Sardarapat Ethnographic Museum (Armavir)

Armavir Region

Bearing left before the Sardarapat battle monument, a driveway skirts the monument ridge to reach a tourist pavilion (refreshments) and the highly attractive Sardarapat museum. Director (at least of the military museum) is the head (since the untimely 1999 death of Sergei Grigorevich Badalian) of the Armenian Communist Party. The ground floor central hall contains commemorative material from the battle. Starting from the right, the lower galleries present archaeological materials from Neolithic to Medieval, and implements for various traditional handicrafts. Upstairs are exhibits of carpets and embroidery, modern Armenian decorative ceramics, and jewelry. [Source: RDA]

[edit] Martiros Saryan House-Museum (Yerevan)

3 Saryan Street, Yerevan (+374-10) 58-17-62

Martiros Saryan studied in the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. He was greatly influenced by Russian art, especially by such painters as Valentin Serov and Konstantin Korovin. Even Saryan’s first canvases show his penchant for bright colours, his original vision of the world around him, expressiveness and unusual composition. His cycle of works painted after trips to Turkey, Iran and Egypt first brought him renown.

In 1921, Saryan settled in Yerevan, and from then on Armenia, its countryside and people, became the main theme in his work. He is particularly famous for his landscapes, including the astonishing "Saryan’s Armenia", in which he celebrates the beauty of his land renewed. He also painted a fair number of portraits, which are remarkable for their psychological depth and philosophical approach. Saryan was also productive as a book illustrator and stage designer.

The museum is open from 10:30 to 16:00 (to 15:00 on Wednesdays) every day except Thursday. [Source: Yerevan Guide]

[edit] Alexander Spendiaryan Museum (Yerevan)

21 Nalbandian Street, Yerevan (+374-10) 58-07-83, 52-12-99

In 1967, the second storey house-museum of Alexander Spendiaryan opened to the public on the corner of Nalbandian Street and Tumanian Street. A favorite musical composer and conductor, his violin, baton, piano and many other personal and professional items are on display. One display case shows the handwritten romance "Ay, vardi!" (Oh, Rose), and on his desk by the inkwell is an unfinished composition...

[edit] Tumanyan Museum (Yerevan)

40 Moskovyan Street, Yerevan (+374-10) 58-12-71, 56-00-21

A native of the high mountain village of Lsakh (now Tumanyan), Ovanes Tumanyan (1869-1923) produced masterpieces of national poetry. His verse reflects the sorrow of the Armenian people and a burning protest against their oppressors. His epic works are particularly important in that they depict everyday life in an Armenian village. Some of his poems take historical events as their theme, and are imbued with the ideals of patriotism and the liberation struggle against the foreign invaders.

The nineteen rooms of the museum contain an interesting exhibition which describes the life and work of the poet. On the first storey there is a re-creation of the flat in which Tumanyan lived in Tbilisi for many years (he is buried there). The museum is open from 11:00 to 17:00 every day except Monday. (Source: Yerevan Guide)