Work in Armenia

Currently there is a high demand of qualified professionals in Armenia. Especially IT sector is developing rapidly and there is a lack of high qualified professionals. On the one hand there is a high level of unemployment in Armenia, but on the other hand there are many job opportunities available in Armenia, especially in Yerevan. There are various career development services operating in the market from recruitment agencies to online portals. Recent market analysis shows that more popular are becoming Armenian career and job portals. We have conducted a little survey and tried to figure out the best career portal available. We have graded those using following criteria: 1. Ease of use (user friendliness), 2. Number and quality of available vacancies, 3. Variety of jobs, 4. Availability in multiple languages, 5. Used technology and safety, 6. Support team.

We are planning to publish detailed results in near future, but for the moment the Leader is MyJob.am.

Bon appetite!

Anoushabour
(Christmas Pudding)

A delicate cookie is consisted of butter, confectioners’ sugar and flour and often listed in international cookbooks as “Armenian Christmas Cookies.” Anoushabour – which, as its Armenian name ( ‘anoush’ means ‘sweet’ and ‘abour’ is ‘soup’) implies - is almost as much a thick, sweet soup or porridge as it is a pudding - is traditionally served on New Year’s Eve and in the week after, leading up to January 6,th the day Armenians celebrate the Birth of Christ.

Lavash
(Armenian Bread)

There are many legends and songs about old times in Armenia. It is considered to be the place where mankind started life. From the beginning of our country’s history of "lavash’’ has been mentioned as a bread that is mainly Armenian. Armenians consider "lavash" a type of holy bread. That is why they make a cross on the dough before baking the bread. "Lavash" symbolizes the love, respect and generosity of the Armenian people.
"Lavash" goes along with us everywhere. On wedding ceremonies it is put on the shoulders of the bride and groom. "Lavash" is laid on the table with great respect and love. It is baked in a special stove called a "tonir". The length of ‘’lavash’’ must be 60-70cm and the width must be 30-40 cm. It should not be thicker than 3 mm. Today there are places in Armenia where "lavash" is baked in autumn and kept for winter. This is due to the fields of wheat that have been stamped on by enemies and burnt. A handful of saved flour has produced "lavash" - the holiness and pride of Armenian tables.

Khash
(Խաշ)

Khash remains a purist meal with great parsimony in ingredients. The main ingredient in khash is cow's feet, although other cow parts, such as the head and stomach (tripe) may also be used. The feet (known in Armenian as totikner) are depilated, cleaned, kept in cold water in order to get rid of bad smell, and boiled in water all night long, until the water has become a thick broth and the meat has separated from the bones. No salt or spices are added during the boiling process. The dish is served hot. One may add salt, garlic, lemon juice, or vinegar according to one's tastes. Dried lavash is often crumbled into the broth to add substance. Khash is generally served with a variety of other foods, such as hot green and yellow peppers, pickles, radishes, cheese, and fresh greens such as cress. The meal is almost always accompanied by vodka (preferably mulberry vodka) and mineral water.

Dolma
(տոլմա)

In Armenian cuisine, minced lamb meat with rice is wrapped into grape leaves (tpov tolma - թփով տոլմա) or occasionally in cabbage leaves (kaghambi tolma - կաղամբի տոլմա). This dish is condimented with coriander, dill, mint, pepper, cinnamon and melted butter. Sometimes chestnuts and peas are part of the mix. Sour milk is often used as a sauce. Eggplants, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, onions, quince and apples are also stuffed with lamb meat and also called dolma. Echmiadzin tolma utilizes eggplants, green peppers, tomatoes, apples, and quinces.

Harissa
(Հարիսա)

It is a traditional iconic Armenian dish similar to kashkeg, a kind of homogeneous porridge made of previously stewed and boned chicken and coarsely ground soaked wheat.The dish has been passed on since ancient times. Harissa is traditionally served on Easter day. It is still prepared by many Armenians around the world and is also considered the national dish of Armenia.

Tours in Armenia

Tour agencies

As mentioned before in Armenia you will observe more than 5,000 cultural monuments dating to the 2nd millennium BC most of which are inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list. Tour agencies in Armenia do not have big history but in a short time they have developed very interesting tour packages and high quality service.

We would like to share some information about tour agencies that will be happy to help you to discover ARMENIA. There are many agencies operating in Armenia but we will bring to your attention only those that have web pages and thus are easier to communicate. One of the traditional tour agencies is "Armen Tour" they are offering full package of services.

Other company that we would recommend is "Sidon-Travel". As was written on their web "Since 1985, Sidon Travel & Tourism has had the privilege to organize tours to visit the countries of Armenia, Russia & Karabagh for our clients. Our Group Tours provide an opportunity to take a professionally-organized, worry-free, entertaining and informative trip, while meeting fellow Armenians from across the U.S. Create memories and friendships to last a lifetime." Their services include Airfare, Quality Hotels, Meals, Guided Daily Excursions, Transfers, Medical Insurance.

"Elitar" Travel Company also should be considered. They also provide high quality service and except above mentioned they also provide "Seasonal Tours", "Daily short Tours" and also some special offers like watching Football Match Armenia-Spain 2009.

Very interesting section is presented on "Menua Tour" agencies web that is opinions of clients where you can see comments of customers. This will give you idea about services offered and their quality.

TATEV-T.T.T. agency, founded in 1992, is an experienced company which organizes different interesting tours to sightseeing of the RA, helps foreign businessmen to make their business-trips easy, makes appointments with potential business partners and solves any problems connected with visit and stay in RA.

Galleries and Museums to visit

National Gallery of Armenia (Yerevan)
2. Republic Square, Yerevan (+374-10) 58-08-12, 56-18-12
The floors above the National History Museum contain the National Picture Gallery. Start by taking the elevator to the top, then descend through the huge collection of Russian, Armenian, and European works. (Source: RDA)

Children's Art Gallery (Yerevan)

13 Abovian Street, Yerevan
Armenia has long been famed for its artists, sculptors and stone-carvers, and children are brought up to love art. For this reason the world’s first Children’s Picture Gallery (No. 13 on the corner of Abovian Street and Sayat Nova Street) is of interest. When the modern artist David Siqueiros visited the gallery he called it "a true festival for the children of the planet". (Source: Yerevan Guide)

Contemporary Art Museum (Yerevan)
7 Mashtots Street, Yerevan (+374-10) 53-56-61, 53-53-59
The Museum of Modern Art occupies the ground floor of No. 7. Frequent exhibitions of works by Armenian and foreign artists are held here, always attracting many lovers of painting, drawing and sculpture. (Source: Yerevan Guide)
Erebuni Fortress Museum (Yerevan)
38 Erebuni Street, Yerevan (+374-10) 57-32-02
Armenian scientists argue that one can derive the name Yerevan from Erebuni by a series of simple phonological shifts, suggesting that modern Yerevan is the lineal descendant of this 8th c. B.C. citadel. In 1998, the Mayor of Yerevan arranged a festivity marking the 2780th birthday of Yerevan. A good time was had by all. [Source: RDA]

Genocide Museum (Yerevan)
Tsitsernakaberd Park, Yerevan (+374-10) 39-09-81, 39-14-12
Tsitsernakaberd ("Swallow Castle") .It symbolizes Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. About 1.5 million armenians were murdered and deported during that time period. The Museum's testimony to the 1915 destruction of the Armenian communities of Eastern Anatolia is moving, and the monument itself is austere but powerful. The riven spire symbolizes the sundering of the Eastern and Western branches of the Armenian people. The view over the Ararat valley is striking. [Source: RDA]

National History Museum (Yerevan)
Republic Square, Yerevan (+374-10) 58-27-61, 52-14-57
The State History Museum in Republic Square (formerly Lenin Square) is notable for the statues of Catherine the Great and Lenin squirreled away in a back courtyard ready for any change in the political winds. Yerevan

Matenadaran Manuscript Museum (Yerevan)
53 Mashtots Street, Yerevan (+374-10) 58-32-92
http://www.matenadaran.am/
The Matenadaran (manuscripts library) is the other world-class museum in Yerevan, not for its exhibitions per se, but rather for its status as the eternal (one hopes) repository for Armenia's medieval written culture. A vast gray basalt mass at the top of Mashtots Blvd. (built 1945-57, architect M. Grigorian), the Matenadaran is guarded by the statue of primordial alphabet-giver S. Mashtots (ca. 400) and those of the other main figures of Armenian literature: Movses Khorenatsi (5th -- or maybe 8th -- century "father of Armenian history"); T'oros Roslin (13th c. manuscript illuminator in Hromkla/Rum Qalat near Edessa); Grigor Tatevatsi (theologian of Tatev Monastery, died 1409); Anania Shirakatsi (7th c. mathematician, studied in Trebizond, fixed the Armenian calendar); Mkhitar Gosh (died 1213, cleric and law codifier); and Frik (ca. 1230-1310, poet).

Late visit places!

Bars, Clubs and Cafes

Finally you are in hotel or your rented apartment and want to go out for some cafe, bar or club. Yerevan is full of nightlife. Most cafes and restaurants are open until 12am and after that you can always find some place that is open until morning. The nightlife in Yerevan gets more active during the wintertime, when weather is cold and sidewalk cafes are closed for the season.

Usually, the shows and entertainment in nightclubs start around 9pm and continues until 12pm. After 12pm adult shows like exotic dancing and striptease take place. Most nightclubs of Yerevan are very similar to each other. For example Omega and Charlotte have almost the same shows and similar design.

Evening entertainment include performance of some the Armenian famous singers and entertainers. One of the best clubs that host the live show is Pioneer on Baghramian Avenue. You will find an interesting atmosphere, but one of the drawbacks of Pioneer is the thick cloud of cigarette smoke, that is unbearable after few hours inside. Most of the high-end clubs have entertainment fee, which is added to your bill and varies from $10 to $30.

The fee does not include anything, so expect to pay extra for food and drinks as well. In addition to great variety of drinks, the nightclubs of Yerevan serve traditional and international meals. The Areni vines of Pioneer and Omega are exceptional and really worth trying. Omega nightclub have very good desert.

The service in most high-end nightclubs is good. If you decide to stay and watch the striptease shows then you can ask waiter to change large bills to a smaller drams or dollars. They also accept dollars if you ran out of drams in the middle of night. If you want to relax and enjoy the great late show we recommend Omega nightclub. It is located on Terian Street, right after Opera Square. The design of Omega is very interesting and impressive with the service and atmosphere that is quite different from other places.

Where to stay?

Hotels & Houses

To safe time and money it would be better to book hotel online. There are many world known hotels located in Yerevan like "Marriott", "Metropol", "Golden Tulip", etc.
Also there are available guest services, that include meeting at airport, car rental, etc. Conference halls are also available where you can organize meetings and conferences.

Prices start from 100 USD for Deluxe Single(1 person) and include breakfast, swimming pool, fitness center, in-room tea and coffee facilities plus tea/coffee in packs, complementary water,
parking, laundry, dry cleaning.

Also there are high quality luxurious hotels and rest houses available outside of Yerevan. The most popular is "Multi Rest House" that is located in Tsaghkadzor which known and was used by former USSR Olympic team as a winter camp due to its outstanding conditions for all types of winter sports.

Other choice to consider is Hotel Complex "Harsnaqar" apparently the most impressive site that mountainous lake Sevan can offer. The Resort with a territory of 17 ha is placed on the lake's bank and equipped in accordance with the highest international standards of hospitality industry and meets the most strident taste.

Unique Aqua-park, Horse Ridding Club, Tennis courts, Volleyball and Basketball fields, Fitness Club, Sauna with a in-doors pool, family cottages and convenient rooms at the Complex combined with the existing natural landscapes and truly Armenian hospitality will get you into magnificent atmosphere of leisure and comfort.

Also there are several Real Estate Agencies available where you can find appropriate houses and appartments for rent available for different prices from very cheap to very expensive luxurios villas.

Ariving to Armenia

Ways to get to Armenia

So finally You have decided to visit Armenia and view its beautiful architectural and historical heritage. Here arises another question "How to get there?". The most convenient transportation is by air. Several choices are available for Europe and former USSR republics, starting from the national carrier of the Republic of Armenia "Armavia" to Aeroflot(Russian International Airlines), KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Swissair, British Airways, Austrian Airlines, etc.

For travelers from US and non European countries there are no direct flights to Armenia so You should do a little research to find out the ways of transportation. I'm not sure but I guess all above mentioned aircraft companies have their offices around the world and maybe contacting with them will solve the small problem, which I'm sure wouldn't stop you from visiting Armenia.
You will arrive to rescently reconstructed in compliance with all the latest standards Armenian International Airport "Zvartnots". it is located in about 15-20 minutes drive from Yerevan. Taxi services and buses are available there.
There are also land transportation routes available, but they are not very convenient. So I'll advice you first of all consider Airways. If You will be interested in land routes I'll be happy to share information.

Useful Information

Payments and trade in Armenia are done only using national currency Armenian Dram, but there are a lot of Banks and Currency exchanges available who will Exchange your Dollars, Euros, and most other currencies to Drams.

Available coins are: 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 drams and paper of 1.000, 5.000, 10.000, 20.000 and 50.000 drams. Approximate exchange rate is 300 drams per 1 USD and about 390 drams for 1 Euro. More detailed information is available on official web page of Central Bank of Armenia http://www.cba.am/. Also there are about 23 Banks that will easily serve your Visa & Master Cards. In future posts we will discuss other aspects of staying and traveling in Armenia.