Quezi

Republic Square. Singing and dancing fountains - courtesy Tamara Areshian - CC-BY

Yerevan is the capital of Armenia and the country’s largest city.

Yerevan reaches back to the 8th century BC, with the founding of the Urartian fortress of Erebuni After World War I, Yerevan became the capital of the Democratic Republic of Armenia, then later the capital of the newly formed Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. Following the end of the Soviet Union, Yerevan became the capital of an independent Republic of Armenia in 1991.

Yerevan is known as the “Pink City” and with good reason. It is largely built with with pink stone, including most of the grand Republic Square. The most important sight in town is probably the Erebuni Fortress, which dates from the 8th century BC. Almost all all hotels, museums, government offices, clubs and the like are in the very center of town, which can be walked across in 20 minutes. Yerevan has seen a sharp drop in living standards since the collapse of the USSR with many jobs not paying a living wage.  Some wish the ‘old days’ were back again.

Yerevan has a wide selection of restaurants including American, Armenian, Greek, Italian, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Russian, Steakhouses, Central European, Tea Rooms and more.  It seems the whole world has at least one example of its cuisine in the city and most of it is quite good.  Yerevan is also a good city for the shopper with many shops and stores selling the highest quality designer goods and handmade crafts, all made in Armenia and rarely available anywhere else.

Yerevan is a relatively safe city but the traffic can be quite rough, so pay close attention when crossing the street. Also, The United States Consulate in Armenia has issued a warning. While in the Armenia, foreign visitors are sometimes put under surveillance by local authorities. What this means is that your hotel room and phone may be bugged.  If you are not breaking any laws this is not generally an issue, but it is good to be aware of the possibility.

The summers arevery hot with the temperature in August reaching up to 40 C (104 F), while winters generally have snow and freezing temperates with January being often as cold as -15 C (5 F).

Yerevan is served by Zvartnots International Airport. Public transportation is bus, trolleybus, Metro and taxi.

Yerevan population is 1,107,800 (2007).

+374 is the international calling code for Armenia
10 is the area code for Yerevan

For more information about Yerevan