Geography and climate
Armenia is a country located in the territory of Transcaucasia, south of the Russian Federation. It occupies the territories of the north-east of the Armenian Highlands, between the Black and Caspian Seas, between the Kura and Araks rivers. See Armenia abbreviations.
Armenia has northern borders with Georgia, eastern borders with Azerbaijan and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, southern borders with Iran and western borders with Turkey. In total, the borders of Armenia stretch for 1254 kilometers. Armenia is not washed by any of the seas.
The capital of the country is the city of Yerevan, an economic and cultural center.
The area of Armenia is 29,743 square kilometers. The territory of the country is more stretched from the northwest to the southeast – for 360 kilometers. From west to east, its length is much less – only 200 kilometers.
Armenia is an extremely mountainous country, 90% of its area is located at an altitude exceeding 1000 meters above sea level. The highest point in Armenia is Mount Aragats, which is 4095 meters high. However, there are also low-lying territories in the country – this is the region of the intermountain Ararat Valley in the southwestern part. The lowest point of Armenia is also located here – the gorge of the Debed River with a height of 380 meters above sea level.
Armenia is quite rich in water resources, about 9480 rivers flow through its lands with a total length of about 23 thousand kilometers. The largest river in the country is the Araks. Its tributaries also play an important role: Akhuryan, Kasakh, Hrazdan, Azat, Arpa, Vorotan and Voghji. There are also many lakes in Armenia, many of which are subject to drying up. The largest lake is Sevan. Problems with water resources that occur from time to time are solved with the help of groundwater and reservoirs, the largest of which is Akhuryanskoe.
The flora of Armenia is diverse, with approximately 3,500 plant species growing here. Forests in the northeastern regions are broad-leaved, dominated by oak and beech, to the southeast – mostly oak. Plain territories are covered with typical steppe vegetation: feather grass, fescue, thin-legged, wheatgrass. Shrub plants such as almonds, astragalus, thyme, sage and others grow on the soil of the mountains. Particularly noteworthy is the grove with plane trees in the Syunik region.
The main minerals of Armenia are non-ferrous and ferrous metals, rock salt, various types of clay, perlite, diatomites, volcanic tuffs, pumice, granite, marble and others. Semi-precious stones are also mined here: agate, amethyst, turquoise, jasper, obsidian.
Climate
According to 800zipcodes, Armenia is a combination of different types of climate. This diversity is mainly due to a strong elevation difference. So, the climate is subtropical, corresponding to the geographical latitude, present only in the south of the country. The climate of the other regions of Armenia can be called continental, characteristic of high-mountainous territories, and sometimes even temperate. Summer in the country is very warm, characterized by an average temperature of +25 °C in the plains, +16 °C in the mountains. Winter is quite cold, on average -5 °C, and in the mountains -15 °C. The amount of precipitation also depends on the location: from 200-250 mm per year in the Ararat valley to 700-900 mm per year in the highlands.
Cities: Yerevan, Gyumri, Vanadzor.
Medical and balneological resorts – Dilijan, Jermuk, Sevan.
Ski resort – Tsaghkadzor.
Armenian Cuisine
Armenian cuisine can rightfully be considered a separate landmark of the country, and one of the most striking. It is very original, in it the best chefs preserve the long-term recipes and traditions of the Armenian nation. At the same time, most of the dishes are very simple to prepare, but only at first glance, in order for them to turn out to be truly Armenian, you need to know many secrets.
Armenian cuisine does not exist without a huge abundance and variety of herbs and spices. Armenians can season their dishes with virtually any herb that grows on their land. Meat, vegetables, cheese and the famous lavash are the main ingredients of the dishes. You can often find legumes in salads. Armenian chefs do not like to use vegetable oil, and in general, food processing is kept to a minimum, everything is natural.
Armenia produces its own varieties of cheese: twisted thin “chechil” and soft “zhazhik” with the addition of garlic and herbs. The most famous and popular fermented milk product is “matsun”, which, when diluted with water, turns into “tan”.
Meat dishes prevail in Armenian cuisine, here the attitude towards meat is special, very respectful. The meat is always marinated and prepared for cooking for a very long time and carefully, which makes its taste completely unique. It is worth enjoying the shish kebab “khorovats” (called differently depending on the method of cooking on fire or in a saucepan), for which only large pieces of meat are used. Often the famous fat tail fat is also involved in barbecue, such a dish is called “ iki-bir ”. Armenians love “kufta” – meat balls from boiled chop meat and meatballs.
A well-known dish is ” dolma” made from meat and grape leaves and “pasuts tolma”, it is the same, but lean. By mixing chicken meat with wheat porridge, you can get a dish “arisa”, and by boiling lamb with peas, “bozbash”. It is worth trying the famous “basturma”, liver-vegetable mixture “tisvzhik”, meat “sujukh” and much more.
What is oriental cuisine without pilaf. Here it exists in many variations, they add pomegranate (“nrov plav”), smoked fish (“plav aphtats dzkov”) and dried fruits (“chrov plav”). The hallmark of Armenian cuisine is also a fish dish “ishkhan khorovats”, which is a Sevan trout fried on a spit.
Not complete in Armenian cuisine without soups. The famous stew “poch ” from beef tail, soup on matsun “saved”, a kind of odorous “khash”, “chulumbur apur” with rice and onions, mushroom “sunki apur”. Soups are cooked even from dried fruits. An indispensable addition to the soup (as well as to many other dishes) is a thin unleavened cake – Armenian lavash. It is prepared according to age-old recipes in the oven. Matnakash bread is also supposed to be on the table.
Among the confectionery products, puff pastry with “gata” filling stands out, different types of cookies: “shpot”, “yugatert”, “bagarj”, etc. You can enjoy candied apricots, stuffed peaches, dried apricots and figs, delicious halva, pies, jams other
The main alcoholic drink in Armenia is, of course, cognac, produced on the basis of the best grapes. The Yerevan Brandy Factory produces varieties such as “Ani”, “Otborny”, “Akhtamar”, “Armenia” and others. The longest aging of 20 years has the brandy “Nairi”. Also in Armenia they make good wine, high-quality mulberry vodka, which is also healthy. Famous soft drinks are tarragon and local mineral water.
