Armenia

Armenia is a landlocked country in Transcaucasia (the South Caucasus). It lies in the northeast of the Armenian Highlands, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, framed by the ranges of the Lesser Caucasus to the north and east. It borders Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey. Its largest cities are Yerevan, the capital, Gyumri and Vanadzor. Greater Armenia, which under King Tigranes the Great stretched from the Caspian to the Mediterranean, was more than ten times the size of today’s Armenia, which covers just 29,800 square kilometres with a population of about 3 million.

Mount Ararat, 5,165 metres high (and no longer part of Armenia), is the national symbol and is visible from much of the southwest. Many of Armenia’s surviving historic monuments are Christian churches and monasteries. Armenian khachkars (cross-stones) are a unique part of Armenian history: the first true cross-stones appeared in the 9th century, the oldest dated one was carved in 879, and about 40,000 survive today.

Armenia’s climate is very varied because of its geography and large differences in altitude. On the plains, the average temperature is -5 °C in January and +25 °C in July; in the mountains -12 °C and +16 °C respectively. Rainfall ranges from 200-250 mm a year in the Ararat Valley to 500 mm in the mid-altitude areas and 700-900 mm in the mountains.

Although Armenia lies at subtropical latitudes, a subtropical climate is found only in the south (Meghri) and northeast (Noyemberyan). Elsewhere the climate is continental, with hot summers and cold winters, or temperate, with mild winters and pleasant summers.

The vast majority of Armenians are Christian, and the country is a presidential republic. Armenia was the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion, at the beginning of the 4th century (officially in 301 AD), which is why it is often called “the first Christian nation”.