On July 12-21, the residents of Aragatsotn province opened their doors for the participants of the 4^th stage of the “Ari Tun” Program. The municipality of Ashtarak cordially hosted a reception for the guests from Iraq. On July 12, the staff of the municipality and the host families greeted the participants of the program with the traditional Armenian reception.

Ashtarak Municipality had organized many events, including visits to sites worth seeing in the province. On July 13, the guests visited the ancient churches of Ashtarak, including the Tsiranavor, Karmravor and Spitakavor Monasters, after which they visited the P. Proshyan Museum where there was a reception for the participants. At the end of the day, the participants of the “Ari Tun” Program had a meeting with youth of Ashtarak at the Ashtarak branch of the Youth Foundation of Armenia.

On July 14, the participants visited the Observatory in Byurakan, followed by Aragats Lake and Amberd Fortress.

On July 20, the participants of the program headed toward Yerevan. They visited the Surp Gevorg, Surp Mariam and Surp Sargis Churches in Mughni.

On July 21, the guests participated in a reception hosted at Arevik Resort in the gorge of Ashtarak city. Impressed with the cordial reception in the homeland, the participants of the “Ari Tun” Program expressed their gratitude to the program’s organizers and the staff at Ashtarak Municipality. Upon their return, they took with them the love and warmth of their compatriots who had already become familiar to them.

Marianna Ananyan