Vanick Der Bedrossian

I recently arrived in Armenia's capital, Yerevan.  It is a beautiful city almost entirely built of red and black tuff, a volcanic rock found all over Armenia. Yerevan boasts handsome city squares replete with monuments commemorating great writers, musicians, generals and artists. I am staying in an apartment near the central “Republic Square”, where Lenin’s imposing statue once stood. His statue is now gone, and a growing number of commercial banks are opening offices in old Soviet government buildings, offering Armenians credit cards, bank accounts and ATM machines.