Armenian fruits are very sweet and juicy thanks to the unique natural conditions in Armenia, hot sun and spring water from the mountains.

Apricots, plums, peaches from Armenia contribute to the rich flavor of Arcolad as much as the top-quality Belgian chocolate, well known for its great taste in the whole world. Half of the walnut gives a crunchy and nutty touch.

Besides fruit-nut chocolates Arcolad produces plain chocolate and filled chocolate with a variety of creams – Cointreau cream, champagne and coffee cream.

Here are some photos fro the production – sorry didn’t have my camera at hand, had to take pics with my iphone….

Apricot and walnut ready to be covered with chocolate (click to enlarge)
btw, the walnut is fixed on the fruit with chocolate too, which is also made by hand!

Covering with chocolate (click to enlarge)

Yerevanians in national costumes, 1916

Bazaar square, 1916

Bridge over Getap river, 1930

Caravanserai and St.Grigor Enlightener Cathedral (blown up in 1939), 1930

Workers rally near Nikolai Cathedral (blown up sometime by 1931), 1925

Old Yerevan building style, wooden balconies and stairs

A boy selling water, 1930

Sayat Nova Avenue, 1923

Laying tramway track on Abovyan Str., 1928

Amiryan Street

Armenian Brandy Factory, 1930

Opera House construction, 1929

Central Square, 1926

Sources: merong.com, iatp.am

According to the publishers, Yerevan magazine aims at attracting an ethnically varied readership that has an appetite for entertainment, thoughtful commentary, insightful features, and tasteful advertising that is pleasing to the eye.

YEREVAN magazine is much more than a publication. It serves as a large cultural project which focuses on preserving and displaying pages of Armenian history and presenting to the world the many representations of what it means to be an Armenian. It is a project that brings Armenian diaspora together.

The service uses the power of collective purchasing to offer special deals to all citizens of Yerevan. Promo.am negotiates with local businesses special discounts, which are usually 40% to 80%.

How does it work?
Each day one deal is showed on the main page of the Promo.am website available for purchase within 24 hours. The deal does not get confirmed if the minimum number of buyers is not reached. If by the end of the deal time the minimum number of coupons is not purchased, the credit card of those who participated in the deal is not charged, or, if the payment was done through terminals, a popular cash payment method in Yerevan, the amount is credited to the buyers’ accounts in the system and can be used for further purchases.

If registered at Promo.am, you get informed of the new deals by email and never miss a great opportunity to visit your favorite cafes, restaurants, beauty salons, SPAs, stores, clubs, concerts, cinemas, etc. at deep discounts.

The site will open in the end of February. However the preliminary registration is already on - register now and get a bonus of 1,000 AMD on your Promo account!

The flights will be opened by a new air-company Festa Tour Avia in partnership with the Italian MyAir. The ticket price is expected to be around 475 Euro. The flights will initially be only weekly, however if the new direction is successful and there’s more demand, the partners will consider the possibility of opening more flights to other Italian cities in future. According to Festa Tour, the expected number of passengers till the end of the tourist season this year in the direction Venice – Yerevan is around 4,000 people.

The number of leisure tourists from Italy to Armenia is increasing every year and has grown 41% over the past 3 years, compared to the overall 11% growth of the leisure tourists to Armenia.

The Night of Museums will take place on May 16 in Yerevan, Armenia, kicking off at 18:00. A number of museums will not only open their doors for free but will also present their special programs and exhibitions. This is going to be the 5^th Night of Museums organised in Armenia, the first one was held in 2005.

There’s no official list of the museums participating in the event. However, the following could be recommended to visit.

The National Gallery of Armenia, situated on the Republic Square – here’s their program for the Night.

House Museum of Cinematographer Sergei Paradjanov. Address: 15/16, Dzoragyugh Str. Tel: (+374 10) 538473

Matenadaran, one of the world’s largest repositories of ancient manuscripts. Address: 53, Mashtots Ave. Tel: (+374 10) 562578, 583292

Museum of Folk-Art of Armenia. Address: 64 Abovyan St. Tel: (+374 10) 569387

Museum of Modern Art. Address: 7, Mashtots Ave. Tel: (+374 10) 535359

House Museum of Painter Martiros Saryan.  Address: 3, Saryan St. Tel: (+374 10) 581762

House Museum of Painter Minas Avetisyan.  Address: 29, Nalbandyan St. Tel: (+374 10) 560787

Please, check the last two before going there

«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