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WORLD ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE AN AVID INTEREST IN PREHISTORIC ARMENIA
by Ian Lindsay
"Take a close look because you'll probably be the last Westerner to see these petroglyphs. They'll probably be gone tomorrow," Dr. Pavel Avetisyan told me, shaking his head.
Dr. Avetisyan, an archaeologist at the Armenian Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, had taken me on a field trip to the Armavir region to see a breathtaking example of 6,000-year-old rock art near Aghavnatun.
VILLAGE LIFE IN TAVUSH: EXISTENCE ON THE BORDER OF AZERBAIJAN
by Arpi Harutyunyan
TAVUSH
Administrative center: Ijevan (population 20,200)
Education: 82 schools of general education, 14 schools of music and art, 3 institutes of higher education (1 private).
Healthcare: 13 out-patient polyclinics, 3 health centers and 7 hospitals.
Industry: Carpet making, woodworking, mining (limestone, clay, lithographic stone, dolomite).
Agriculture: 93,754 hectares, mostly producing grains.
In Ijevan, the governor of Tavush is asked a question about living conditions in her province.
VILLAGE LIFE IN SHIRAK: FROM "POOR AND WEAK" TO "GOOD BUT NOT EXCELLENT"
by Zhanna Alexanyan
Administrative center: Gyumri (population 149,900)
Population: 282,500 (8.8 % of republic's total population)
Education: 193 state and 3 non state schools of general education, 23 music and art, 41 sport, 56 pre-schools, 9 state and non-state secondary specialized, 6 state and 2 non-state universities
Healthcare: 37 out-patient polyclinics and 19 hospitals
Industry: Production of construction materials including tuff and pumice
Agriculture: Grain farming and cattle-breeding
PROVINCIAL NEIGHBORHOOD: THE DISTANCE OF VILLAGE LIFE NEAR THE CAPITAL
by Gayane Abrahamyan
Hardly an hour's drive from Yerevan's metered service and expanding varieties of bottled water, the 750 residents of the Ararat province's Yeraskh village get their water every two days from a two-ton truck, filling canisters and jugs and pots and buckets 40 liters at a time for about 35 cents.
Yeraskh resident Albert Petrosian spends about $2 a week on water - that's $8 a month out of his $14 pension.
FACING A BRIGHTER FUTURE: LOCAL AND OUTSIDE EFFORTS TURN DESPAIR TO HOPE
by Julia Hakobyan and John Hughes
Editor's Note: An issue of stories devoted to village life cannot avoid unpleasant reality; many Armenian villages tolerate sub-standard living conditions. But neither should highlights be overlooked, especially if the success of one village encourages perseverance by others. Here, then, is a look at how some revival efforts are paying off, with a hope of many more to be repeated.
A SWEET TASTE OF OUR HALLOWED GROUNDS: DO-GOODING IN ARMENIA IS WORTH THE TRIP
by Varant Yessayan
Perhaps the oddest moment during my trip to Armenia came when Stepan, our guide, spiced up the already bumpy drive in his Lada Niva 4x4 by popping a cassette into the car stereo. The chugging riff to Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" punched its way out of the speakers, Robert Plant's inimitable wail filling the cab with electrifying treble. "Live at the Royal Albert Hall," Stepan informed us.