I was fortunate enough to have been able to travel to Armenia for the centennial of the Armenian Genocide. Within the eight days there, I traveled around as much as possible. If you'd oblige, I'd like to take you through a journey of Armenian history by showing you some of the sites I visited this time around. Throughout, I'll be adding small historical facts about the sites, and I hope this will spark an interest for you to learn more, and eventually, to see Armenia in person.

For the first post, I thought it would be fitting to begin with Erebuni.

Erebuni was constructed in 782 BC by Urartu King, Argishti the First. The settlement is atop Arin Fortress and today looks down upon the suburbs of Yerevan. Erebuni is considered the beginnings of Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia.

The settlement was divided into three sections: religious, economic and royal.

The next two photos are of the Royal Hall. The blue and yellow/gold paint has remained intact since the time of Argishti.

Inscriptions in Urartu cuneiform found at Erebuni are considered to be historical documents that depict Erebuni as the starting grounds of Yerevan.

And I'll end this post with a photo of Erebuni looking down on its much younger sister, Yerevan.

Akh Tamar

The legend of Akhtamar is a tragic love story. Once upon a time, Tamar, an Armenian princess who lived on a small island in Lake Van met a commoner boy. She and the boy spent the entire day with one another. They knew that their friendship would be frowned upon but they had to continue to see each other. Every night, Tamar would light a torch and the boy would swim to her. They quickly began to fall in love. This story has one ending but as it’s been passed on from generation to generation, the reason behind the tragic ending differs.

One version states that, unaware of a quickly approaching storm, Tamar lit her torch and her love began to swim towards it. The winds became stronger yet her love pushed through the waves. Suddenly, the wind and rain blew out the torch and Tamar’s love lost his way and drowned.

The other version of the story recalls that Tamar’s father became aware of this commoner boy and was furious about the relationship that was building between him and his daughter. One night, as Tamar stood waiting with her torch, her father tossed the torch into the lake below. Tamar’s love swam in various directions, attempting to find her, but drowned from exhaustion.

In both scenarios, legend has it that Tamar’s love cried out “Tamar, akh Tamar (Tamar, oh Tamar)” throughout the night. Some say that his cries can be heard still, in the night, near Akhtamar Island.

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Ara the Beautiful

This story stars a crazy love-struck queen, Queen of Assyria, Semiramis. As most legends, this too has various versions - though none that would change the story drastically.

Queen Semiramis wasn’t too keen on sticking to one husband. One version of the story states that because of her lust for men, her husband, King Ninos left her. The other version is that the she was widowed. Nonetheless, Queen Semiramis (Shamiram in Armenian) was madly in love with Armenian king, Ara. She would constantly send him gifts and letters attempting to entice him to marry her. Whatever she would send him, King Ara would send back. This infuriated her! So, naturally, she declared war on Armenia and commanded her soldiers to capture King Ara, alive.

Sadly, Ara died in battle - shot by a poisoned arrow. Some say that the queen’s son killed Ara out of anger towards his mother. Nonetheless, as the Armenian soldiers grew closer and closer to Assyria to avenge their king, Queen Semiramis promised the Armenians that she could revive him with black magic. But, alas, she failed to bring him back to life and ordered her guards to throw his body into a pit.

It is also said that the queen sentenced one her of son’s to death for mocking her wishes and her attempts to bring Ara back to life. Keeping it in the family, she was later killed by one of her son’s who then become ruler Assyria.

There is a mountain in Armenia called Ara (Արա լեռ), and it’s supposed to resemble the late king laying down on his back - the highest peak of the mountain is the tip of his nose.

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Church of the Shepherd

There once lived an Armenian shepherd from Ani who greatly adored his wife. So much so that he would do anything for her.

His wife, being very religious, would attend church daily for prayer. One version of the story states that because of their status as "common folk," his wife was often asked to leave the churches of Ani because she was not fit for the royals around her. Another version of the story explains that the churches were so loud and crowded that his wife could not pray in peace.

Being the great husband he was, this penniless shepherd convinced a great architect to build a church for his wife. The Kingdom of Ani refused to allow for this church to be built inside its walls, and so, it was built outside of it. From that day on, his wife prayed peacefully in her own church, called, the Church of the Shepard (or in Armenian, Հովիվի Եկեղեցին).

The church's ruins can still be seen outside of Ani's walls, but it is one of the most badly damaged structures of the city.

Thanks to Virtual Ani, the following images show where the church is located and what it once looked like.