Armenia Flag

The national flag of Armenia, the Armenian Tricolour (Armenian: Եռագույն, Yeřaguyn), consists of three horizontal bands of equal width, red on the top, blue in the middle, and orange (also described as "colour of apricot") on the bottom. The Armenian Supreme Soviet adopted the current flag on 24 August 1990. On 15 June 2006, the Law on the National Flag of Armenia, governing its usage, was passed by the National Assembly of Armenia.

Throughout history, there have been many variations of the Armenian flag. In ancient times, Armenian dynasties were represented by different symbolic animals displayed on their flags. In the twentieth century, various Soviet flags represented the Armenian SSR.

The meanings of the colors are interpreted in many different ways. For example, red stands for the blood of the 1.5 million Armenians killed in the Armenian Genocide, blue is for the Armenian pure sky, and orange, represents the country's courage.

Armenia (along with Georgia) is not one of the easier countries of the Caucasus to visit; though there are more and more road signs in Latin script especially in Yerevan. English is not widely spoken. For instance many taxi drivers and sales ladies in the grocery stores and malls do not speak and understand English. Russian has remained the most important foreign language. Police don't appear to be too crooked, at least not in Yerevan, and in general the country appears to be both reasonably safe and well-organised.

On a trip to Armenia, you will frequently be reminded that Armenia was the world's first officially Christian country. You will have a hard time forgetting this as a tourist, since countless monasteries are among Armenia's premier tourist attractions. Fortunately for those who might otherwise suffer monastery fatigue, many of these monasteries are built in places of incredible natural beauty, making the sites of monasteries like Tatev, Noravank, Haghartsin, Haghpat and Geghard well worth a visit even without the impressive, millennium old monasteries found there.

Since 2001, when Armenia celebrated the 1,700th anniversary of the nation’s conversion to Christianity, the growth in the number of tourists has grown by about 25% every year. Straddling Europe and Asia in the lesser Caucasus Mountains, an ex-Soviet state, with a culture over 3,000 years old and examples of ancient architecture and art all over the countryside, this beautiful country offers something exotic for many tourists.

Armenian history extends for over 3,000 years. Armenians have historically inhabited the "Armenian Highlands", a vast section of mountains and valleys across eastern Anatolia and the Southern Caucasus. Armenian vassal states, principalities, kingdoms and empires would rise and fall in different parts of this highland during history. They were only unified once, just before the time of Christ in the empire of Tigran the Great, stretching from the Caspian to the Mediterranean Sea. Much of the history was spent under the domination of the great powers of the region. The western parts of Armenia were for long periods under Byzantine or Ottoman Turkish rule, while the eastern parts were under Persian or Russian rule. These empires often fought their wars on Armenian territory, using Armenian soldiers. It was a rough neighborhood, but Armenians managed to hold on to their language and church, and prosper whenever given a chance. Being located on the silk road, Armenians built a network of merchant communities and ties extending from eastern Asia to Venice. Eventually, with the onslaught of nationalism, Armenians paid a heavy price for their religion and their envy-inducing wealth.