Garni temple, Geghard Monastery, Yerevan City Tour, Victory Park, Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex, Republic Square

1. Arch of Charents

While passing through the village of Voghjaberd, the architect Rafael Israelyan often noticed that a wonderful view of Mount Ararat opens from the nearby hill. And here, in 1957, Israelyan completed the structure he designed, which is called the Mount Ararat Temple. The last line of Yeghishe Charents's poem is engraved in visible large letters on the front entrance. "Go to the world; there is no white peak like Ararat, like the path of unripe glory; I love my Masis mountain." Very soon the place got its new, popular and more widespread name - The Arch of Charents. We start the tour with the viewpoint of Mount Ararat, the symbol of Armenia.

2. Garni

The temple, built in the first century and had been around for centuries, was destroyed and stood up again. It tells about pre-Christian Armenia and the Armenian people. The temple dedicated to Mithra, the God of the Sun, is the only preserved pagan temple both in Armenia and in the territory of the former USSR. The temple was destroyed by a devastating earthquake in 1679 and was restored for about 8 years, 1968-75.

3. Symphony of Stones

The next stop is the basalt organ, the Symphony of Stones. The accumulation of naturally cut stones with wonderful symmetry is a true natural wonder and also part of the UNESCO World Heritage. The hexagonal stones, stretched one after the other across the canyon, look like an organ, hence the name.

4. Geghard

The ancient name of this rock-hewn monastery was Ayrivank due to the 140 caves in the surrounding mountains, which were inhabited by monks. Later, the holy relic Geghard brought here gave the monastery its current name, Geghardavank. The weapon of the Roman centurion Longianos, the holy relic Geghard, with which Christ was wounded, is now kept in the Holy Mother See of Etchmiatsin.

5. Victory Park

The construction of the park (then called Arabkir City Park) began in the 1930s, and after the end of World War II, it was renamed Victory Park. On November 29, 1950, the Victory Park memorial complex was inaugurated, featuring a 17-meter-tall statue of Joseph Stalin. Due to this, locals still refer to the complex, the park, and the surrounding district as "Monument." The architect behind the park’s reconstruction and the memorial complex was Rafael Israelyan. In 1962, Stalin’s statue was dismantled, and years later, Ara Harutyunyan’s 22-meter-tall "Mother Armenia" statue was installed on the pedestal as a symbolic representation of the Armenian woman.

6. Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex

"At the beginning of the 20th century, the Turkish government carried out one of the century’s greatest crimes against humanity—the Armenian Genocide. The Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex is dedicated to the 1.5 million Armenians who perished as a result of the genocide orchestrated by the Ottoman Empire. Since its inauguration in 1967, the memorial has become an integral part of Yerevan’s architectural landscape, serving as a pilgrimage site. The complex consists of three main structures: - The Memorial Wall (Hushapat), - The Sanctuary of Eternity, where an eternal flame burns, - The ""Reborn Armenia"" Memorial Column, a 44-meter-high pillar symbolizing the revival of the Armenian people. Twelve massive stone slabs encircle the eternal flame, representing the twelve provinces of historic Western Armenia that were lost due to the genocide. Surrounding the memorial is a 100-meter-long wall, engraved with the names of the cities and villages where the massacres took place."

7. Republic Square

Republic Square is the main square of Yerevan, designed by architect Alexander Tamanyan in the 1924 master plan of the city. It serves as a major urban and transportation hub, as well as a venue for various events and gatherings. The square features the singing fountains, two major museums—the History Museum of Armenia and the National Gallery, along with government buildings constructed between the 1920s and 1950s, the Central Post Office of Armenia, and the Marriott Hotel. The Republic Square complex is considered one of the finest examples of Soviet-era architecture, earning the State Prize of the Armenian SSR in 1971.