V I S I TA R M E N I A .

I T I SB E A U T I F U L

18-21September

THINGS TO DO IN ARMENIA

"But whatever may have been the destiny of the Armenians — and it has been bitter — whatever it may be in future, their country must ever be one of the most interesting on the globe… Armenian is the language to speak with God…"

Lord George Gordon Byron

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Taste incredible wine brandy and the most delicious and sweet fruits.

Enjoy the beauty of the largest lake in Armenia and the Cau-casus region; one of the largest freshwater high-altitude lakes in the world.

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Ride the longest non-stop revers-ible cable car in the world (5,752 meters) and enjoy the breathtak-ing view of a 9th-century Tatev monastery.

Visit countless centuries-old Christian monuments around the country.

Enjoy the spectacular view of the Mountain Ararat where Noah landed his ark.

Enjoy the well known Armenian hospitality all over the country.

Visit the world's oldest 6100 old winery in Areni.

Enjoy the unique sounds of the woodwind national musical in-strument - duduk. Duduk and its music were inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

THINGS TO DO IN ARMENIA

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FACTS ABOUT ARMENIA

"Sacrifice: an inseparable part of Armenian history. I long for the day when I kiss the Armenian land, which has been warmed by the blood of so many victims."

Pope John Paul II

Taste Lavash - Armenian flatbread, which was included in the UN-ESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

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Visit one of the world's richest depositories of medieval manu-scripts and books - Matendaran, which holds a collection of nearly 17,000 manuscripts and 30,000 other documents.

Explore Khachkars - Armenian "cross stones", which symbolism and craftsmanship are inscribed in the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

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VISIT A R MENIA . IT IS BE AU TIF UL

Armenia is considered to be the cradle of civilization. There is ev-idence of an early civilization in Armenia in the Bronze Age and earlier, dating to about 4000 BC.

Armenia was the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as a state religion in 301 AD.

There are approximately 11 million Armenians worldwide, and only 3 million reside in Armenia.

The capital of Armenia - Yerevan was founded in 782 BC, making it 29 years older than Rome.

Official language - Armenian

Ethnic groups - 97.9% Armenian / 1.3% Yazidis / 0.5% Russian / 0.3% other

Religion - Armenian Apostolic ChurchGovernment - Semi-presidential republicLegislature - National AssemblyTotal Area - 29,743 km2 (11,484 sq mi )Water (%) - 4.71

Population / 2011 census - 3,018,854Total GDP (PPP) - $20.831 billionCurrency - Dram (AMD)Time zone - UTC (UTC+4)Weather in September - Average 26°Calling code - +374 | ISO 3166 code - AM | Internet TLD - .am

FACTS ABOUT ARMENIA

Armenia now occupies 1/10 of its historical territory.

Chess is considered a national sport in Armenia, and it's included in the school curriculum. Armenian team won gold medal in Chess Olympiad in 2006, 2008 and 2012.

Official language of Armenia is Armenian. Armenian has its own unique script, the Armenian alphabet, invented in 405 AD by Mes-rop Mashtots.

Yerevan was awarded to be the World Book Capital in 2012 by UNESCO.

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Traditional date2492 BC

Hayasa-Azzi1500-1290 BC

Arme-Shupria1300-1190 BC

Urartu860-590 BC

Orontid Dynasty6th century BC

Arsacid Dynasty52-428

Bagratid Armenia885-1045

First Republic of Armenia declared28 May 1918

Independence from the Soviet Union21 September 1991

Info 2016 Yerevan18-21 September

Kingdom of Cilicia1198-1375

Kingdom of Greater Armenia unioted under the Artaxiad Dynasty

190 BC

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The FSM was established in January 24, 2009.

There are 26 people working in the office with the average age of 27.

The FSM has rich experience in organizing big conferences with participation of foreign guests and speakers (on average 140 par-ticipants).

The number of complaints examined by the Office has grown con-siderably and steadily since 2009. The year-on-year increase in the number of complaints undertaken by the FSM has averaged 130 to 150 percent.

The FSM develops and implements on-going consumer education projects.

In 2012 the World Bank conducted a diagnostic review of consum-er protection and financial literacy in Armenia. The report stated:

“At the same time, Armenia’s valuable experience with Mediator should be shared with other countries in Europe and Central Asia and worldwide. The Mediator’s activities should serve as an exam-ple to other countries dealing with the issues of consumer protec-tion and efforts should be made to improve the sharing of Arme-nian experience at the global level.”

ABOUT THE OFFICE OF FINANCIAL SYSTEM MEDIATOR

Yours truly,Piruz Sargsyan,

Financial System Mediator

Being the pioneer in the region, the FSM's experience was con-sidered valuable by the CIS countries; and the following meeting notes were recorded during the CIS Meeting of Inter-Agency Com-mission for Consumer Protection held in Astana:

“To note the significance of the experience of the Republic of Arme-nia in introducing the ombudsman institution for the protection of consumers of financial services, and to recommend it for use in the CIS Member States.”

Visit the world's oldest astronom- ical observatory and listen to the whistling sounds made by "Speak-ing Stones"!

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Office of Financial System Mediator"Elite Plaza" Business Center 7th floor

15 M. Khorenatsi street, 0010 Yerevan, ArmeniaTel. (+374) 60 70-11-11Fax (+374) 10 58-24-21

www.fsm.amEmail: info@fsm.am

www.info2016.am The website will be available from January 2016.