The Armenian Highlands are renowned for horse breeding. Some of the oldest traces of domestication of horses and the development of the chariot have been found there. Following the Biblical tradition Armenians are considered to be the descended of Torgom (Togarmah), where the Bible refers to the House of Togarmah, a land known for...
The world’s oldest rug was made in Armenia
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...
Ancient Armenian Warrior dance “Yarkhushta” – by Sevak Amroyan
Another amazing song from Sevak Amroyan. This time it’s Yarkhushta / Յարխուշտա The Armenian folk dance Yarkhushta has very ancient origins. As such it has been mentioned in the works of early medieval scholars such as Movses Khorenatsi, Faustus of Byzantium, and Grigor Magistros. Yarkhushta has traditionally been danced by Armenian soldiers before combat...
Tracing the oldest Armenian script
Simple questions rarely have simple answers. That’s certainly true for the following question: “What is the oldest extant example of the Armenian alphabet?” Initially I though it was a fairly straightforward question to ask and a simple google search would provide the answer. Surely there has to be the oldest surviving image of Armenian...
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...
The Milk Revolution: How people from the Armenian Plateau brought milk to Europe
The Armenian Highlands was an important center of early human technological and agricultural inventions. Situated at the crossroads between Europe, Middle East and Asia it served as a geographic conduit for the spread of technology and genetics into Europe during the Neolithic revolution when humans first abandoned hunting and gathering and started to settle down....
Levon Aronian beats Magnus Carlsen in “the game of the millennium”
The Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, worlds number 1 ranked chess player lost in his fourth game when he played against the Armenian Levon Aronian (ranked 6th) in the Norway Chess tournament in Stavanger, Norway. With a brilliant set up Aronian lured Carlsen into a trap by sacrificing his own pieces to force a mistake from...
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...
Armenia – The Cradle of Wine
Wine is one of the most popular alcoholic beverages in the world and has a fascinating ancient history that goes back to the dawn of civilization some 10,000 years ago. Once considered the beverage of the Gods worshiped and praised in many cultures by priests, poets and scholars alike. The Armenian Highlands played an important role in the history of the...
