Armenia Armenia is one of the oldest countries known to man.

It was recorded on the oldest world map, the Babylon Clay Tablet, in 6th century B.C. and is still thriving today. It was the first country to really adopt Christianity. Armenia's official name is actually the Republic Of Armenia. Armenia has been taken over and ruled by many different countries over its long history, including the Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, Arab, and Persian. Most of Turkey used to be Armenia, until the Turks took over most of it. With it they took Mt. Ararat, which is said to be the mountain Noah's Arc landed on. Armenia is a land-locked country between the Caspian Sea and the Black sea. Because of its unique geographical position, Armenia has a wide variety of flowers. 108 of flowers have been counted that are unique just to Armenia. There is evidence that the trees existing in Armenia also existed in ancient times. Traditional Armenian culture is a lot different than ours, They are very colorful. The traditional man's suit consisted of silk or cotton color shirt with low collar and side fastener and wide trousers from dark wool or cotton. Over the shirt Armenians put on cotton or silk arkhaluk outerwear with low collar fastened waist down with hooks or small buttons. A heavier item was called chukka; it was made of wool and worn with a narrow big buckled belt. Women wear Colorful dresses with beading and sequins, with a vest, which is usually the main part of the garment, and a big buckled belt as well. On their head they wear a veil like head

dress with a band that goes around your head with two large braids coming down the sides and a white veil that comes out of the top. Armenian food is very fresh and is very leaned towards the crops they have locally but there cuisine is also influenced by other places. Foods most commonly used in Armenian cuisine are cracked wheat, lamb, yogurt, bread and eggplant. Armenia has pretty good relations with almost every country in the world, except for Azerbaijan and Turkey. Turkey has issues with Armenia because they wont acknowledge the Armenian Genocide of 1915. The Armenian Genocide is also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Great Crime, and the Armenian Massacre. In the Armenian genocide One and a half million Armenians were killed. Most Americans in Armenians living in America are children or grandchildren of the survivors, although some survivors are still living. On April 24, Armenians commemorate the tragedy which happened on that day in 1915. 300 Armenian leaders, thinkers, professionals, and writers in Constantinople were rounded up, deported, and killed. On that same day, 5,000 of the poorest Armenians were murdered in their homes and in the streets. The Armenian genocide was created by the Central Committee of the Young Turk Party. The remaining Armenians were taken from their homes, told they would be relocated, and then marched off to concentration camps in the desert between Jerablus and Deir ez-Zor. They would starve and thirsted to death in the sun. The Armenian flag was accepted June 15,2006. The national flag consists

of three horizontal stripes. Red is at the top, followed by blue in the middle and orange at the bottom. The red represents Armenias independence and freedom, the highlands of Armenia, and the struggle of Armenia that has continued on throughout their history, and their Christian faith. The blue represents Armenias belief under peaceful skies. The orange represents the talent and hard work they put toward the bettering of their country. The flag is always twice as long as it is wide. The modern coat of arms for Armenia is a remake of the old one. The modern version was also accepted on June15 2006, along with the flag. It is a shield; Noahs arc represents Mount Ararat. There are four mini coat of arms represented in it, and those represent the four royal dynasties in the history of Armenia; The Bargratunides, Artashesides, Arshakounides, and the Rubenides. Under the shield is an eagle and a lion. Also below the shield is a branch, a sword, spikes, a ribbon and a chain. The whole shield is gold with red and blue surrounding and orange center, the same color as the flag. Armenias population is 3,077,087 as of 2008, and as of recently has been declining. 97.9% of the population is ethnic Armenians. 1.3% are Yazidis and .5% are Russian.