The province was named after the biblical Mount Ararat. Although Ararat is now on the territory of Turkey, it still remains the svmbol of Armenia. THINGS TO DO AND SEE IN ARARAT • Khor Virap monastery • Khosrov Forest State Reserve • Panoramic views of Mount Ararat from the Arch of Charents on the way to Ararat province • Bird watching in Armash (April, May, September) •Paragliding • Hot Air Ballooning •Fishing ponds of Armash

About the world-famous Armenian Duduk

The Cafesjian Center for the Arts is dedicated to bringing the best of contemporary art to Armenia and presenting the best of Armenian culture to the world.

There are only a few varieties of pomegranate in the world that have sufficient juiciness and sugar content for the production of wine. These rare varieties include the Armenian pomegranate, the crowned fruits of which ripen under the hot sun of the southernmost Armenian region - Syunik. Pomegranate is one of the symbols of Armenia, an ancient symbol of fertility, immortality, love and God's grace. In pagan times, pomegranate fruits were dedicated to the Mother Goddess and the Goddess of fertility, as the fruit that symbolized the breasts of Anahit. The priests washed the sacred altars with pomegranate wine as if it were nectar, therefore, throughout the first four centuries in Christian Armenia, the pomegranate was considered a "forbidden fruit" The fruit that had fallen into disfavor was absent from Armenian official art until the middle of the 7th century, when Catholicos Nerses Ill began the construction of Zvartnots - the Temple of Vigilant Forces - near Vagharshapat, one of the two dominant ornaments of which is a pomegranate.