Giant Stone Letters, Wandering Cows & a Little Armenian History — A Quirky Road Trip from Yerevan!
GENERAL INFO
🇦🇲 ATTRACTION: Armenian Alphabet Monument (Alphabet Park)
📍 LOCATION: Artashavan, Aragatsotn Province, Armenia
🏔️ SETTING: Slopes of Mount Aragats
🚗 FROM YEREVAN: 35–45 minutes by car
📅 BUILT: 2005
🎉 COMMEMORATES: 1,600 years of the Armenian alphabet
🔤 FEATURES: 39 giant stone Armenian letters
👤 ALPHABET CREATOR: Mesrop Mashtots (405 AD)
🏛️ MONUMENT DESIGN: Architect J. Torosyan
🎟️ ENTRY: Free outdoor monument
⏰ TIME NEEDED: Approximately 20–40 minutes
📸 HIGHLIGHTS: Giant letters, mountain views and photography
LOCATION
In 2005, the Armenian Alphabet celebrated its 1600th bday!
🗺️ GOOGLE MAPS:View location
Easy and quick to get to from Yerevan by car or van
FROM ANCIENT LETTERS TO GIANT STONE SCULPTURES!
ITS REALLY cool driving past this without knowing its there because its a shock to look out the window and see these beautiful coloured tuff stone huge letters scattered across the hill side!
When Mashtots began working on an Armenian alphabet, it was under great pressure so that it could be used to create a bible for the newly formed Christian kingdom.
Mashtots laid out the structure of the alphabet around the religion.
He made the first letter A, which was the first letter in the word Astvats, or God, and the last letter K’, which began the word K’ristos, Christ.
He then put the finishing touches on the last 36 letters and his system has been used ever since, aside from the addition of 3 more letters
The views from the car of the countryside is just beautiful! broken down cars, random russian looking cars everywhere
The cows stopped us a few times to cross the road
We passed by this huge cross! Its newly built with a new church nearby and they add a new cross on it every year
Newly built area and stage
By Armenian architect J. Torosyan
You really dont know what you are going to come across when you are driving through Armenia!
The surrounding scenery is just beautiful, quiet and so so serene, its a pleasure being here at this site
We were the only ones there snooping around
Peaceful countryside…
Set infront of Aragats Mountain
The Cross monument, walking distance from the Armenian Alphabet – They keep adding 1 cross per year to this monument, the amount of crosses lines up with the amount of years Armenia has been a Christian nation
You cant go a trip without getting stopped at least twice by a herd of some sort of cattle – i quite enjoy watching them slowly walk not given a care in the world!
The beautiful scenery along the way
Soviet vehicles are scattered all around the country mostly when you leave Yerevan you see more old school vehicles like this
An enjoyable trip, the Alphabet is worth seeing and taking a photo with your favourite letter
27JUN15
