Category: 2022

Wedding ceremony on peak of Mount Ararat: Young Armenian couple shares story of their unique marriage

 09:00, 16 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 16, ARMENPRESS. The peak of Mount Ararat – the place of the ceremony, the outfit – hiking clothes, you are invited to a wedding.

This is how the young Armenian couple – Ishkhan Gevorgyan and Ashkhen Hovhannesyan, organized their wedding ceremony.

They both like nature, hiking, climbing mountains, and this common preference became a reason to organize the wedding ceremony.

In an interview to ARMENPRESS, Ashkhen said she told her fiancée to participate in trekking tour to Mount Ararat instead of organizing the honeymoon in any resort.

“I and Ishkhan have talked about the dream of climbing Masis for many times. Most of Armenians always dream of climbing Mount Ararat, this desire, seems, is from childhood. I was always suggesting Ishkhan to go to a trekking tour to Mount Ararat after marriage. One day he told me “let’s go and get married on the top of Masis, there couldn’t be a better wedding ceremony than this”. And of course, I agreed”, she said.

And they turned their decision into an action: they reached the peak of Ararat on August 26, 2018. Due to lack of oxygen, movement is quite difficult there, feeling bad is also possible, however, nothing stopped this couple to go for their dream. Ishkhan Gevorgyan says that very few people in the group were aware of their plans.

“Most of the members of the group got informed about our plan in the end. When we arrived in the peak, we told them that you are invited to a wedding. Martin Martirosyan hold the cross, and the others helped to pour the champagne”, he said.

Years have passed, but the young couple still remembers that wonderful day with smile and excitement. They already have an opportunity to share their story with children as after the marriage they continue hiking by engaging also kids.

The couple is guided by the following principle – if you love your country, firstly you need to know it. By discovering Armenia and Artsakh together, they now try to bring their contribution to other initiatives as well.

The couple got acquainted with each other in the Art of Staying Alive NGO. Today they are having their investment in the Azatazen initiative, by establishing a shooting range which allows to get acquainted with the skills of using a weapon.

“We made a decision to come up with this initiative after the war. We had no place to train. As there is no large shooting range in Armenia, we were going to mountains to shoot, which is risky. Today there are many places of entertainment in Yerevan, but there is no shooting range. We decided to change the picture in the country and with our combat friends founded the Azatazen military-educational NGO. It will teach those who want to get acquainted with the secrets of weapons”, Ishkhan Gevorgyan said, adding that his wife, Ashkhen, is also actively involved in the project.

By keeping the feelings of the peak of Ararat in their hearts, the young Armenian couple is going to make new discoveries.

 

Reporting by Anna Gziryan

Photos from the archive of Hayk Manukyan, Ishkhan Gevorgyan

 10:34, 16 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 16, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Narek Mkrtchyan met with representatives of the Armenian Catholic Church and institutions in Rome on the sidelines of the UN Ministerial Conference on Ageing, the ministry said.

The minister was accompanied by Ambassador of Armenia to the Holy See Karen Nazaryan.

On June 15 Minister Khachatryan visited the Levonian Armenian College and the St. Nicolas Church.

During his meetings Minister Khachatryan presented the programs and priorities of the Armenian government in the field of social protection, highlighting the cooperation with the Diaspora organizations operating in this sector.

Narek Mkrtchyan also visited Vatican where he met with representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the Holy See Archbishop Khajag Barsamian.

 11:23, 16 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 16, ARMENPRESS. 93 children in Armenia are receiving care and upbringing in 61 foster families, Head of the Department of Providing Equal Opportunities at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs Kristina Hovhannisyan told Armenpress.

She informed that in order to become a foster parent, a person should apply to the governor’s office if he/she is from a province, or to the Yerevan City Hall. If all the requirements are met, the documents are submitted to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and after a registration, the ministry organizes trainings and then a certificate is provided.

“In addition to the general foster care, we also have a specialized foster care in case of which a foster parent takes a disabled child to the family. Such children receive care in five foster families”, she said, adding that foster care is paid, and the period of foster care will be considered as a work experience in the period of retirement.

“The foster parent receives 130,000 drams. In case of a disabled child this money is 30% more. The most active province applying for becoming a foster family is Lori and Yerevan, and the most passive province is Vayots Dzor”, she noted.

 11:50, 16 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 16, ARMENPRESS. Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan met today with State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus Alexander Volfovich, who arrived in Yerevan to participate in the session of the CSTO Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils, Armen Grigoryan’s Office said.

During the meeting the sides touched upon the Armenian-Belarusian cooperation agenda, particularly the bilateral partnership within the CSTO, EAEU and CIS.

The sides discussed the ways and prospects of developing the bilateral relations.

Alexander Volfovich expressed the readiness of Minsk to expand the economic trade turnover volumes between the two countries.

At the end of the meeting Alexander Volfovich invited Armen Grigoryan to pay an official visit to Belarus.

 12:12, 16 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 16, ARMENPRESS. The leadership of Armenia moves on the path of the exercise of rights and the guarantee of the security of the people of Artsakh, and negotiations are taking place around this, and the status must derive from the guarantees that will be for ensuring the security and protecting the rights, Members of Parliament from the ruling Civil Contract faction said at a press briefing today.

Commenting on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s speech of yesterday in the Parliament relating to the status of Artsakh, Arusyak Julhakyan said: “The Prime Minister yesterday said the following over the status of Artsakh that it should not be a goal for us, but a mean to ensure the security and rights of Artsakh-Armenians. And I claim that he is not the first person in Armenia who made that statement, noting that the Artsakh issue has been initially and always considered by Armenia as an issue of right, a security issue, not as an issue of right to self-determination”.

According to her, the Artsakh issue remains as an issue of ensuring the protection of rights and the security of Artsakh-Armenians. The lawmaker assured that there couldn’t be a step back on this matter.

Artur Hovhannisyan highlighted the PM’s speech in a sense that with these statements the leadership is trying to close the “gap” existing between the public and the entire negotiation process. In fact, the public has not been aware of the negotiation processes. “We move on the path of the exercise of rights and the guarantee of the security of the people of Artsakh. Negotiations are taking place around this. And in fact, the status should be derived from the guarantees that will be for ensuring the security and protecting the rights”, he said. “Negotiations are taking place for the exercise of rights and the security guarantees of the people of Artsakh, and the status should be derived from this. Negotiations are underway to ensure the security of the people of Artsakh and their right to live in their homeland”, he added.

 12:38, 16 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 16, ARMENPRESS. Yuri Sakunts, two-time world champion in power triathlon, Europe champion, a lecturer at Crisis Management State Academy of the Armenian Ministry of Emergency situations, pulled two fire-rescue vehicles with a total of weight of 37.5 tons with his teeth.

“I got permission from the Guinness Commission to set this record. We are going to send the videos to London, to the Guinness Records Commission for the approval. We also send them to different world records associations. I would like to note that the book “Sakunts” of world records has already been published in Armenia, where different world record holders are registered”, Sakunts said.

He said that three years ago he pulled a 25-ton car with his teeth.

“I will pull a helicopter with the little finger in a month”, Sakunts said.

 13:02, 16 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 16, ARMENPRESS. In the first 10 days of September this year Armenia will turn into a global center of science, technologies, art and music thanks to the STARMUS VI festival, by hosting world-renowned scientists and stars, STARMUS festival co-founder, astrophysicist Garik Israelian said at a press conference today.

STARMUS board member David Eicher, Nobel laureate, neuroscientist Edvard Moser and musician Derek Sherinian joined the press conference online. The messages of Brian May and Serj Tankian were also addressed.

Garik Israelyan said that the conference “Discover the cosmos and change the world” is a part of the main program of the festival, which will take place in the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concert Complex and is expected to be attended by around 7000 participants.

“It’s also important to mention the ceremony of awarding the Stephen Hawking Medal which is known around the world as an Oscar for science promotion. “108 Minutes Round-Table” with the participation of Nobel Prize laureates, Star Party – a special event involving world-renowned guests and local figures, which will take place in Garni. Many telescopes, brought to Armenia within the frames of the festival, will be stationed there”, he said.  

He said that additional events specially for the Armenian festival will also be held.

“A Science Camp, the area near the National Opera and Ballet Theater, will turn into a major center of science and technologies where visitors, both adults and children, will be introduced on the latest achievements of science in the most available formats. Around 100,000 people from Yerevan, the provinces and Artsakh are expected to attend the event. The Space Technologies two-day conference will be held in the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concert Complex, involving around 20 world-renowned speakers, including from the Satlantis space technology company. The program is a series of important events with the participation of Armenian universities which will be carried out in partnership with the partner universities and will provide the students with an opportunity to listen to famous scientists in their universities”, he said.

Garik Israelian says making the festival maximally available to the youth, the broad public is very important for them, and they have set an affordable participation fee for the festival – 25,000 drams. He informed that students will be provided with a discount, the fee for them will be 20,000 drams.

The format of STARMUS is unique in a sense that it popularizes science, makes it closer to the youth by inspiring them to make new research and discoveries.

STARMUS is a global festival of science communication and art that brings together the most brilliant minds on the planet. Its aim is to inspire and educate the next generation of explorers and regenerate the spirit of discovery. STARMUS combines art, music and science to enhance the science communication.

 13:18, 16 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 16, ARMENPRESS. Serving as an example for young scientists in Armenia is important for Nobel Prize laureate and molecular biologist Ardem Patapoutian.

“I got a warm welcome in Armenia, including by scientists. I consider such communication an honor. This shows what Armenia attaches importance to. If I manage to become an example for young scientists, that will be my biggest achievement”, he said during the Science and Business Days 2022 forum in Yerevan.

He said people sometimes confuse scientists with those who have a lot of knowledge. But in fact, he notes, scientists know nothing. He said in laboratory they are talking not about what they know, but about what they do not know yet.

Ardem Patapoutian says every scientist must clearly form his goals and understand to what extent they are available.

Talking about his family, he said he has grown up in the family as an Armenian. “My grandparents preserved their Armenian identity. When we immigrated to the United States, my parents decided that I must be admitted to a medical university. My parents played a very big role in my life, they wanted to give me a good education”, he added.

 13:38, 16 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 16, ARMENPRESS. Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov highlighted the role of the Prosecutions of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan in preventing escalation in Nagorno Karabakh.

On June 16 Igor Krasnov met with Armenia’s Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Russia said.

“Together with the Azerbaijani officials in a trilateral format, we have made every effort for the restoration of peace in that region and for the prevention of escalation of tension within the local population”, the Russian Prosecutor General said.

He said there should not be a unilateral and deliberate approach if the talk is about restoring peace and security, protecting human rights and freedoms and investigating crimes. He expressed the readiness of the Russian military prosecutors stationed in Nagorno Karabakh to provide all support.

At the meeting Igor Krasnov thanked Artur Davtyan for the constructive approach to the cooperation with the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office and highlighted Mr. Davtyan’s dedication to the principles of professional ethics, independence and impartiality.

CIVILNET.AM