Category: General

Never did I underestimate a country as I did with Armenia. It was the first Christian country and its capital city Երևան was founded 29 years before Rome, Italy. The result of this long and culturally rich past can be seen in numerous museums and temples throughout the country. During Soviet times the Asian face of Երևան was nearly fully destroyed – today the city centre is very modern, financed in relevant parts by money coming from the diaspora (created by the genocide of 1915).

The language of Armenia is an Indo-European language which strong connections to the Greek language and many words taken over from Iranian. It is spoken in Armenia and the internationally not accepted Republic of Artsakh (or Nagorno-Karabakh). But because of the large Armenian diaspora, it is spoken in different other countries. Additionally, it is used together with one of the most beautiful alphabets I’ve ever seen.

Getting around at Երևան, Armenia, by public transport is cheap (~100 drams per ride, that is 0.20 Euros) but not that easy. The system is a combination of buses, trolleybuses, shared taxis and a metro system. I dislike taking buses in places like this because it is hard to find out where which bus is going and where to exit – especially because of the beautiful but for me unreadable Armenian alphabet. And on the other hand, using taxis is very cheap for a foreigner in this country and ordering one by the gg smartphone app (which was installed when I received my YerevanCard) is so easy.

The funny thing is that I first heard about Երևան, the capital city of Armenia, by jokes. And I’m definitely not the only one. During the times of a split Germany, it was impossible to criticise the government of East Germany without serious consequences – if you were living in the GDR. Therefore someone invented the fictitious radio station Radio Yerevan and jokes that always followed the same schema: ‘Radio Yerevan was asked‘, ‘Radio Yerevan answered: in principle yes, but…‘.

If you visit Երևան, Armenia, you will see all types of cars from different vendors and countries. You might even have a taxi ride in a car that was built for driving on the left side of the road – feels a bit strange as in Armenia you have to drive on the right side. What you will see very often are Russian Lada cars know to be nearly undestroyable and which can be easily repaired. This reflects the strong bonds Armenia and Russia had in the past during the times of the Soviet Union – but also still today.

If you want to order a taxi ride in Armenia, Georgia and Russia than the smartphone app gg is your perfect choice. It is the Uber of this region and all you need to do is to get yourself a local SIM card for your phone (if you don’t have roaming; I got mine with the YerevanCard package) and download the app. After starting it you will see your position on a map and correct it. Then you can choose your destination (obviously from Google Maps data) and order a taxi. That is great as you choose a touristic point of interest or a central square easily.

In some cities across the globe, you can buy tourist packages that often include public transport, entrance fees to museums and other sights and discounts at shops and restaurants. I didn’t expect to find such an offer at Երևան, Armenia, but I dramatically underestimated the tourism industry in Armenia (focussed mostly on Russian tourists). The YerevanCard is a comprehensive package giving you everything you need for a stay in the city. You can order it only and then collect it at tourist offices in the city.

The Armenian word ‘dram‘ (դրամ) just means ‘money‘ – and it is the name of the local currency. A dram is divided into 100 luma, but there aren’t any luma coins circulating anymore. Currency symbol is Դ, but most often the abbreviation ‘dr.‘ seems to be used. The dram was introduced in 1993 and replaced the Russian ruble as the formerly official currency.

The international airport of Երևան, Armenia (EVN), is called Zvartnots because it is located in a municipality with that name 10 kilometres west of Երևան. The location is known for a special church from the 7th century and the airport is designed after the shape of that church. It was opened in 1961 and the newest terminal was opened in 2007. It has only one runway but it looks really modern and is well-organized.