The oldest surviving knotted carpet is the Pazyryk rug, excavated miraculously in the frozen tombs of Siberia, dated from the 5th to the 3rd century B.C., now in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. This square tufted carpet, almost perfectly intact, is considered by many experts to be of specifically Armenian, origin. The eminent...
1500 year old Armenian Karas was confiscated during military operations in Eastern Turkey
Turkish media is recently reporting on how the Turkish military has stumbled upon a 1.500 year-old Karas during anti-Kurdish operations in historic Western Armenia. The discovery was reportedly made at a house of a Kurdish PKK member. The military operations are therefore labeled “anti-terror operations” in Turkish media. Daily Sabah reports: Gendarmerie forces carrying out...
Yerevan turns 2799, Congratulation!
Yerevan is the capital and the largest city in the Republic of Armenia and one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. Today marks the 2799th anniversary of the foundation of the capital city of Erebuni-Yerevan. Celebrations in its honor will be held in the capitol with music, dances life performances and various other cultural activities. Founded by the...
Jeweled gun of Sultan Mahmud I by Hovhannes Agha Düz (1732-1733)
Armenian jewelers, just as in the Russian and Persian empires, were renown in the Ottoman empire. English archaeologist V. Gordon Childe in his work ‘New Light on the Most Ancient East’ describes that the ancestors of the Armenians were among the first tribes in the world to start working metal; they had invented iron...
PreGomesh Jewelry by Sirusho – REVIEW
So if you didn’t know already Sirusho, the very talented Armenian singer, has her own ethnic Armenian jewelry line “PreGomesh” named after her hit song by the same name which recently has passed 6 million views on YouTube (see HERE). Ever since she released her PreGomesh video I’ve been a huge admirer of her traditional...
Awesome 3D reconstruction of Dvin – Ancient Capitol of Armenia
Architect and Designer Ashot Ghazaryan created an awesome 3D model of Dvin; the ancient capitol city of Armenia. The 3D model was made for the documentary “Andin. Armenian Journey Chronicles” directed by Ruben Giney. It’s a great documentary which I have yet to see in its entirety, certainly one to keep an eye on. There are some clips and trailers on...
The Red Color of Armenian Garments and Rugs
As people might know, Armenian national garments and rugs are often adorned with a rich, deep red color. But what most might not realize is that this is all thanks to a little insect called the “Armenian cochineal“ also known as “Kermes” which is indigenous to the Ararat plain and Aras River valley in the Armenian Highlands. The lowly scale bug,...
Before Romeo and Juliet there was Khosrow and Shirin
So we’ve all heard the Shakespearean love tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, but how many in the western world are familiar with the ‘most beautiful love story ever written’ in Persian literature; Khosrow and Shirin (also known as Shirin and Farhad)? The story of Shirin and Khosrow is one of the most popular ancient stories in the middle...
Armenian Folk Art on Display in Museums Around the World
The Russian Museum of Ethnography recently held an exhibition on Armenian traditional culture. The exhibition titled “The World of Traditional Armenian Culture“ featured never before seen objects characteristic of the most widespread occupations and crafts among the Armenians: weaponry, jewelry, carpets, musical instruments, lace works and embroidery. Regarding Armenian craftsmanship the museum’s website states: “…Armenian people achieved general recognition...
Armenian Daggers
Historic Armenia has often been the battleground of contending empires. From the Roman-Persian wars, the Crusades, the Arab invasions, the Byzantine-Ottoman conflicts to the Russo-Turkish wars, Armenia has been at the heart of some of the worlds most fearsome conflicts. As such, the art of swordmaking and weapons crafting has become an inseparable part of Armenian tradition. Daggers in particular,...
