Artashat
Artashat
Geographical Position
Artashat is a city on the Araks River in the Ararat valley. Being one of the oldest cities of Armenia, Artashat is the capital of the Ararat province.
Artashat has 25.3 thousand inhabitants and the city is situated 47 km from Yerevan (10 km from the north-west from Artashat); it occupies the area of 800 hectare.
General Description
Artashat is situated on the Yerevan-Nakhichevan-Baku and Nakhichevan-Tabriz railway and on theYerevan-Goris-Stepanakert highway.
Artashat has a multibranch industry, which has developed for 3 to 4 decades, after the establishment of wine, canning, milk, furniture, and textile factories. The chain of educational, cultural, and medical establishments have also been developed.
After some difficulties during the economical crisis during the 1990s in Armenia, many firms in Artashat overcame the hardships and began to introduce their products to the domestic and international markets.
In 2-5cc. B.C., Artashat was the capital city of Armenia. Artashat is located in the Vostan Hayots district of the Great Hayk Ararat province. This is a place where former river-beds of Eraskh and Metzamor were integrated on the Khor-Virap hills as well as their surroundings (now 10km. south-west in the Ararat district).
The old city is surrounded by river waters, and an artificial moat. Currently, the remnants of the walls and buildings of the old city still exist.
The city was established on the site of the former Urartu settlement, during the reign of Artashes I in 180 B.C. As recounted by the Greek historians, Artashat was built by the advice and instructions of the Carthagen general Hannibal, even though many experts doubt this testimony. Armenian and foreign historians unanimously extolled the greatness and the beauty of Artashat.
Nowadays, the cultural life of Artashat is enhanced with the presence of several cultural institutions. The city has a cultural palace, an art centre named after Charles Aznavour and a dramatic theatre named after Amo Kharazyan.
From Khor Virap monastery you can see the attractive view of Ararat mountain, which is A blessed place for all Armenians.
Cultural and historical places are:
From Khor Virap monastery you can see the attractive view of Ararat mountain, which is A blessed place for all Armenians.
