Spiritual center of all Armenians celebrated the 2704th anniversary of its foundation under the title ‘’The City of My Soul, Ejmiatsin’’. The city day was celebrated solemnly. There was a festive mood in the heart of every citizen of Ejmiatsin.
From early in the morning the Culture House after Komitas welcomed guests from different cities of the Republic and sister cities. RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Suren Papikyan, members of the Parliament and representatives of the diplomatic missions came to congratulate the people of Ejmiatsin. The festive day started with a solemn meeting. RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed a congratulatory speech to the people of Ejmiatsin. The Prime Minister particularly mentioned, "Ejmiatsin is not only the spiritual capital of all Armenians, but also the center of several turning changes in the life of our people."
Following the tradition formed over the years, a number of honorable people who have worked for many years in various fields and contributed to the development of the city, were honored during the city day being awarded the titles of "Friend of the City" and "Honorary Citizen".
On the 2704th anniversary of Ejmiatsin, the title of Friend of the City was awarded to Jonathan Lacotte, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to the Republic of Armenia for his support to Ejmiatsin, to benefactor Gor Sahakyan for building playgrounds in the city and to Executive Director of ARMSWISSBANK Gevorg Machanyan for his support to the delegation of Ejmiatsin participating in the Pan-Armenian Games.
The title of Honorary Citizen was awarded to Honored Physics Teacher Artsruni Harutyunyan and long-term employee of Ejmiatsin MC, anesthesiologist Melikset Kondyan.
After the solemn meeting, the guests accompanied by Mayor Diana Gasparyan had a walk in St. Mariane Park, they were introduced with the sculptures of the students of "Ruben Nalbandyan Masters School", then the guests took part in the official opening of the first and still the only "Smart Bus Stop" in Armenia getting acquainted with its features.
The Smart Bus Stop was a present to the city from ‘’Smart Bus Stop” LLC.
The bus stop informs the citizen about the number and arrival of the approaching bus, it has free and unlimited Wi-Fi, an information board for tourists, informs about the museums and sights of the city, offers food places, etc. The bus stop offers the opportunity to charge smartphones, it has security system, MES call button, ATMs, payment machines, garbage sorting bins, ventilation and heating system.
The city will have 8 more such bus stops in the near future.
Among the festive events were the exhibition of paintings by painters from Ejmiatsin in the hall of the Culture House under the music of Komitas, the backgammon and chess demonstrations at the Eternal Flame Memorial, the unexpected guests of which were grandmasters Zaven Andriasyan and Hayk Martirosyan. The grandmasters held a simultaneous chess game with the participating children.
The Historical and Ethnographic Museum along with the city day also celebrated the 55th anniversary of the museum. There was a photo exhibition representing old and new Ejmiatsin near the museum.
The culmination of the festive events was the parade, the participants of which were the active citizens of the city - students, clergy, athletes, participants of the Artsakh War and young Yerkrapahs, employees of Ejmiatsin subdivision of the Rescue Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, soldiers serving in Ejmiatsin, the people responsible for the cleanness of the city- employees of the Housing and Communal Administration of the Municipality, staffs and pupils of the educational and cultural institutions, non-governmental organizations.
In the front of the parade were the buses donated by the city of Nice, which had already been put into use. Next, symbolically Catholicos Sahak Partev and Mesrop Mashtots entered the square with Armenian letters.
The solemn parade ended with a dance flash mob with more than 400 participants, then the square was turned into a sports platform.
The 2704th anniversary of the city was marked by Festival of Kufta.
Kufta (meatball) festival was held for the first time in Armenia in cooperation with the Municipality of Ejmiatsin and “Development and Preservation of the Armenian Culinary Traditions" non-governmental organization.
The festival, which aroused great interest, had 14 participants: restaurants, non-governmental organizations, public catering facilities, individuals. The jury members had a difficult choice to make, as all the participants put every effort and imagination to present their own dish in the best way. There were three awards in the categories of "The Best Look", "The Best Idea" and "The Best Taste". The winners of which became Yerevan State Vocational Union №6, Gayane Yepremyan and "Arishta" Restaurant from Yerevan. Besides the winners, all the participants and jury members were also awarded certificates of gratitude.
The success of the first festival gave confidence to the organizers to make it annual.
The festive mood was in the air of every street of Ejmiatsin. The streets were crowded and unusually active. The colorful decoration of the city, the concert programs organized in the parks, the performances of "Sasna Tsrer" ethnographic ensemble also contributed to it. And the festive concert program and fireworks were a wonderful ending of the day.

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