Armenians have traditional clothing for women called “taraz”. There are varieties of tarazes from different regions of the country that are decorated with Armenian ethnic ornaments. The same is with traditional jewelries that are made of silver, and based on the ornaments, you could guess which region that jewelry comes from. More on the history and development of traditional clothing you can learn at the History Museum of Armenia. I have to say that getting familiar with tarazes and traditional jewelry will help you to have already a notable background on Armenian culture. Not a long time ago, there was a woman called Lusik Aguletsi, a famous painter and ethnographer, who used to walk in the streets of Yerevan wearing traditional clothing and jewelry. Since she was almost the only one in modern Armenia to follow “old Armenian fashion”, she became famous in the town. This article is to invite you to visit Lusik Aguletsi house-museum, where you will get a warm welcome from the hosts and will have a chance to spend a fantastic time in a very traditional place.
Lusik Aguletsi House-Museum, Yerevan
79 Muratsan St, Yerevan, ArmeniaAbout the house-museum
Lusik Aguletsi’s house-museum is located in one of the suburbs of Yerevan, but you do not have to spend much time to get there (15 minutes by car from the city center). This is the house where Ms. Lusik used to live until a year ago. Entering her house is the same as entering an ancient Armenian house. It feels like stepping into another world. Those who visit it feel the warmth of hospitality that was created by Lusik Aguletsi. In the house, you can find traditional interior and decoration attributes. There are separate parts of the house where personal items of Aguletsi are represented, such as different belts, necklaces and other jewelry, clothes, bags, carpets and rugs, head-wearings and so on.
The majority of the items are hand-made. Besides the above-mentioned ones, there are also hand-made dolls, paintings, and everything that one should have at the house, but the difference is that the ones you see here are traditional and impressive.
Art-café
Since you will get a lot of information that you will need to absorb, you have an opportunity to sit in the garden of a newly opened art-café. Here, you can stay for some time and enjoy food & desserts. The good thing about the garden is that it is in the middle of fruit trees, and when it is the season, you can also grab some fruits from the trees.
Lusik Aguletsi house-museum, where the host will welcome you exactly as she would do, is definitely be one of the best traditional places you can visit in Yerevan. If traditional garments impress you and you want to buy something with the same motives, you can order the modern interpretation of it at the Teryan cultural center in Yerevan.
Teryan cultural center
72 Teryan St, Yerevan 0009, ArmeniaCove picture © credits to Lusik Aguletsi FB page
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The author
Lusine Vardanyan
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