The culture of Armenia encompasses many elements that are based on the geography, literature, architecture, dance, and music of the people. The culture is similar to and yet distinct from many of the bordering countries like Russia, Georgia and Iran as well as Mediterranean nations such as Greece and Cyprus . Armenian culture has strong influences from both its Eastern neighbors, as well as an underlying influence from Europe to the West.
Cuisine
Wine is the part of the national lifestyle, and traditional dishes are not complete without wine, drunk to beautiful and traditional toasts of Tamada (Toastmaker).
This region is famous for its red wine, especially "Areni". This wine is made of the relict vineyards the history of which goes to1000BC. They are really unique, and tasting once you will test them again and again. Armenia's enterprises produce over a dozen brands of brandies which according to the unanimous opinion of expert tasters are in no way inferior to the world-famous French ones.
Many of their labels show the gold medals awarded at international exhibitions.
The history of Armenian brandy starts from the vineyards of the Shustovs from the beginning of XIX century.
Language
The Armenian language (հայերէն in TAO or հայերեն in RAO, Armenian pronunciation: [hɑjɛˈɾɛn]—hayeren) is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora. It has its own script, the Armenian alphabet, and is of interest to linguists for its distinctive phonological developments within Indo-European.
