Gyumri is a beautiful city! Every time I go I seem to find something interesting about it!
We caught the train into Gyumi from Yerevan, took 2 hours and was a really interesting ride where parts of it were along the border of Turkey and we passed many guard towers and
Gyumri is the administrative centre of Shirak Province
At the end of the 19th c. it was known as Alexandropol and was the largest city of Russian ruled Eastern Armenia – this explains the beautful soviet like buildings in the older part of the city centre
Population is around 120k
Pretty close to the Turkish border (yellow line)
The city centre of Gyumri
Its a very historic city with so many museums around to visit and enjoy
Locals love these fountains and line up to get a cold fresh splash of water throughout the day
Its called Pulpulak as it relates to the murmuring of the water from the water source
I found out that they are also built to honor someone who passed or did something remarkable – and when you see these pulpulaks, you often have to bow down to sip the water and it is a way of paying respects to the deceased person
Armenia is one of the lucky countries where there is an abundance of pure fresh water thats always available for its inhabitants
Look at these beautiful old buildings! You would never see something so well made and beautiful these days!
One of the main touist streets, Abovyan St which is fun and has beautiful old buildings lining each side
Highlighted in yellow Abovyan St – Ponchik Monchik (top right) – Al Saviors Church (bottom left)
You can cycle around in one of these quad bike thingy…
The way to grab the tourists! “photo photo photo?”
There are many many derelict buildings around that are not expenisve to buy and just need a new loving owner to think of a brilliant idea for these old beauties… hostel? shop? airbnb? cafe? 🙂
Still have those small little soviet cars around, I like them though! remind me of my sukuzi vitara!
Vartanants Square
The town square of Gymuri – decorated with several fountains with a memorial to the Battle of Avrayr at the central part
The Battle of Avarayrmonument – with a statue of Vartan Maikonian at the centre of the memorial on the horse
There are 4 important buildings surounding this square:
- The Gumri City Hall (built in 1933)
- The 19th c. Church of the Holy Saviour
- The 19th c. Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God
- A beauiful hotel built in 1927 and shops and cafes (Ponchik Monchik!)
Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God
Church of the Holy Saviour
Its a beautiful 19th. c church constructed between 1858-1872 and consecrated in 1873
The architect was Tadeos Andikyan, a domed basilica style
During the earthquake of 1988, the church was severely damaged and has been renovated since 2002 and the restoration is in its final stages
This bit of concrete is part of the original church which is now sitting behind the church and a monument to the earthquake
The inside is beautifully recreated, a bit modern, but beautiful
This is a pic of the church after the earthquake
“Leninakan” Gyumri in 1926 with the Church in the background
Walked out of town a little bit to see the suburbs and thre are a lot of buildings getting renewed or built, the streets are still dirt when you head out further from the city centre
The beatifully paved roads of Gyumri
A beautiful monument which looked to have some sort of water feature to it
Cheers to Aussies in Gyumi and to new friends!
These things were interesting!
Nothing on the other side of this door but rubble! Door still has curtains though lol
Said to have been populated since the 3rd BC and was known as Kumayri in the historic Urartian inscriptions and since then there have been many different rulers and changes throughout
SO much has gone on and this city, it really holds its own in history… It has its past steeped in many different eras, just a small look into this:
> Gyumri was previously known as Alexandropol and the largest city of Russian ruled Eastern Armenia > Was a major centre for the Russian troops during he Russo -Turkish wars in 19th c > during the Armenian Genocide, a lot of Armenian refugees escaped here, 22,000 orphaned children were housed in 170 orphanages through the city > during the soviet period it was renamed to Leninakan (named after Lenin) > in 1988 Spitak earthquake hit the city, the citys population reduced from 200k to 121k, the city stll has lasting effects fom this earthquake > the city was renamed Gyumri under modern independent Armenia after the breakup of the Soviet Union > Gyumri is known a the cultural hub of Armenia with many talented artists and craftsman originating from here
Definiely dont leave Gyumri off your list of things to do when you visit Armenia
The Wandering Passport 