One of the researches of the group of scientists on the Aragats Cosmic Ray Observatory was the ANI experiment (Ani is one of the ancient Armenian capitals, now located on the territory of Turkey).  This world biggest experiment of detection of ultra-high energy cosmic rays was started before the collapse of the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, after the collapse the work was officially stopped. However, Armenian scientists go on researching on various aspects of cosmic rays, hoping to resume the ANI experiment.

The film is in 7 short parts!

 

About 11,000 years ago the ice shield of the last Ice Age covering the Armenian mountains started to melt. The new stage of the formation of Armenian relief began. The passing glacier formed a lot of cirques (an amphitheater-like valleys) on its way, part of which became tarns. A tarn is a mountain lake or pool formed in a cirque by waters of a melting glacier and snow that in a cold climate does not evaporate but accumulates and melts.

Tarn lakes can be found on Zangezur, Gegham, Vardenis and other mountain ridges of Armenia. But the most famous of them is Qarilich lake. Qarilich or Qari lich means stone lake. According to ancient popular beliefs the lake is fed by stone rivers, called kurums.

Qarilich is located on the Aragats mountain on the altitude of 3200 meters. The average temperature of the warmest month of August is about +10 C here. When it’s +40 C down in Yerevan, it’s about +10 on the Qarilich and about +0 on the Aragats summit. Qarilich’s surface is only 0,12 sq.km and depth is maximum 8 meters. It’s not a big but very picturesque lake. 

Qarilich is a transfer point on the way to the Aragats’ peaks. Going up the Aragats’ slope from the Qarilich, you can reach the Southern peak (the easiest), the Western peak and the shoulder. The least is the most convenient and safe way to descend to the crater and then climb the Northern peak of Aragats.

Institute of Physics of Cosmic Rays is situated on the bank of Qarilich lake. Cosmic Ray research at high altitude stations on Mt. Aragats, Armenia, was founded by famous Armenian physicists, Alikhanyan brothers, in 1943. Till now a group of scientists live on the station, measure cosmic rays and suns emissions.

Photo by Suren Manvelyan [see full size]

«Malkhas» jazz club (founded by Levon Malkhasian)
Pushkin str. 52/1
Tel.(374-10) 53-17-78, 53-53-50
www.malkhas.am

«Avantgarde Folk Music» club
Pushkin str. 3a,
Tel.(374-10) 56-14-97
www.afmclub.blogspot.com

“Poplavok” jazz cafe
Isahakyan str. 41 
Tel.(374-10) 52-23-03
 
«STOP» club
Moskovyan str. 37
Tel.(374-10) 56-07-80
www.stopclub.am

Club “12″
Abovyan str. 41
Tel.(374-10) 52-23-50
www.club12.am

“Ulikhanyan Club”
Gevorg Kochar str. 4  
www.ulikhanyanclub.am

The first Armenian jazz orchestra was officially formed in Armenia in 1938 under the direction of Artemi Ayvazian. It was the first official state jazz orchestra in the Soviet republics (second after Russia) and was the first Soviet jazz band that visited USA and became known there. 

The first place in the city with life jazz music, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, where jazz was subject to strict censorship, was restaurant “Poplavok”. Its art director was Levon Malkhasian, a so-called “Godfather of the Armenian jazz”. Levon Malkhasian, or simply Malkhas, organised in 1998 the first International Yerevan Jazz Festival, where jazz bands from all over the world played their music.  In 2000 one of the participants on the Festival was Chick Corea and his “Origin” band. Unfortunately the Festival does not take place every year.

Last year, 2008, the 70th anniversary of the Armenian jazz was celebrated with numerous events related to this music genre, so beloved by Armenians. What makes Armenian jazz unique is inclusion of the elements of traditional Armenian music.

Now, the most popular jazz bands in Yerevan are ”Time Report”, “Katuner”, “Chiko & Friends”, “Art Voices” and “Armenian Navy Band”. There are several jazz clubs, the most popular of which is ”Malkhas”, a cult jazz club, where you can some evenings listen to maestro Levon Malkhasian.

Malkhas’s Jazz Club is a bar and restaurant with live jazz music.
Address: 52/1 Pushkin Street, close to Mashtots Street, in the Opera Square area.
Phone: (+374-10) 53-17-78; 53-53-50

Malkhas playing Nocturne by Arno Babajanian

Malkhas jamming in “Malkhas” club

Tatev monastery was founded in the IX^th century  and was the political center of the Syunik principality. In the X^th century the population of the monastery was around 1,000 people. Stepanos Obelyan, an Armenian historian of the XIV^th century called Tatev “the perl of Syunik”.

In the XIV-XV cc. Tatev was one of the biggest and most important center of science, education, literature and art of Armenia. The famous school of Armenian miniature was founded in Tatev those times.

In the yard of the monastery you will find an 8-meter-tall pillar, made os small stones. This pillar is a unique work of Armenian architectural and engineering art. It survived hundreds of years of earthquakes and the strong earthquake of 1931, that caused severe destruction to the buildings of Tatev, because it’s swinging. Even a mere touch of hand can cause the pillar to tilt. The pillar used to warn the dwellers of the monastery of coming earthquake or approaching enemy forces.

You may take a virtual 3D tour to Tatev Monastery here (need to download Vizerra 3D client) or watch it on YouTube

LOVE SONG

Thy face is like a moon that shines on earth,
Like a thick night thy clustering tresses be; 
Apples of paradise thy temples are,
And thy deep eyes were lent thee by the sea.
Thou hast arched brows and dark, dark eyes, my love;
Peerless art thou among earth’s countless girls.
Thine eyelashes are arrows to my heart;
Thy mouth is a moist tulip, full of pearls.

Nahapet Kuchak (date of birth is unknown, date of death is supposedly 1592) is the Armenian medieval poet. According to the legend (his biographic data is not well-founded) he was born in the village of Kharakkonis, near Lake Van (now in Turkey).
Kuchak wrote ayrens, poems consisted of quatrains, every line of which has 15 syllables and is divided by caesurato 7 and 8 syllables. Kuchak brought this ancient Armenian poem style to perfection. Most of his poems are dedicated to love, however, the poet saw also sufferings of the people, social inequality and grieved about Armenian exiles (“Ayrens of Wandering”), had phylosophical judgements about events and people’s destiny (“Ayrens of Reflection”)

Nahapet Kuchak’s grave near Lake Van is now the place of pilgrimage.

(Translation source: www.armenianhouse.org)

Unfortunately, YouTube has decreased the quality of images (((.
The better quality you can find on the site of the travel agency, that organizes trips to Aragats

The Northern pick of Aragats is the highest point not only of Aragats but of the entire present-day Armenia! Altitude of the pick is 4091 meter above the sea level.

To climb the top one must have a good physical fit and especially strong lungs. Four thousand meters is not the just half of Everest, where local people live on altitude of 5000 meters, but is still high enough to feel lack of oxygen when moving up.

Special energy of Aragats is worth mentioning here. Aragats is a surprisingly energetic mountain. Although the highest in Armenia, for me it was the easiest to climb from the physical point of view. It is feeding you with a live energy, and you can step from one stone on another and other and other, climbing higher and higher, trying not to lose your measured pace and breathing… But 4 thousands are 4 thousands, and I couldn’t help stopping from time to time and drawing several deep breaths of the mountain air.

As mentioned earlier, the easiest pick of Aragats is its Southern pick. Though it requires a good physical fit to climb it, anybody can do it. For conquering the Northern pick some simple climbing equipment is a must: in summer you must have ropes, in winter you will not go far without crampons and axes.

What you will definitely need in any case is a good guide. You can find one in a tourist company.

This is a half desolate village, whose inhabitants ascend here only for the warm period of the year, and descend to their urban homes near Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, in winter. There are just a couple of dozens of houses here, a destroyed chapel and… a unique church Surb Maryam Astvatsatsin, which means St. Mary.

This is a church of a sober cupola hall, build from dark-grey basalt in 1213 with a gavit, vestibule, built in 1221, and two chapels erected on its roof. It is a very beautiful complex, unlike any other by its architecture. The complex was built at the behest of Mamakhatun, wife of Prince Vache Vachutian, and the architect, according to an inscription on a column of the gavit, was the priest Aghbayrik.  

A charming view has the church in the night.

Near the church, on the other side of the river gorge one can see a huge radio-telescope, the biggest telescope of this kind in the former Soviet Union. By the telescope there is a huge mirror plate, an unfinished solar power station. 

In the western part of the village one can find the remains of a Bronze Age cyclopean fort. A secret passage to the nearest water source was found by the fort.

Nature here is very beautiful! The Ararat Valley dominated by the Ararat is spread out before the eyes in the south and Ara Mount rests peacefully in the east. But there’s one more thing, which is worth visiting this place – stars above the Aragats… In the clear night it seems like stretching your arm you will inevitably touch the stars.

Each province is divided further into communities, which stand for municipalities. It can be urban or rural communities. In total there are about 915 communities, 49 of which are urban. Yerevan has no communities, it’s itself is also a community and is divided into 12 districts.

So what are the 10 provinces of Armenia and what each of them is known for?

Let’s shortly mention the capital city Yerevan. It is situated in the center-west of the country in the north-eastern extremity of the Ararat Valley. Yerevan is the largest city in Armenia, inhabiting about 1/3 of the total population of Armenia, which is over 1 million people. It used to be a small city, but grew fast in the Soviet time. There’s a legend, a joke or truth that Yerevan grew to 1 million due to construction of the Yerevan underground system. When subway was built in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, Armenia couldn’t help getting it in Yerevan (“Tbilisi was faster to get it, so we must do our best to catch up”). But there was a serious obstacle for catching up with Tbilisi – population. There was a rule that an underground can be built only in cities with population more than 1 million. And then Yerevan executives started an urbanization program, attracting people from provinces  to Yerevan. Thus it grew to 1 million and the underground system was built and has 2 branches and 10 stations.  

The provinces, marz’es, of Armenia are: Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Gegharkunik, Kotayk, Lori, Shirak, Syunik, Tavush and Vayotz Dzor. The biggest by population is Shirak, and by area – Gegharkunik.

But let’s first say a couple of words about Aragatsotn marz. This is the region, where the highest and the most beautiful mountain of the present-day Armenia, Aragats, is situated (Aragatsotn means “the foot of Aragats”) and this is the greatest natural attraction of Armenia! Several areas and spots of petroglyphs, stone carvings by primitive man, were found in the area. So if you find yourself in Armenia, you should by all means visit Aragats. To explore the area I recommend staying in SOAr’s b&b’s.

Shirak marz, a namesake of the previous president of France, Jacques Chirac , is situated in the north-west of the country, bordering Georgia and Turkey. The capital of Shirak, Gyumri, is the second largest city in Armenia and the victim of the Armenian earthquake of 1988. There are many churches and the Urartian citadel and cemetery. On the Turkish border one can have a look at the ancient Armenian capital Ani.

Gegharkunik marz is in the North-East of the country, bordering Azerbaijan. The main attraction of the region is Lake Sevan, a big mountainous fresh lake that occupies 5% of the country’s territory. Sevan’s water has a very beautiful marine color, and Sevan’s banks carry many beautiful churches.

Syunik marz is the southernmost province of Armenia, bordering, Iran and Azerbaijan’s exclave Nakhichevan. This region has one of the most stunning scenery and some of the most popular tourist attractions. Tatev monastery, situated here, is one of the biggest complexes in Armenia. Another great sightseeing destination is Karahundj, the Armenian Stonehenge-like ancient stone observatory. Syunik marz is the richest area for petroglyphs.

Lori marz, situated on the North of the country and bordering Georgia, is the home to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Haghpat and Sanahin, as well as to the well-preserved Akhtala and lovely Kober monasteries and marvelous landscapes.

Tavush marz is the northeastern province of Armenia, bordering Georgia and Azerbaijan. This is one of the most beautiful corners of Armenia, the most covered with thick forests mountainuos area. It is sprinkled with beautifully sited churches, monasteries and fortresses. The most known of them are Haghartsin and Goshavank. There are a lot of b&b’s and hotels to stay, but I would recommend Apaga’s base.

Vayots Dzor marz lies in the south-east of the country, bordering Azerbaijan on both east and west sides. It’s one of the most historically interested areas of Armenia. Sparsely populated, Vayots Dzor is stuffed with medieval churches, monasteries, forts, caves as well as remains of Bronze and early Iron Age. The most favourite destinations are Noravank monastery, Magil cave, Mozrovi cave, Areni church and Smbataberd fort.

Ararat marz named after the Mount Ararat is bordering Turkey along the Arax river and contains the Ararat Valley, dominated by Mount Ararat. It’s a plane and agriculturally rich, but very hot valley. However, the province includes also a very green and nice area on the other side, which is mostly protected within the bounds of the Khosrov Forest State Reserve. The most known attractions here are Khor Virap monastery with a stunning view on Ararat, and ruins of the ancient Armenian capital city Dvin.

Kotayk marz is situated in the center of the country. It contains Geghama range in the east, with areas rich of petroglyphs, Ara mountain and beautiful Azat river gorge in the south. The latter is famous for Garni temple and Geghard monastery. Kotayk province is home to the Armenian and Soviet Olympic ski resort Tsakhkadzor. Besides these popular destination it abounds many other churches, monasteries and forts.

Armavir marz is in the west of Armenia, located in the Ararat valley between Ararat and Aragats mountains and bordering Turkey along the Araz river. Armavir is home to the Holy City of Etchmiadzin, the center of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the residence of Katolikos, the head of the Church. Other famous sites here are Zvartnots cathedral, the Sardarapat battle monument, fortress of Aragats and the early Iron Age site/museum of Metsamor.