Ask locals, and they’ll tell you that a 19th century mountaintop church in the southeastern region of Syunik has a dangerous allure, somewhat like the Sirens of Greek mythology.
Narrow, winding stairs lead up to 60-year-old housecleaner Ophelia Hakobian’s poorly furnished room on the second floor of an apartment building in the Istanbul district of Kumkapi. The tiny room, barely 1.5 square meters in area, contains hanging laundry, a table and chairs and photographs of Hakobian’s son and grandchildren.
Often depicted as a disaster waiting to happen, Armenia’s 35-year-old nuclear power station, Metsamor, has passed muster with the International Atomic Energy Agency. But don’t expect the debate over the plant’s safety standards to end any time soon.
Supporters of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) - a bloc of government opposition parties - gathered in Yerevan's Liberty Square to celebrate the release of newspaper editor Nikol Pashinian and former parliament member Sasun Mikaelian. The two were serving prison sentences following the March 2008 post-election unrest in Yerevan. During the rally, Pashinian called for snap parliamentary and presidential elections in the Caucasus country.
Anahit Hayrapetyan is a freelance photojournalist based in Yerevan.
For the second year thousands of flowers are gathered by volunteers at the Tsitsernakaberd memorial in Yerevan following the ceremony commemorating the victims of mass killings by Ottoman Turks almost 100 years ago. Petals from many of the flowers were gathered and wrapped to be used to make postcards, while the rest are used to fertilize the trees in the area.
Anahit Hayrapetyan is a freelance photojournalist based in Yerevan.
Members of Armenia's ruling Prosperous Armenia Party hand out roses to women on the streets of the capital Yerevan in recognition of International Women's Day.
Anahit Hayrapetyan is a freelance photojournalist based in Yerevan.
Armenians celebrate St. Sargis' day on Feb. 19 in Yerevan's St. Sargis church and in the city's Lover's Park. St. Sargis Day is celebrated on a Saturday sometime around 63 days before Easter and marks the feast day of St. Sargis, the patron saint of young love. Unmarried Armenian women eat a piece of salty bread, ideally after fasting all day, in the hope of dreaming about their future husband. Tradition says the man who brings them water in the dream will be the man they marry.
Anahit Hayrapetyan is a freelance photojournalist based in Yerevan.
Armenians in the city of Echmiadzin celebrate Trndez, an orthodox ceremony of purification in the Armenian Catholic Church and the Apostolic Church. The celebration, dating from pre-Christian times, involves people jumping over fires and coals and usually begins the evening of Feb. 13.
Anahit Hayrapetyan is a freelance photojournalist based in Yerevan.
