The Crossing Place

After centuries of prominence as a world power, Armenia has withstood every attempt during the 20th century to destroy it. Today Armenia is shrunk to a tenth of its former size and is wracked by war with Azerbaijan and by earthquakes. This travel book looks at Armenia and its people.

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After centuries of prominence as a world power, Armenia has withstood every attempt during the 20th century to destroy it. With a name redolent both of dim antiquity and of a modern world and its tensions, the Armenians founded a civilization and underwent a diaspora that brought many of the great ideas of the East to Western Europe. Today, shrunk to a tenth of its former size and wracked by war with Azerbaijan and by earthquakes, its people still retain one of the world's most fascinating and misunderstood cultures. This book is a passionate and dramatic portrait of this country - the people and their massive exodus, as well as of the unique society that remains tentatively attached to the CIS. Travelling from Venice to Istanbul, passing through Eastern Europe, Beirut and Syria, and crossing the Black Sea to the Caucasus and into Armenia, the author takes us on a journey through time and history as we come to know this closed society.