ask if Armenia is not more beautiful than the homeland of the tourist, if the water is not more delicious, if the fruits are not more tasty.  

As a Christian nation of the former Soviet Union, Armenians are very accepting of western behavior and dress.  The men are rarely seen wearing shorts, but it is perfectly acceptable unless you are attending a formal affair.  Drinking and smoking are the norm, and although you will never be pressured to smoke, on many occasions you may be asked to share a bottle of vodka, which they drink straight, and over many toasts.  As a foreigner, almost anything you normally do is perfectly acceptable in Armenia.  Also as a foreigner, you may alternately be offered things for exorbitant prices, or for free, depending on the person.

RELIGION
The vast majority of Armenians claim membership in the Armenian Apostolic Church, an independent national church.  Communism frowned upon religion and church attendance is a tiny percent of the population.  Marriages and baptisms are customarily done at church still, and occasional visits to churches or monasteries are not uncommon.  There are also separate branches of Catholic and Protestant Churches in Armenia, which account for under 5% of the population, in addition to the even smaller Greek, Russian, and Assyrian Churches and the Yezidi population, with its own religion.

LANGUAGE
Armenian is a branch on the Indo-European language tree, with no close living related languages.  Armenian has it own alphabet, invented by Mesrob Mashdots in order to properly translate the bible into Armenian.  There are many dialects spoken today, with the eastern dialects being spoken in Armenia, and the Yerevan Armenian being most widely spoken.  Most of the diaspora speaks Western Armenian, which differs significantly from Eastern.