In the landlocked country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia is the small but old country of Armenia. Surrounded on all sides by a disparaging array of political doctrines, Armenia is the one country in the world that could be worried about both its geographical and geopolitical position.
Armenia is bordered by its allies, Iran and Georgia, and its foes, Turkey and Azerbaijan. Not that far away are the troubled countries of both Syria and Iraq. To add weight to this precarious position is the fact that Armenia is politically and economically aligned to Russia.
So what of the Armenians? Who are they and what are they like? On a recent trip through that country, I managed to photograph the people as they are in their environment, going about their daily routines amidst the turmoil of the modern world. The Armenian's are not unfamiliar with their lot, they are a unitary, multi-party, democratic nation-state with an ancient cultural heritage. The Kingdom of Armenia was established in the 6th century BC, after the fall of Urartu and became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its religion. It has endured the rule of the Mongol, the Ottoman and the Russian empires.
The predominant religion in Armenia is Christianity. The roots of the Armenian Church go back to the 1st century. According to tradition, the Armenian Church was founded by two of Jesus' twelve apostles � Thaddaeus and Bartholomew � who preached Christianity in Armenia between AD 40�60. Because of these two founding apostles, the official name of the Armenian Church is Armenian Apostolic Church.
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