Armenia?

Armenia is very close to western culture, but it is located very close to Asia
Armenia is the oldest christian nation of the world
Armenia is the country of heavenly voices (Sherakan) and earthbound instruments (Duduk)
Armenia has a rich history and a high-developed cultureArarat
Armenia once spread from Anatolia to the Northern Iran, today it is a small country in the Caucasus
Armenia to all times was the bone of contention for iranian, arabic and turkish invaders
Armenia was part of the Soviet-Union for 70 years, now it is independent since 1991
Armenia is under economic blockade of Turkey and Azerbaidjan
Armenia is a surprising and beautiful country

The Armenian pages at Avantart:
SOS Yerevan, how greed destroys Culture (in german language, will be translated soon)
Armenia: A Dictator in the Making a very important report from the magazine Transition Online, June 24, 2004
armenian impressions 2004
The 75th birthday of Avet Terterian
Armenian music
Armenian literature
armenian impressions, summer 2001
my impressions: Armenia in autumn 99
send a webcard from Armenia!
Armenia 2000 - world conference and exhibition in Halle (german language)
The Re-Opening of the armenian church in Lviv
an article of the Ukrainian weekly magazine POSTUP in ukrainian language
an armenian linklist

I came in contact with Armenia by the music of Avet Terterian and I started the website to commemorate his work. More and more I tried to learn as much as possible about this country.
I also became member of the German-Armenian Society
The more I learned about the country, the more curious I became.
And I found out to my surprise: I had been in Armenia already!

Geghard Monastery
I had travelled in the Middle East in 1974 and 1975 and I had been in East-Anatolia and West-Iran. The castles of Urartu at Van-Lake and Urmia-Lake, the churches on the island in the Van-Lake, the great cathedral in New-Djulfa in Isfahan, Erzurum, Mus, Dijarbakir, Täbris....
I had travelled in Armenia Major, but I did not realize the mostly vanished and denied culture of Armenia then. At that time, I studied Oriental Science and the focus was at islamic culture. Armenian Churches, armenian restaurants and armenian gardens in Isfahan were marginal...

Near Garni But you can't forget impressions: the landscape, the musical mood, pictures which burn into your memory, and that can explain why I opened myself to the armenian culture so easily, it was like the realisation of something I knew already very well ...

My first journey to the Republic of Armenia took place in September 1999. I wanted to visit the places of Terterian's creative work, to see the old manuscripts in the Matanaderan, to meet Irina Tigranova-Terterian and and and...
Anna Mayillian in Garni
A short resume: I am deeply impressed by the intensive knowledge of music and literature and by the strong belief, which I met. And I never felt closer to heaven as when Anna Mayillian sang Sherakan, the old liturgian songs of Armenia, in the breathtaking landscape of Garni or in the old churches.

Connie Müller-Gödecke, October 1999 - 2005

Avantart's URL: http://www.avantart.com