HRAZDANI KIRJ

You should take the trouble to go down to the bottom of the Hrzadan river gorge (Hrazdani Kirdj), at the Hakhtanak bridge, at the foot of the Sourp Sarkis church on one bank, and Tsitsérnakaberd hill on the other, on the west side. The river is bordered by the trees of the Abovian Park, and there is even a children's railway with its station, built in 1938, during the Soviet period, and still in operation, among other refreshment stands, restaurants with folk music and attractions for walkers who like to bathe in the thin stream of the river in summer. All that remains of the ancient Persian city is the small Red Bridge (Karmir Kamourdj), which has spanned the river since the 17th century and is overshadowed by the large modern Hakhtanaki (Victory) Bridge, which cars prefer to drive over. The latter, crossing the gorge, leads to the imposing nine-arched building housing the famous brandy distillery and beyond, to the Hrazdan stadium, at the foot of the lush green Tsttsernakaberd hill, recognizable by the arrows of the 1915 genocide memorial that crowns it. On the eastern side of the gorges, at the foot of the Sourp Sarkis church, a few ancient and humble stone houses are all that remains of the Persian town; the Noy wine factory was built by the Soviets on the site of the former Sardar palace, but a little further up the Hrazdan gorges towards Kentron, the beautiful Goy mosque on Machtots avenue bears witness to the town's Persian origins.