Since May 2018, democracy has returned to Armenia. After the implosion of communism, little changed in the former Soviet republic of Armenia. Only since Nikol Pashinyan is Prime minister, things are going better. Work is being done on the road also with a view to emerging tourism. The country expects a lot from this. Armenia has a lot to offer to natural beauty and culture. In 301, it was the first country to choose Christianity as a state religion. That is visible, there are churches and monasteries everywhere.
The majority of the population is a member of the Armenian Orthodox Church. The country also offers hospitality to refugee Jesuits, many of whom have converted to Christianity. The Yazidis are the farmers of Armenia. Another Christian minority group consists of Russians, whose ancestors were sent to Armenia in the nineteenth century (the country was then under Russian rule). Just like the Yazidis, they live in separate villages, speak their own language and have their own member of parliament.
Mount Ararat, Turkish territory since a century – a gift from the Russians – plays a major role in the perception of the Armenians. It is the national symbol. You can’t miss the more than 5 km high mountain just across the border with Turkey. Just like with neighboring Azerbaijan, there are no contacts with that country (the borders are closed). Armenia can only be reached via Georgia. Different than before. Once the Silk Road ran through the country. Iranians like to make use of the border crossing with Iran to escape from their own rigid regime and to trade.
Armenia was once much bigger than now. The genocide during the First World War – there have been more pogroms – is a silent complex in the capital Yerevan. A monument with eternal flame, overlooks Mount Ararat, which is holy to the Armenians. In Yerevan a museum is dedicated to the Armenian script. There is the first printed Armenian Bible. Interesting detail: it was printed in Amsterdam. Another museum shows the point of the spear with which Jesus would have been pierced on the cross.
