Look at these funky metal and plastic transparent treehouse domes. So strange that I've lived about 500 meters from this place for a long time, and only found hem recently! They are so inviting, especially on a cool or cold evening with a beautiful sunset, when you don't want to miss the sky-show, but also want to be warm.
There are many such domes of different sizes here on Tsitsernakaberd hill, in an area about 400m in perimeter and 1060m above sea level. The hill rises over western parts of Yerevan and its name means "Castle of Swallows", which comes from Pagan times, when there was a whole worshiping complex with temples dedicated to the Pagan Armenian Goddess of beauty Astghik. The legend says there were trained bird-messengers back then, carrying letters from Astghik to the temples of her lover and the God of fire and thunderstorm Vahagn, hundreds of miles away, spread across the Armenian Highland. Then they'd carry his replies back to Astghik.
Another great thing about this hill is that you can see all of the surrounding mountains very well, including Ararat, Aragats, Yeranos etc. I haven't discovered yet which ones of them can be seen from the higher domes, the transparent geodesic tree houses, but I think Ararat should be visible. There's another interesting POI nearby, which you can see from here very well: the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex built in 1983 and which looks like an alien ship. The Armenian Genocide museum is nearby, too.
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It truly is a Soviet masterpiece considering its unique design and build: it is part metro station, part cavern and, once upon a time, part cafe.
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"Homeland Handycrafts" in Yerevan is a social enterprise designed to revive traditional Armenian crafts while employing the most vulnerable population...
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The "Open Air Cinema" in Yerevan in Moscow Cinema has a rich history, and Soviet ruin-porn enthusiasts can access the building all-year round, too!
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"Hanrapetutyan Street" in Yerevan is one of the most central in the city, yet there is so much to see here. The buildings are really beautiful and old...
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"Ardēan": a center for art, architecture and design that has its gallery shop on Abovyan street in Yerevan. I like how they combine technology & tradition.
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The "Mermaids of the Underground" in Yerevan is a sculpture from 1981. The mermaids wear nothing but their hair, which was quite unusual for its time...
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The "Komitas Museum" in Yerevan is one of my favorite ones in the city. It gets me thinking about what Armenian music really is about...
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"Shengavit" is an impressive 6000-year-old settlement which is preserved even better than Yerevan's old town! It was an accidental discovery in the 1930s.
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"Melancholia" is a statue in Yerevan that truly expresses the feeling that has been increasingly affecting humankind in the last century...
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The "Cross-stone Makers" in Yerevan follow a tradition that goes back to 879 AD. The masters' metal tools on the stone create a meditative sound for me...
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"Calumet Ethnic Lounge Bar": THE place for good music in Yerevan. I don't come as often as I'd like to because of the smoke, but it's a must at least once.
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