WELCOME TO ARMENIA! ARMENIA  Land of big smiles and friendly faces, of boundless skies and magnificent mountains! There is so much to see and do! Ancient culture, the beautiful architecture of cozy old churches, impressive cross-stones, snow-capped peaks, mystery-shrouded monuments… Once you visit Armenia you will want to return again and again. The country has magic. The people welcome you, the mountains call you, the variety of good and drinks surprises you. And you will enjoy the exciting view of Mt Ararat which will remind you Biblical stories of Noah’s Arc. Armenians are one of the oldest nations of the world. They are contemporaries of ancient Shoumers, Accadians and Egyptians. Homer speaks about Armens in his "Iliad". Armenia became the first Christian  state in the history of the world in 301 AD. Armenians call themselves "hay" and the country Hayastan. Armenia frequently is called an air-open museum. Over 5000 monuments, all the way from prehistoric cave paintings, Stonehenge ( Karahunj in Armenian), irrigational systems and fortresses to Medieval monasteries and secular buildings and khachkars which survived to our days are scattered  all over the modern Armenia.   YEREVAN became the capital of Armenia in a relatively late period. But as a settlement it is one of the oldest residential areas, even older than Rome. The history of the foundation of the city dates back to 782 B.C. and is connected with the construction of Erebuni fortress by the Urartian King Argishti I. Contemporary Yerevan is a very interesting city as there are lots of parks, old and new monuments, museums, theaters and concert halls in it. Yerevan has thriving nightlife with variety of national and international restaurants, bars and night clubs. Yerevan, by any comparative measure, is a very safe city for its size (more than 1 million people).