.E×à(ğle="text-align: justify;">City center of Yerevan, capital of the Republic of Armenia, was designed and given its present modern look by Alxander Tamanyan before the disintegration of the former Soviet Union. Creating the impression of an open-air museum, Yerevan streets are full of monumental scale sculptures. Home to dozens of museums and art centers, Yerevan is a wonderland of works of art, the oldest dating back to the fifth century

  Little is know about Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, a city with a rich history and a young population that has plenty to offer its visitors including many historic buildings, magnificent churches and artistic masterpieces.

   The Republic of Armenia declared its independence in 1991, immediately after the disintegration of the Soviet Socialist Republics, and Yerevan became its capital. The history of Yerevan or “Yerepuni,” as it was called in ancient times, dates back to the eighth century B.C. The total population of Armenia, which is settled on an area of 30,000 square kilometers, is 3 million, according to official figures.

  The official language of the country is Armenian, an independent branch of the Indo-European language family. Armenian was historically split into two vaguely-defined primary dialects: Eastern Armenian (Aravela Hayeren), spoken in modern-day Armenia, and Western Armenian, spoken by Armenians in Anatolia. In addition to Armenian, Russian dominates as a second language throughout the country. An average Yerevanian speaks three additional languages to Armenian and Russian.

  The modern architectural design of the city center of Yerevan was designed by Armenian architect Alexander Tamanyan during the time of the Soviet Union. His style and influence is still visible in almost all of the streets and buildings of Yerevan. The Republic Square (Hanrabedutyan H?rabag) is the largest and the most important of Yerevan and the location of many of the state buildings and national museums. Young people constitute about 70 percent of country's entire population and the official rate of literacy is approximately 90 percent.

 

Soviet Union effect in Armenia

  Social life in Armenia still carries traces of the Soviet experience, with the Russian language commonly heard on TV programs, cafés, shopping centers, cinemas and generally in every aspect of daily life. While some Yerevanians argue Russian should remain the second language, others wish to put an end to the dominance of Russian language in the country.

  Yerevan universities have recently become highly preferred by students both from Europe and the Far Eastern countries. Indian, German, Chinese, Japanese and British nationals are studying in many of the universities including the Yerevan State University. The majority of the students in these universities study Armenian language and literature. The most striking department at the Yerevan State University is the Turkology Department, where all students, including Armenians, are taught Turkish language and literature, Ottoman, Persian and Arabic.

  Yerevan's youth has a very lively social life. Chic library cafés and restaurants easily catch the eye in every corner of Yerevan streets.

 

Millennial manuscripts in ‘Madenataran'

  It is difficult to take one's eyes off the fabulous architectural styles of ancient churches on Yerevan streets, most of which were built in the 12th century. Though churches are structures with great symbolic meaning in Armenian traditional culture, the majority of Armenia's churches was destructed during Soviet Union times. The most interesting of these churches is the Gato?ige Surp Asdvazsazsin (St. Mary the Virgin) that was built and dedicated to the memory of Armenian poet Sayat Nova and is located on Sayat Nova Street. In fact, Gato?ige Surp Asdvazsazsin was discovered when the Soviet regime ordered the demolishing of a monumental 12th century church. The earlier form of the Gato?ige Surp Asdvazsazsin was constructed in the 11th century. And its remnant was serving as  “?horan,” the Holy Table, under the centuries-old massive church building. The doors of this historic building, where restoration activity will soon take place, are wide open to visitors.

  Yerevan streets, where history meets modernity, are full of monumental sculptures, most of them dedicated to the memory of the grand masters of Armenian traditional literature and music.

  Moreover, there are many museums and art centers in Yerevan, two among them of special importance. The one is the National Gallery of Armenia (Hayasdani Azkayin Badgerasrah) that was constructed in the Republic Square in 1921. It is a universally acclaimed museum where works of prominent figures of Armenian and international art are on display. A major division of the museum where more than 25,000 works of art are exhibited is the 19th and 20th century Armenian artists, painters and sculptors collection. A considerable number of masterpieces by Armenian-origin painter Ayvazovki are also on display in that part of the museum.

  The National Gallery of Armenia also has a collection titled Eastern and Western Art. This includes an array of artworks by major artists of India, Egypt, Japan, France and other countries. A third part of the museum includes samples from the works of 20th century Russian art.

  The second art center having particular importance in Yerevan is the Madenataran Manuscript Museum. Here, one can find myriads of manuscripts that have shed light both on Armenian and world history, art and science since the fifth century. But the most remarkable pieces in Madenataran are volumes of  religious books, all handwritten and ornamented with Armenian miniatures. A major part of the holy books were taken from Anatolian-Armenian churches to the land of modern day Armenia. The rich decorations on these leather manuscripts amaze all visitors. Beside the hundreds of millenniums-old manuscripts, Madenataran is also home to a seal that belonged to Alexander the Great and a firman (edict) that belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte. Other precious pieces include maps and volumes of manuscripts by ancient Greek philosophers.

  The Madenataran building, enthralling with its unique architectural style and sculptures of philosophers, doctors and literary figures of Armenian history is located in the Surp Ma?dozs Street in Yerevan.