Yerevan in 3 days

Matenadaran (Մատենադարան — the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts; on Mashtots Avenue at the top of the Cascade stairway, the most prominently sited cultural institution in Yerevan): the institution (the Matenadaran is the largest repository of Armenian manuscripts in the world and one of the most important collections of medieval manuscripts in any language: 23,000 manuscripts and 100,000 archival documents; the collection includes illuminated manuscripts in Armenian (the Armenian alphabet was created by the scholar Mesrop Mashtots in 405 CE — the most precisely dated creation of any national alphabet in history; the Armenian script was created specifically to translate the Bible into Armenian, ensuring that the Armenian Christian tradition would have a scripture in its own language)), Greek, Persian, Hebrew, Syriac, Latin, Ethiopian and other languages): the most important manuscripts (the Gospels of Queen Mlke (862 CE) — the oldest dated Armenian manuscript; the Lazaros Gospels (887 CE); the manuscripts of Grigor Narekatsi (the "Book of Lamentations" (Matean Voghbergutyan — 1002 CE) by the Armenian monk and mystic Grigor Narekatsi (951-1003 CE): the most celebrated work in Armenian literature, described by Pope Francis as one of the most important Christian books in the world (Francis declared Narekatsi a Doctor of the Universal Church in 2015 — the first non-European Doctor of the Church in 500 years); the Gospels of Mughni (1060 CE): the most elaborately illuminated Armenian Gospel book in the collection); the building (the Matenadaran building (1959, architect Mark Grigoryan): the monumental pink tuff neo-classical building with the giant statue of Mesrop Mashtots holding the Armenian alphabet on the stairway facade).

History Museum of Armenia (the Հայastani Patmakan Thangaran — on Republic Square in the Tamanian-era building adjacent to the National Gallery; the most important archaeological and historical museum in Armenia): the Urartian collection (the most important single collection in the museum: the artefacts from the Urartu Kingdom (the "Kingdom of Van" — the Iron Age kingdom (860-590 BCE) that occupied the Armenian Highland from Lake Van (in modern Turkey) to Lake Urmia (in modern Iran) and Lake Sevan (in modern Armenia): the Urartu kingdom was the most powerful state in the Near East after Assyria in the 8th century BCE; the Erebuni fortress of 782 BCE (the Urartian fortress from which the city of Yerevan takes its name) is the most important Urartian site in Armenia; the museum holds the most important collection of Urartian gold and bronze objects, cuneiform inscriptions and pottery outside of Turkey); the oldest leather shoe (the "Areni-1 shoe" — the oldest leather shoe ever found: a single shoe made of cowhide (tanned with the "Areni" technique using grape pomace (the grape skins and seeds from wine pressing), dated to 3,500 BCE (the Copper Age / Chalcolithic period); found in the Areni-1 cave in the Vayots Dzor Province of Armenia in 2008; older than the Egyptian pharaohs, older than Stonehenge, older than the invention of writing (cuneiform writing: c. 3,100 BCE); displayed in the History Museum of Armenia, this is the earliest direct evidence of shoe-making technology in the world); the Armenia Bronze Age (the Kura-Araxes culture (3,400-2,000 BCE): the Bronze Age culture of the Armenian Highland that spread from Armenia to Anatolia, the Caucasus and Iran.

Mother Armenia statue and Victory Park (Մայր Հայasdán — the "Mother Armenia" statue on the hilltop of Victory Park, 2 km northwest of Republic Square above the Hrazdan River gorge): the statue (the Mother Armenia statue (1967 — designed by sculptor Ara Harutyunyan; located on the 30 m pedestal that originally (1950) held a statue of Joseph Stalin before the de-Stalinisation campaign of 1962 (in which the Stalin statue was removed and replaced with the Mother Armenia figure); the figure: the 22-metre bronze figure of an Armenian woman in traditional dress (the dress extending to the ground) holding a sword in the right hand (raised, pointing skyward) and the shield in the left hand (lowered) — the Mother Armenia posture (the sword raised in defence, not attack) represents the defensive character of Armenian national resistance; the statue faces the northeast — toward the Azerbaijani direction (in the context of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (1988-2020), the northeast-facing defensive posture of Mother Armenia has been interpreted as directed toward Azerbaijan); the Military Museum within the pedestal (the Armenian Military Museum in the base of the Mother Armenia pedestal: the museum of the Armenian Armed Forces history from the First Republic (1918-1920) through the Soviet period to the present)); the Victory Park (the hilltop park above the Hrazdan gorge: the most spectacular panorama of Mount Ararat visible from Yerevan (on clear days — approximately 120 per year — the entire 5,137 m snow-capped volcanic cone of Greater Ararat (Masis) and the 3,925 m Little Ararat (Sis) are visible from the Victory Park hilltop: the most emotionally charged view in the Armenian cultural landscape (Ararat is the national symbol of Armenia but is in Turkey since the 1921 Treaty of Kars)).

Vernissage outdoor market and Yerevan dinner (the Saturday-Sunday open-air arts and crafts market in the park adjacent to Republic Square and the most characteristic Yerevan dinner): the Vernissage (the Vernissage (the "Yerevan Vernissage" — the outdoor flea market and arts and crafts market that has operated since the Soviet period in the park adjacent to Republic Square on Saturdays and Sundays; the Vernissage is the most authentic and varied market in Yerevan: the Soviet-era memorabilia (the Soviet military medals, the Soviet watches, the Lenin and Stalin portraits), the Armenian handcrafts (the pomegranate-motif ceramics, the Armenian woodcarvings (the "khachkar" — the Armenian stone cross-stone: the most important visual art form in Armenian Christian culture: the intricate interlaced cross and foliage carving cut into the basalt or tuff stone; reproduced in miniature in wood or stone at the Vernissage), the Armenian miniature paintings, the Armenian lace (the Armenian needle lace (the "marash" style from the Cilician Armenian tradition))); the pomegranate symbol (the pomegranate is the most pervasive symbol in Armenian visual culture: the pomegranate (the "nur" in Armenian) symbolises rebirth, fertility and the connection to the Armenian homeland — the pomegranate is the most widely used decorative motif in Armenian jewellery, ceramics and art)); the dinner (the Armenian dinner culture (the Armenian cuisine: the Yerevan restaurant scene (the most European restaurant culture in the South Caucasus): the khorovats (the Armenian barbecue — the most socially important food event in Armenian culture: the whole pork or lamb cuts (the neck, the ribs, the loin) grilled over vine-wood charcoal), the dolma (the grape-leaf stuffed with minced lamb and rice), the Armenian lavash (the paper-thin flatbread baked in the tonir (the underground clay oven)), the Armenian cheese (the mozzarella-like Armenian string cheese (chechil) and the aged Lori cheese).

Garni Temple (the Garni Pagan Temple — the Hellenic peristyle temple in the village of Garni, 28 km east of Yerevan in the Azat River gorge): the temple (the Garni Temple is the only pre-Christian (pagan) building in Armenia still standing in anything approaching its original form: the temple was built in the 1st century CE (the most commonly accepted date: the reign of the Armenian King Tiridates I (54-88 CE) who built the temple as a summer palace complex dedicated to the sun god Mihr (the Armenian equivalent of the Iranian Mithra)); the destruction (the Garni Temple was destroyed by the earthquake of 1679 — the 1679 earthquake that was the most damaging natural disaster in the history of Armenia before the 1988 Spitak earthquake (which killed approximately 25,000 people); the ruins of the Garni Temple (the fallen columns and entablature blocks) lay in the Azat gorge for 300 years; the Soviet-era restoration (the temple was restored in 1966-1976 under the Soviet Armenian archaeologist Alexander Sahinian using the anastylosis method (the re-erection of the original fallen stone elements in their original positions, supplemented by new stone elements where the originals were lost or destroyed)); the architecture (the peristyle temple: 24 basalt Ionic columns on the stylobate (the stepped platform) supporting the entablature; the temple is 13.2 m × 7.6 m in plan; the similarity with the Roman provincial temple architecture of the 1st century CE (the Ionic order, the triangular pediment, the stepped crepidoma (the three-step platform)) reflects the Hellenistic cultural influence on the Armenian court culture of the Tiridates period (Rome and Armenia were in a complex alliance-and-conflict relationship throughout the 1st century CE)).

Geghard Monastery (Գեղardu Վanker — the "Monastery of the Spear"; UNESCO World Heritage Site 2000; 40 km east of Yerevan in the upper Azat River gorge, 12 km above Garni): the name (the "Geghard" (Spear) name: the monastery is named for the Holy Lance (the spear that pierced the side of Jesus Christ at the Crucifixion (John 19:34 — "But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out") believed to have been brought to Armenia by the Apostle Thaddeus (Jude) in the 1st century CE (the Armenian Apostolic Church tradition holds that the spear was brought by Thaddeus as a relic of the Passion of Christ; the spear was kept at the Geghard Monastery for centuries before being transferred to the Echmiadzin Cathedral (the Armenian Apostolic seat, 18 km west of Yerevan); the spear is now displayed at the Echmiadzin Treasury): the complex (the Geghard Monastery complex: the main church (the Katoghike — the "Main Church", built 1215 under Prince Zak'ar of the Zakarian dynasty) and the three rock-carved cave chambers: the "Gavit" (the narthex or entrance hall, 1225) cut entirely from the cliff face, with the finely carved interior (the stalactite-like stalactite vaulting (the "muqarnas" — the honeycomb of interlocking concave forms derived from the Islamic architectural tradition, adopted by the Armenian architects of the Zakarian period who built for patrons including both Armenian princes and Seljuk Turkish lords)), the Proshyan Gavit (1283) and the "Awazank'er" (the "Sleeping Place" — the cave chapel with the burial niches carved from the rock); the setting (the monastery is enclosed on three sides by the sheer basalt cliffs of the Azat gorge: the most dramatically sited monastery in Armenia.

Lake Sevan (Սewanա Lich — the largest lake in Armenia and the largest lake in the South Caucasus (1,240 km² — approximately the size of the Lake Geneva at 580 km²); at 1,900 m altitude in the Gegharkunik Province of eastern Armenia; 62 km northeast of Yerevan (65 km direct; 2 hours by car or bus from Yerevan)): the lake (the Sevan is the highest lake of its size in the world; the altitude (1,900 m) makes the water extremely cold (the summer surface temperature reaches only 18-20°C even in July-August; the deeper water (70 m average depth) remains at 5-8°C year-round); the colour (the Lake Sevan water is the most intensely blue lake in the South Caucasus — the vivid cobalt-blue colour results from the combination of altitude (low atmospheric dust and low biotic input), the extremely clear water (visibility to 8-10 m depth) and the blue sky reflected from the large surface area); the Sevan Trout (the Salmo ischchan — the "Ishkhan" trout: the endemic salmonid found only in Lake Sevan (the most commercially valuable freshwater fish in Armenia); the Sevan trout (the "Ishkhan" — the name means "Prince" in Armenian) is critically endangered (the population has declined by 90%+ since the 1960s due to the lowering of the lake level by 19 m between 1930 and 1990 for Soviet hydroelectric and irrigation projects); the Sevanavank Monastery (the Sevanavank — the 9th century Armenian monastery on the Sevan Peninsula (the former island that became a peninsula when the lake level was lowered): two of the original three monastery churches survive; the most photographed image of Lake Sevan.

Yerevan farewell evening (the most memorable final image of the "Pink City" — the Mount Ararat view at sunset): the Ararat view at sunset (the Mount Ararat (Masis — 5,137 m; the dominant volcanic cone of the Armenian Highland, 40 km south of Yerevan in Turkey; visible from Yerevan on approximately 120 clear days per year; the snow-capped summit is visible above the roofline of the Yerevan city centre from the Republic Square (north edge), the Cascade upper terraces, the Victory Park hilltop and the rooftop restaurants and hotel bars of the city; at sunset the Ararat cone turns pink and orange in the setting light — the most photographed colour transition in Armenian landscape photography; the fact that the national symbol is in another country is the most discussed geopolitical-emotional reality in the Armenian national identity)); the khorovats (the Armenian barbecue — the definitive Armenian social food event: the khorovats is traditionally made from pork (the Armenian preferred barbecue meat — the Muslim countries of the region don't barbecue pork but Armenia is the only Christian country in the immediately surrounding region) cut into large pieces (the entire neck, the ribs, the loin) and grilled over the charcoal made from vine wood (the Ararat Valley vineyards (the Armenian winemaking tradition — the Areni cave (the same cave that contained the oldest leather shoe in the world) also contained the oldest known winery in the world (c. 4,100 BCE — the Copper Age) making Armenia the likely origin point of winemaking): the Armenian wines from the Areni and Voskehat grape varieties)); the lavash (the Armenian flatbread (the paper-thin unleavened bread baked in the tonir (the underground clay oven by the women of the household in a communal ceremony (the lavash baking is UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage 2014): the lavash wraps the khorovats and is the most essential bread in Armenian cuisine.