Erebuni Fortress

You reach Erebuni by crossing residential neighbourhoods in southern Yerevan, far from any tourist circuit, and the first thing you notice as you climb the hill of Arin Berd is the silence. About sixty metres up, the traffic noise disappears and you are left with dark basalt foundations, reconstructed walls of volcanic tuff and the dry flatness of the Ararat valley stretching as far as the eye can see. On clear days both Ararat and Aragats are visible from the same spot.

The ruins are not monumental in the conventional sense: what remains are wall bases, temple outlines and fresco fragments that must be completed with imagination or the information panels scattered around the site. The signage is a little faded, there is little shade in summer and grass grows in the joints between the stones. That neglect gives the place a character that over-exploited sites have lost: here you can be alone with nearly three-thousand-year-old stones without anyone hurrying you along. At the foot of the hill, the Erebuni Museum complements the visit with original cuneiform tablets, pottery, bronze helmets and a model of the complex in its heyday.

The Urartian king Argishti I ordered Erebuni built in 782 BC as a stronghold on the northern border of his kingdom, which stretched from Lake Van to Lake Sevan. The fortress served as a royal residence, a religious centre with a temple dedicated to the god Haldi, and a garrison for some six thousand soldiers. Kings Sarduri II and Rusa I later used it as a military base. When the Urartian state collapsed in the 6th century BC, the site passed to Achaemenid control but was never completely abandoned: from that continuity Yerevan eventually grew, its name deriving from Erebuni itself.

• Founding cuneiform inscription Carved on the orders of Argishti I, it is the document recording the founding of what would eventually become Yerevan. It stands in the upper part of the citadel, protected by a glass panel.
• Temple of the god Haldi Foundations and fresco fragments with processions of gods and trees of life remain, enough to imagine the original decoration.
• Basalt and tuff walls The combination of black volcanic stone at the base and reddish tuff in the reconstructed walls is the most photogenic element of the site, especially in afternoon light.
• Erebuni Museum At the foot of the hill. It holds 23 original cuneiform tablets, large storage jars, bronze helmets and jewellery. Small but dense; an hour is enough.
• Ararat viewpoint From the top of Arin Berd you have one of the best views of Ararat within Yerevan, with the city spread in the foreground and the snow-capped peaks behind.

The fortress is in the Erebuni neighbourhood, southeast of Yerevan. Trolleybus number 2 from Zoravar Andranik metro stop goes right to the entrance and is the cheapest option. By taxi or Yandex Go from the centre it takes about 15 minutes and costs around 1,000–1,500 dram. Joint entry to the museum and ruins costs about 1,500 dram (around 4 USD); guided tours in English or Russian are an extra 4,500 dram or so.

April to June offers pleasant temperatures and the hill retains some green. In July and August the heat climbs to 35–36 degrees and there is no shade at the top, so early morning or late afternoon visits are advisable. September and October offer good light and less heat. In winter the site is open, but the wind on the summit can be biting and Ararat visibility depends on whether the day is clear.