Hotel Meg, Yerevan

You may be surprised to learn that the top-rated hotel in Armenia’s capital is only rated as 3 stars!  In fact, everything about Hotel Meg might just surprise you...in a good way (not least, the quality for a 3 star hotel).  Located in the heart of the capital, if you choose to stay here then you will only be a few minutes’ walk from both The Matenadaran, The Cascade and The Opera House – excellently placed for you to explore all that the city has to offer.  If you want a perfectly cosy boutique hotel, then this is the one for you.  However, don’t let the fact that it only has 7 suites to offer put you off!  This is a spacious, stylish and comfortable hotel with modern facilities and proficient staff.

Hotel Meg, Yerevan

Arrival Information

Upon arrival, you are greeted with a 24-hour reception and staff who are pleased to help you day and night.  Check in is from 3.00pm and check out is by 12 noon. 

Services and Amenities

The hotel offers a wide-range of services and amenities, including: two-way airport transportation; concierge service, including restaurant and concert reservations fax and copying services, complimentary breakfast, an outdoor swimming pool, sightseeing tours, transportation, in-room massage, hair salon and spa booking service; and bottled water, laundry, dry cleaning, shoe cleaning service are all available for an additional cost.

Guest Rooms

There are three different room rates available: One-Room Suite, with one queen or two twin beds; Two-Room Suite, with one king or two twin beds; and Two-Room Suite, with one queen bed.  Room rates start at 32,702 AMD and finish at 67,448 AMD per night (as of February of 2014).  This definitely doesn’t make it the cheapest hotel in Armenia, but for your money you get an extremely large well-appointed, modern suite with a custom-designed super comfortable mattress – to guarantee you a good night’s sleep.  Also, these rates do vary with season and there are special rates available from 30,000 AMD, at certain times.  Each room features: in-room tea and coffee, complimentary seasonal fresh fruit, quality bed linen, kitchenettes with built-in refrigerators, air-conditioning, a safe, a hairdryer, an iron and ironing board, a television, satellite, a CD/DVD/MP3 player and WiFi Internet.

Trip Advisor Rating and Testimonials

Overall, this hotel has been awarded 4.5 stars out of 5 on the Trip Adviser website (written by independent visitors to the hotel).  When broken down, the hotel received: 5 stars for rooms, cleanliness and service;  4.5 stars for location, sleep quality and value.  Some of the guests said the following:

‘Warm and friendly...’

‘[Felt] at home, despite outside temperature of -17 degrees C!’

‘I loved the Hotel Meg!’

‘Ideal place to stay for a city break.’

If you are looking for small, intimate and friendly coupled with clean, spacious and well-appointed, then this is the place for you.

Armenian Grand Master - Levon Aronian

Levon Aronian

Levon Aronian is a world famous Chess Grandmaster from Armenia and is currently ranked number two in the FIDE World Chess rankings and is the third highest rated player in the history of the sport, holding an ELO rating of 2826.

Youth Champion
Born In Yeravan, Armenia, October 6th 1982, he learnt to play chess at the age of nine and was taught by his sister. However, he soon developed a talent for the game and his first coach was the renowned Grandmaster Melikset Khachiyan, who took Aronian to the 1994 World Youth Chess Championship where he dominated the Under 12 category, 8/9 and won the competition. The significance of this win cannot be overlooked as Aronian defeated future stars of the game including Ruslan Ponomariov, Francisco Vallejo Pons and Étienne Bacrot.

World Cup 
Aronian went on to claim many victories in his early career and significantly he was crowned the winner of the Chess World Cup in 2005, and was acknowledged by his peers as the finest sportsman in Armenia in the same year. By winning the premier international Chess competition at the tender age of only 23 he was rapidly elevated to the Chess elite shooting up the FIDE ranking to be fifth in the world.

International Success
However, his success was not limited to the individual game and he led the Armenian national squad to Gold Medals in the 2006 and 2008 Chess Olympiad. In honour of his achievements in Chess he was presented with the title of "Honoured Master of Sport of the Republic of Armenia" in late 2009, before leading the national team to success at the World Team Chess Championships in 2011. A third team victory quickly followed when Aronian led the Armenian national chess team to success at the 2102 Chess Olympiad, held in Istanbul.

National Hero
Levon Aronian’s successes, both as an individual and a team chess player, have elevated Armenian Chess to new heights, with international recognition. Armenian schools have made Chess a compulsory part of the curriculum to ensure a chess education for all pupils. Nevertheless, with more grandmasters per capita Armenia is considered to be one of the strongest chess nations in the world and is currently sixth in the world rankings.

The First Republic of Armenia

When the Armenian Kingdom of Cilica fell in 1375 the first Armenia state was established, however, when the Russian Empire started to crumble in the early part of the twentieth century the Republic of Armenia was formed. now referred to as the First Republic of Armenia. This new territory was established in Armenian populated areas from the Russian Empire which was disintegrating at the time. It is often referred to by Scholars as Russian Armenia, due to the significant influence the Russian Empire had on the fledgling republic.

The First Republic of Armenia

Fledgling Democracy
It was the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) that forced through the revolt that led to the republics creation and much of the new government was drawn from their ranks. However, this was not an easy time for the fledgling democracy as to the north they bordered the Democratic Republic of Georgia, to the west was the Ottoman Empire and with Persia due south, the country had many aggressive neighbours. 

Disputes and Difficulties
However, the early days for the country were fraught with problems. As well as keeping potentially aggressive neighbours at bay the country was plagued by internal disputes and difficulties. Many of the people who took up residence in the new country had escaped massacres in the former territory of Western Armenia committed by the advancing Ottoman Empire. This mass genocide by the Ottoman’s was part of wider operation to eliminate all Armenians living in the region.

Failed Alliance
After its difficult birth, the First Republic of Armenia reluctantly formed an alliance with neighbouring Georgians and Muslims to form the Tanscaucasian Federation in an attempt to show a unified front to the Soviet Red army.  However, disputes amongst the group were common and they never really achieved their goal of a unified front. Subsequently, the new Republic lasted for only two years and in the later months of 1920 the republic was seized and subjugated by the Soviet Red Army.

Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic
A year later the country had officially become the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic and existed under the red banner of Soviet rule until 1991, when the Soviet Union disbanded. It was then, when independence was granted to Armenia, that the Third Republic of Armenia came in to existence and continues to thrive to this day.

Memorial
In remembrance of the First Republic of Armenia the Sardarapat Memorial, located at the site of the Battle of Sardarabad, is visited annually in May by all departments of the government of Armenia to publically celebrate the first independent Armenia.

Armenian Winter Olympics Team - Sochi, Russia 2014

The 2014 Winter Olympics will be held in Sochi, Russia between the 7th to the 23rd of February, 2014. Armenia will send a small squad to Sochi to compete on behalf of their country, that consists of four athletes from two sports.

Winter Olympics - Sochi, Russia 2014

Competitors

Arman Serebrakian will compete in the Alpine Skiing event, whilst Sergey Mikayelyan, Artur Yeghoyan, and Katya Galstyan will compete in the cross country skiing. The male skiers qualified for their events whilst Katya Galstyan received a wildcard entry.

Alpine Skiing
The Alpine Skiing event at the 2014 Winter Olympics are scheduled to be held at the famous Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort which is located near Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. A total of ten events will be run between 9th and 22nd of February, 2014. The events in this category include the Combined, Downhill, Giant slalom, Slalom and the Super-G.

The men’s Down Hill will commence the Alpine Skiing event on the 9th of February. Arman Serebrakian will have his work cut out for him to be amongst the medals, as this year’s roster of the very best skiers from around the world is one the most competitive in the history of Alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics.

At this year’s Alpine Skiing event, 332 athletes from 74 nations will compete and Malta, Timor-Leste, Togo and Zimbabwe are competing in the Alpine event for the first time.

Cross Country Skiing
The Cross Country Skiing event will be held at the Laura Biathlon and Ski Complex which is located near Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. A total of ten evens will be run from 8th and 23rd of February, 2014. The events in the Distance category include the Classical, Skiathlon, Mass Start and the Relay whilst in the Sprint category there are the Individual and Team events.

The Woman’s Skiathlon will commence on the Cross Country Skiing event on the 8th of February, 2014. Sergey Mikayelyan, Artur Yeghoyan, and Katya Galstyan are considered to be potential medal winners in this year’s competitive field.

This year, 310 athletes from 54 nations will compete at this year’s Cross Country Skiing event, with Chile making their Olympic debut in the event.

Aram Khachaturian – Armenian Composer (1903 – 1978)

Aram Khachaturian

Aram Khachaturian is a world famous Armenian composer who lived between 1903 and 1978. He was not alive to see an independent Armenia (which was granted independence in 1991) and so he is often referred to as a Soviet-Armenian composer. Certainly, he is considered one the titans of Soviet music and is also considered to be one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century.

Origins
Born in Tiflis of the former Soviet Empire, which is now known as Tbilisi, Georgia, Aram Khachaturian was born in to a poor Armenian family. His father moved from Armenia to Tiflis at the age of 13 and by the time he was 25 he owned his own bookbinding shop. Aram was the youngest of five siblings and became fascinated with the music he found in the region; however, despite this love of music he did not study or learn to read music at this time.

Musical Education
It was not until Armenia was declared a Soviet Republic in 1920 that Khachaturian began his musical education when joined a propaganda train which toured Armenia. The train was populated by Georgian – Armenians who entertained the crowds with moral boosting musical accompaniment to political speakers.

However, it was not until the following year when Khachaturian joined his brother, who had risen to be the stage director at the Second Moscow Art Theatre, that he showed an interest in musical education. Despite not having any formal musical education, Khachaturian showed such a great ability for music he was admitted the prestigious Gnessin Institute.

First Symphony
Khachaturian transferred to the Moscow Conservatory in 1929 and he graduated with his First Symphony in 1934. The year prior to his graduation he married the composer and class mate Nina Makarova. A few years later in 1951 Khachaturian was appointed professor at the Gnessin State Musical and the Moscow Consevatory. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union; however, he fell out of favour with the party when his third Symphony earned him the wrath of party leaders, despite (according to the composer himself) the work being a tribute to his beloved communism.

Death
On May 1, 1978 Khachaturian died just before his 75th birthday and he is buried in Yerevan. In fact, the site he is buried in is also the final resting place for a number of prominent Armenians who have raised the profile Armenian art to international levels.