Wrapping up Armenian adventures: Journal StandardOctober 30, 2017 - 14:05 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Journal Standard's Bruce Johnson has written an article about the 'amazing trip' to Armenia he took to visit his son David who served there in the Peace Corps from 2006-08, and he’s halfway through his first assignment as vice consul with the State Department’s Foreign Service based in the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan. According to the artice, "Yerevan is a real contrast in styles, with abandoned unfinished buildings standing next to new hotels and apartment complexes being built. We sat outside at a downtown restaurant and you could imagine yourself in any modern U.S. city, yet all around you were signs of a conflicted economy. A common thread throughout the nation is the overwhelming awe of the history around us, reflected in so many ways." "We visited the ruins of the historic cathedral Zvartnots, which was built around 650 AD on the spot where historians claim that Armenian king T’rdat installed Christianity as the national religion in 301 AD (making Armenia the first nation to do so). On our last day we also visited the UNESCO historic site at Garni, where incredible views surrounded a majestic temple that is the only standing Greco-Roman columned temple in the former Soviet Union. "The most inspiring site of all, in my estimation, was the incredible and ever-changing view of Mt. Ararat, rising up on the Armenia-Turkey border some 25 miles west of Yerevan. The snow-capped peaks rise up some 17,000 feet into the sky, and the mountain has been widely accepted in Christianity as the resting place for Noah’s Ark. The mountain has become a national symbol depicted on Armenia’s coat of arms along with Noah’s Ark, and we got to enjoy some remarkable views." The author even attended his first soccer game as Armenia hosted Poland for a European Cup qualifier match in early October. Top stories The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. London’s Armenian community has been left feeling “under attack” after the city’s Genocide monument was vandalised. Partner news | Russia clarifying reports on Baku’s alleged arms supply to Ukraine Russia says is carefully working to verify reports about alleged arms supplies from Azerbaijan to Ukraine Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. Armenia to sing in 2nd semi-final of Eurovision The organizers of Eurovision 2024 have revealed the running order of the countries in the two semi-finals. |