::::::: Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, is a modern, colorful city, situated in the Northeastern part of the Ararat Valley. Yerevan is one of the oldest cities in the world. The fortress Erebuni was founded by King Argishty of Urartu in 782 BC. The Urartu Kingdom was a powerful & highly developed civilization. Thus, according to cuneiform 'passport' of Yerevan, it's almost 3000 years old. The reconstructed ruins of the fortress Erebuni & museum are located in the Southeastern part of the city. A fiest 'Erebuni Yerevan', devoted to the establishment of Yerevan city, are selebrated every year on October.
::::::: Yerevan is a political, administrative, commercial & financial, as well as cultural & educational centre of Armenia. It occupies a territory of about 300 sq.km & its population is about 1.2 million. There is numerous state & private universities, a great number of schools, colleges & libraries in the city. Yerevan is a centre of international political, business & scientific events, such as conferences, congresses, symposia, forums, seminars, exhibitions, as well as cultural & sport events like festivals, sport competitions & artistic tours.
::::::: Architecture of today's Yerevan combines the elements of past & present. According to the outstanding architect Alexander Tamanyan's design Yerevan has radial-circular arrangement. It's beautiful houses & buildings, constructed of basalt, marble, onyx, volcanic tuffa-stone, blend well with broad lines of the streets & avenues, green parks & vast squares. There is also a numerous fountains in Yerevan, that present you freshness in hot summer period. An integral part of panorama of Yerevan is Biblical Mt. Ararat, symbol of Armenia, just situated out of border.
::::::: Yerevan of today offers hundreds of spots of leisure, eating out & entertainment - restaurants with traditional Armenian, Caucasian, European, Chinese, eastern & other cuisine, cafes, bistros, bars, discotheques, disco & night clubs, as well as leisure, sport & entertainment centers, where one can relax & taste the hottest attractions of the city. In addition, there is a number of casinos, where you can try your fortune.
::::::: Yerevan offers plenty of choice of accomodation for guests coming to visit Armenia - from five-stars hotels to private houses. As to shopping, there is a great variety of specialized stores, trade centers & fairs throughout the city. Every Saturday & Sunday so-called Vernisage, an open-air fair, offers all kinds of Armenian souvenirs & crafts, folk art items, paintings, stone decorative items, wood-carving & ceramic items, embroidaries, carpets & carpetings, gold & silver jewelry, etc.
::::::: A fans of history & culture can find many places of interest, such as museums, historic monuments & sites, art galleries, theatres, an opera & ballet theatre, concert halls. It is worth to mention the Matenadaran - one of the biggest world depositories of ancient illuminated manuscripts. Over 10000 manuscripts, written in Armenian, Greek, Latin, Arabic & other languages, are preserved here. Many of this contain valuable, even unique information on the history of Trans-Caucasus, Iran, Russia, Byzantium, etc. In the art galleries of Yerevan are exhibited both local & world known artists, traditional & avant garde art. The National Art Gallery contains expositions of Armenian, Russian & European famous masters of art - Aivazovsky, Saryan, Gyurjyan, Kojoyan, Perov, Bryulov, Repin, Surikov, Serov, Rubens, Van Dyck etc.
