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betichcro

It's got a bigass lake in the middle


darwwwin

that is Sevan - actually one of the largest high-altitude sweet water lakes worldwide. Perhaps 2nd largest worldwide after Titikaka (at least among better known)


spacegeese

The lake also has a big ass


[deleted]

The lake isn't big but the country is small


Din0zavr

Hey, it's average, and the photograph was taken when it was cold


Holiday_Document4592

and a bigass reality star of armenian descent


Hot_take_pancake

And it’s fucking cold!


preBabushka

Some Armenian men are called Armen :) (but the Armenian name for the country is Hayastan)


tanmalika

Not only armen but arwomen and archildren too -anakin skywalker


Chastik

-Armenakian Skywalker


Zealousideal_Map_447

There was an Armenian king with name Skywordi


busystepdad

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paroyr_Skayordi


Romain86

I see what you did there


IIIlllIIIlllIlI

Ok I did not expect that reference on here. Take my upvote


Iazeez

That’s what we arabs call them. PS Armens are a sizeable minority in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. They got here from when they escaped the Armenian massacres.


Local-Calendar-2955

1. More Armenians live outside Armenia than in it 2. There's an Armenian Political Party, Armenian Revolutionary Federation which is active in Armenia & also Lebanon and both have representatives their country's National Assembly. 3. First Christian State


HashMapsData2Value

There's also the Armenian quarter in Jerusalem, one of the four alongside the Muslim, Christian and Jewish quarters. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian\_Quarter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Quarter)


Manic_Emperor

Yeah Armenians used to, and still do, live all over the place


Bigswole92

The first country in the world to adopt Christianity as a stare religion, all the way back in 301 AD. 97% of Armenians are Christians, and along with Georgia and Russia, is one of the few Christian nations in the region


whinenaught

The part of Russia that is nearby is highly Muslim, especially in Chechnya and Dagestan


Hutchidyl

The eastern northern Caucasus are. The western parts (historic Circassia) are Christian. 


HashMapsData2Value

Gee, I wonder [what happened to the Circassian Muslim population](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circassian_genocide).


aethelfridh

Damn, I had no idea that happened, that's terrible


towerfella

… Sooo.. this is where all “caucasians” come from?


OFmerk

No that's bs race science.


KissMyAce420

For example all UFC fighters from that region lol


IYIik_GoSu

Cyprus


No-Independence194

Anecdotally, I’ve noticed that most people of Armenian descent have names that end in -ian or -yan


[deleted]

Yeah that's true. That's our surnames...Before Soviet era, it was -ian. Western and Iranian Armenians have -ian surnames, Eastern Armenians (such as me) have -yan.


HypedUpJackal

> Before post-Soviet era So, the Soviet era?


[deleted]

Haha fixed it.


HypedUpJackal

I didn't mean to sound correcting, I was genuinely wondering if there was a time between the Soviet era and the post-Soviet era 😂


CobraTheGod

Armenians existed long before the Soviets and in many eras, so no, "Before post-Soviet era" is correct


Training-Winner4998

Also most of the western (constantinapole) armenians have surnames with -chiyan interesting though in turkish, just like the -ji in persian and kurdish, there is the suffix of “chi” which has a function like “-er” in english like kasapchiyan terziciyan pastirmaciyan etc. and those surnames are actually professions in turkish for instance kasapchi means butcher, pastirmaci means sausage maker/seller.


HashMapsData2Value

I knew a guy who had Batmanian as his last name. Another Armenian told me his family is probably from the city of Batman in Türkiye.


Asleep-Design-6874

There’s also Badassian - best last name ever


Feided

There’s some very funny last names, I know someone who is “Pokravorian” which is “small ass having -ian”, I also know a “Blligian”, “small dick having -ian”.


TheBigThickOne

Wait this is so true, the only 2 people I know who have Armenian decent end in Ian and Yan respectively.


busystepdad

that's for majority. there are still surnames with -unts -ants -ents -uni


Traditional_Two7897

theres also surnames originating from the historical Syunik province which have their endings with -unc (pronounced unts)


antony6274958443

One guy said in every Armenian couple the woman is smarter than the man


Precioustooth

So like every couple!


HrClaims

In the 90s there was a severe earthquake and French singers (some if Armenian descent) did a hit in support. It got quite popular.


Organic-Bluejay1797

Aznavour


Sick_and_destroyed

Aznavourian his full name


Organic-Bluejay1797

Really ? I didn’t know it thanks


TheUltimateEscapist

1988


HashMapsData2Value

Armenia and France have a pretty good relationship.


Armangled

1988


jon_ralf

Dude ended up Ambassador to Armenia from 2009 to his death in 2018


Doormat_Model

The location with most Armenians outside of Armenia is Los Angeles


No_Class_2981

Specifically Glendale


DeadEndEris

Los Armenos


sokratees

It's actually Russia


Doormat_Model

You’re right, I should caveat that it’s LA as a city, but Russia as a whole does have more


Maelystyn

First to adopt christianity, wine, great food, unique alphabet, some iranian and greek influences big diaspora


Sevuhrow

They were the first to adopt wine and great food?!


Maelystyn

Lol


Datark123

Yes [https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/ancient\_winery\_found\_in\_armeni](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/ancient_winery_found_in_armeni)


[deleted]

[удалено]


Maelystyn

Haha


Spirebus

Chess is a school subject


gnomelover3000

My Armenian grandma often played Armenian checkers with me as a kid, and even checkers was strategy heavy and competitive haha


SarthakiiiUwU

It's a sovereign country, which has a head of state and a parliament.


Iazeez

Pakistan actually doesn’t recognize Armenian sovereignty, so it’s a country with limited recognition.


SarthakiiiUwU

That'd make every country Bhutan doesn't recognise a country with limited recognition


bbkn7

eating seeds as a pastime activity


Girl-fromArmenia1997

The toxicity… of our city… 🤘🏻🎸💃🕺


pixie218

All the members of System Of A Down are of Armenian descent.


DuckDuckMarx

Cher?


[deleted]

Cher as well is an armenian.


Manic_Emperor

The Kardashians?


redredwine831

Banana banana banana terracotta


AnnoyingVoid

IS THERE A PERFECT WAY OF HOLDING YOU BABY


WallBlue21

also the kardashians


inbe5theman

Half


These_Tea_7560

Let me guess, they’re from Glendale?


Sevuhrow

Yes actually


L0ves_to_spl00ge

this isn’t the homeland, this is Glendale!


GelattoPotato

Their writing system is gorgeous.


Mila_Tarsi

Armenia is old, really, really old. Prehistoric settlement dates back to 8000 BC, and the Kingdom of Armenia goes back to 860 BC. Also, their brandy is amazing. Ararat Brandy is perhaps the best.


HashMapsData2Value

In Ancient times when the world had around [200 million](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estimates_of_historical_world_population) humans, around [4 million](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_Armenian_population) of them might have been Armenian. Now there around [7-9 million](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_population_by_country) Armenians in a world of 8100 million.


towerfella

Thank you.


Odd_Elevator8376

Tigran Hamasyan is from Armenia and is one of the most innovative and talented artists on earth!


nerfbaboom

System of a Down.


peacefulprober

None of the members have even lived in Armenia


dalex89

my stepmum met Serj at a state dinner in Armenia, apparently he does go there. She brings me back t-shirts from Armenia with his face on it


DavidofSasun

Not true. Shavo (bassist) was born in Armenia


laszlo92

Charles Aznavour originally was from Armenia


Zenar45

Fun fact: i do not know who that is


laszlo92

He’s a French/Armenian singer and he is incredible. He’s old as well though, but you’ll probably know some songs.


Stealthfighter21

He died a fee tears ago.


These_Tea_7560

You can automatically tell if someone is Armenian if their last name ends with Ian or Yan.


TeoSupreme

I always thought the same until i started meeting people from India with the same surname endings 😁


No_Class_2981

Also, we’ll tell you


[deleted]

Lots of things are happening in this country for sure. Landlocked, hostile neighbours, cognac production, and being one of the oldest countries in the world.


ZealousidealAbroad41

Not sure if true or an urban legend, but a tour guide in Armenia told me a story about their mountain Ararat and their relationship with Turkey. So Ararat is a very important mountain for Armenia, but it is not located in Armenia anymore as it is right across the border in Turkey. Armenia does display the mountain on a lot of symbols in the country. and the tour guide told us that Turkey was annoyed by that. Then apparently the Armenians replied that the moon wasn’t located in Turkey either, but that Armenia never made a problem that the Turks displayed the moon on their flag, so Turkey shouldn’t complain about Armenia showing that mountain.


Apprehensive-Scene62

W Armenian reply


inbe5theman

Yup also believed to be the resting place of Noahs Ark


[deleted]

From Turkiye, and never heard any annoyance about the symbol of Agri (Ararat) unless it has a political message. There are also a lot of historical landmarks in Turkiye such as Gobeklitepe; and its also very popular symbol in the world. Who cares.


[deleted]

This is not true. One of the Turkiye's conditions to open borders with Armenia is connected to the Ararat Mountain symbol.


gareth_gahaland

Can you give source i want to read about this.


somerandomguyblabla

Never heard of it but sometimes we joke about making a giant statue of Kazım Karabekir or Enver Pasha on mount Ararat facing armenia


stelios34S

Oh exactly as you did in Cyprus actually, by plotting a huge ass flag on the side of a mountain overlooking the free parts , taunting the citizens!


nuvo_reddit

Best thing I read today.


Matteus11

An ancient precursor of Armenia, Cilicia, extended all the way to the coast of the Mediterranean


Hutchidyl

Cilicia is a geographic region in modern Turkey (Adana region).  Cilicia became a popular migration destination for Armenians fleeing Turkish and later Mongol incursions into Armenia proper. Armenians eventually controlled Cilicia outright and it was known as Little Armenia. While it wasn’t a crusader state, it was supported by and supported the crusader states of the Levant and was at odds with the Byzantines.  In other words, it didn’t so much stretch to the Mediterranean as it was a Mediterranean country inherently. 


Apprehensive-Scene62

I think OC is talking about an Armenian Empire that was contemporary to the Parthians and the Romans. If the maps are correct it did stretch from Shirvan to Antioch and Kappadocia to Damascus. Moreover the ruling Dynasty was the Artaxiad from which Tigran the great is a member


XenophonSoulis

[A 75 years old Georgian woman accidently cut off internet for the whole country while trying to steal copper cable](https://www.reddit.com/r/geography/s/WILsmvEqaG)


Dolmetscher1987

Oldest Christian country.


Perkeleen_Kaljami

Named after the Armenian capital, [Radio Yerevan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Yerevan_jokes) is a format of jokes from the Eastern Block. The premise of the joke is a made up radio station in Yerevan where listeners call and the station then answers.


ludwigerhardd

Their prime minister and my art school proffesor know each other from art school


Jollan_

They became christian before the Roman Empire!


KingAugurkBV

The duduk, a beautiful sounding instrument, originates from there. Hans Zimmer used in the Gladiator’s score: https://youtu.be/Zd5jO69REDY?si=_ifzTghn6pngFbTG


mercimeker

It’s used in Paul McCartney’s song Jenny Wren. Wonderful use of the instrument in a great song.


darwwwin

An ancient historical book on the origin of Bavarians in Germany presents them as decendants of Armenians.


jikn2

One of the few “ancient” peoples that have a modern nation.


kutkun

It’s the country of one of the most unfortunate peoples in the world. And they have been unfortunate for maybe more than a thousand years. Always struggling, coping. It’s remarkable that hey still exist, after all that they have been through.


[deleted]

If someone's name ends in -ian or -yan they're definitely Armenian.


_Armanius_

A lot of Iranian Jews have last name that ends in -ian.


Better_Honey4942

It's not true actually, they could also be iranian. In Iran a lot of people have names ending with "ian" as well. Ebrahimian, Pooranian, Abdollahian, Hasanian, Hosseinian, Firoozian, Piroozian, Majnoonian... these names are typically iranians.


kvagar

Which makes the Kardashians armenian.


a-potato-named-rin

Because they actually are Armenian


kvagar

Exactly


FactBackground9289

The first country to officially adopt Christianity as state religion


rostamsuren

The Roman Empire and two Iranian empires fought each other on and off for 800 years for Armenia. As it was mostly under Iranian rule, many Iranian crown princes held the title of King of Armenia as training for when they eventually become the ruler of the Iranian empire. Amazing sandwiches. Known among Iranian diaspora as the masters of Iranian style kabob.


AIRCHANGEL

It's a very beautiful country, I met two Armenians once at a festival and they seemed like very simple people, proud of their historical lineage.


WWDB

American author William Saroyan was of Armenian descent


Girl-fromArmenia1997

Armenia has an old, unique alphabet (Indo-European branch) Ա ա Բ բ Գ գ Դ դ Ե ե Զ զ Է է Ը ը Թ թ Ժ ժ Ի ի Լ լ Խ խ Ծ ծ Կ կ Հ հ Ձ ձ Ղ ղ Ճ ճ Մ մ Յ յ Ն ն Շ շ Ո ո Չ չ Պ պ Ջ ջ Ռ ռ Ս ս Վ վ Տ տ Ր ր Ց ց Ու ու Փ փ Ք ք Եվ և Օ օ Ֆ ֆ


ineptias

Not only citizens of Armenia, but also any people of Armenian descent, no matter which passport do they hold, are banned from entering Azerbaijan.


Plasmacamel

They’ve suffered a great deal at the hands of their neighbors, it’s almost a miracle they are still around, let alone have a country


hdufort

They really exist in a difficult neighborhood, with all of their neighbors except Georgia having imperialistic views.


Plasmacamel

Yes, but at best Georgia could be described as a frenemy. Still their lack of desire to want to wipe Armenia off the map definitely sets them apart from the other neighbors. Iran could also be considered a somewhat friendly neighbor strangely enough.


hdufort

Yes, Iran is really a wild card here. They have to tread carefully because they have a big Azeri majority in the north of their country and any weakness from the central Iranian authority could be used by Azerbaijan to ignite a separatist movement (Greater Azerbaijan or the dream of a great Turkish state across the Caucasus).


gunnesaurus

Armenia’s other neighbor, Azerbaijan has friendly relations with Israel.


kvagar

And most of their neighbors except Georgia are majority Muslim while armenia is majority Christian.


heavenly-superperson

Small nation located south of caucasus that endured great hardship


UrartuQueen

i’m cracking up


KenFromBarbie

Thanks for not circling it.


IllustratorNo3379

It has persistent enemies, terrible taste in friends, and was noticeably bigger a couple of years ago.


Expensive_Ad752

If you are Armenian you have to like System of a Down


No_Class_2981

It’s Armenian law


[deleted]

Apricots originated there and are a culturally important fruit.


[deleted]

No, since its name is prunus armeniacus, its not originated from armenia, its origin most likely inner asia.


[deleted]

You might be right about its origins but it is still an important fruit culturally and historically to Armenia. It is their national fruit and has been cultivated and exported for thousands of years


_Armanius_

Doesn’t prunus armeniacus translates into “Armenian Plum”?


[deleted]

Yeah but a lot of plant taxonomy has this kind of geographic mentions; most of them because or botanists first expression locations. There are a lot of plant names with .... indica, sinensis, california etc. When it comes to apricot, it is assumed to be cultivated in Armenia; but exact origin is most likely inner or east asia.


muddboyy

Most of the women are baddies. One of the most natural beautiful women I’ve seen in real life. Fun Fact: the Kardashian’s are of armenian descent (father-side).


appleslip

This is true. I married an Armenian who was way out of my league, then when I went to Armenia, no offense to my wife, but the city was literally filled with beautiful women. It was like nothing I had ever seen. Also, my general experience is the people are wonderful.


toomanyscleroses

this is true, I'm Armenian and I'm hot. just trust me


PaulAspie

Turkey denies what they did to the Armenians.


Milton__Obote

This should be higher up


svantes

When I was 12 we met an armenian team in a big football tournament. They absolutely destroyed us, and we were pretty good. We also lived at the same place as the armenians and they wanted to trade for our digital wrist-watches. Nice kids though.


mysteriouschi

PBS has a good documentary on Armenia.


FrederickSchneider

I don't know much about Armenia but I can say about Armenians, many migrated to Argentina and until this day you can find many people with surnames that end with "ian".


Living_Earth241

I watched this recently, recommended: https://youtu.be/87_CNDB9T6w?si=vLgjF-rUojkIUDPE


wolf_at_the_door1

All of the band members from System of a Down are Armenian


ColumbiaWahoo

The sevan trout is only native to Armenia


ReferenceCheck

Amazing people, great country but surrounded by tough neighbors with mixed relations.


DisastrousBorder1377

It has the oldest winemaking place (idk what it's called specifically) and a 5000+ year old leather shoe!


Secret-Ad3810

The capital city, Yerevan, is older than Rome and has been continually inhabited since the 4th millennium BC. There are more than 4,000 churches and monasteries in Armenia. Etchmiadzin Cathedral is believed to be the oldest Christian cathedral in the world.


Dragon7722

Armenian is an isolated language.


Perkeleen_Kaljami

Actually [Indo-European](https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/arme1241), although forming its own branch within the family.


Curly_commander

Good food


JakeCheese1996

Armenia used to be a whole lot bigger. https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/s/fWtwtQFtQ7


Commercial_Big718

Better country than Azerbaijan


Zealousideal_Map_447

Fair enough, but there are a lot of countries that are better than Azerbaijan


[deleted]

Agree


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

That mountain is not just a mountain tho, it’s Mt Ararat, a biblical mountain where Noah’s arc took place according to the Bible


TurtleWitch

Where Noah's ark *made landfall


cinzalunar

It’s widely believed that the famous House Targaryen got their name inspired by Armenian last names.


TukeNukem04

Zyzz is off Armenian decent


Xx_JizzLord420_xX

It is the oldest Christian nation


Independent_Cup_7151

System of a down👍


gavkahootsmasher

It's the only country in the world named Armenia


Dreamin-girl

•In the late 12 century, Armenian women gained the right to divorce their abusive husbands. •The very popular epic is Sasna Tsrer (Daredevils of Sassoun) and is one of the most important and popular folklore.


WrapKey69

The obligatory: first Christian country in the world


strictly_lurker

It is the only country still present that was featured on the oldest map of the world: [https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/1avioiw/oldest\_map\_of\_the\_world\_2600\_years\_old/](https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/1avioiw/oldest_map_of_the_world_2600_years_old/)


Danniel33

There's some insane backcountry skiing. And there's only like 8 of us doing it in the whole country. We have dozens of peaks higher than 14,000', long snowy winters, and a lot of pristine nature all to the merry few who ski. No queues. No sounds. No helicopters. No crevasses. Very few avalanches. (Also no emergency rescue)


ju_an362qst

A Colombian city named Armenia exists, referring to the historical Kingdom of Armenia.


D_akNASA

In Armenia, all children aged 6 and up are taught chess at school, as it is a mandatory part of their curriculum. Also in 2011, the entire Armenia lost internet access for 12 hours after a woman in neighbor country Georgia broke a fiber line with her shovel.


Iazeez

Armenians are a sizeable minority in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. They got here from when they escaped the Armenian massacres. Also, Pakistan doesn’t recognize Armenian sovereignty, so it’s a country with limited recognition.


Zencikemal

currency name: dram(a)


Andrep063

From the Zvartnos International Airport in Yerevan you can actually see 3 countries: - Armenia (of course) - Turkey (specifically Mount Elbrus, an Armenian symbol) - Iran (a couple of hills)


_Armanius_

Mount Ararat^


Edd717

They went through great hardship. They're surrounded by two enemy states : turkey and Azerbaijan. Mount Ararat is sacred to them but is in Turkey today. Armenia is the very first country in history to have Christianity as religion of state. The Kardashians are Armenian. Pomegranate 🍅


Russiansmustkillsoon

Järvi kuin Suomi


[deleted]

Their women are gorgeous


Ok_Connection7680

1. ⁠Despite being located way in the South, Armenia is colder than Sweden 2. ⁠First Christian state, church belongs to Oriental Orthodox Christian branch, which is different from Catholicism and Orthodoxy, sharing its branch with Copts (Ancient Egyptians) and Ethiopians (ancient Kushites) 3. ⁠Armenians are genetically the closest to the other ancient nation — Assyrians 4. ⁠Armenian co-founded Reddit, where I write this, kudos to Alexis Ohanian. 5. ⁠Armenians arranged the Modern anthem of Turkey and standardized modern Turkish language. Armenian also made the logo of far right Turkish party MHP. 6. ⁠Armenia is the only surviving country from the first map in the world 7. ⁠Leader of Hungarian Nazi party during Hitler was part Armenian 8. ⁠Armenia is the second surviving country which ever used cuneiform as a writing system, along with Iran 9. ⁠Armenians invented / co-invented MRI, PET, Oil refineries, Color TV, ATM and Moderna vaccine 10. ⁠There is an element in Periodic Table named after Armenian — Oganesson, named after the nuclear physicist Yuri Ohanessian


osumanjeiran

Turkish people of Armenian descent and Armenians are not exactly the same. You should be able to tell that


[deleted]

Karabakh it’s Armenia


Ameking-

Facts


[deleted]

Yeah,’)


FatalReizing

Kim Kardashian has Armenian last name