In news from one of Armenia’s most remote regions, the National Statistical Service (NKR) reports that visits to ancient Karabakh were 36.9% higher for 2012 than visits from the previous year. Visitors from 86 countries ventured to the Caucasus highlands in between Armenia and Azerbaijan know in ancient times as the “black garden”.
According to the statistics, nearly 4200 more tourists from as near as Russia and as far away as the United States trekked to Nagorno-Karabakh. The breakdown of visitors was as follows: Russia – 49.5%, USA – 8.9%, France – 6.1%, and Iran – 3.5%.
For those unfamiliar, this part of Armenia has been variously controlled by one empire or another, and under almost continual flux over who actually controlled it. Persia to the Mongols and more recently Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia the region from the steppes of the Caucasus to the high plateaus is desirable, to say the least. Since medieval times this part of Armenia has held a fascinating history descended from the Kingdom of Artsakh, as far forward as the 20th century.
No story of Karabakh can accurately be told without pointing out the weight conflict has subjected onto this place and its peoples. The more fairly recent conflicts between Armenia, Azerbaijan, and to a farther extent the former Soviet Union, saw widespread hostility and the expulsion of Azerbaijani and Kurd inhabitants from the region. On one side of this argument some say the Armenian occupation has made a wasteland of the region, and on the Armenian side of the story the area is thriving more now than in the past.
Regardless of the politics, this part of the Caucasus is truly amazing for its people and its landscapes, not to mention the historic significance.
View Comments (2)
There is one giant mistake with this article. The area of "Nagorny-Karabakh" is internationally recognized to be part of Azerbaijan, which is currently occupied by Armenian forces. Even though it had a large Armenian population, it doen't mean that the land belongs to Armenia.
I understand that this can be a touchy topic, but you cannot deny facts and the current diplomatic state of this area. Hopefully you can fix these errors in your article.
@Samir, Thanks for coming to comment. I actually wanted to mention this aspect of the region, but as you suggest it casts a negative shadow over what is a truly amazing place. That said, I am always sorry when politics and even sometimes greed enters into or intersects with our other endeavors. As for fixing the article, I think we just have. If you would like to do an Op-Ed article for our PR news site, I would be willing to publish it there. This is a travel site.
Always,
Phil