Amenia’s capital Yerevan is among the 16 oldest continually inhabited cities in Europe, according to The Daily Telegraph.
The earliest inhabitants settled in Yerevan in 782 BC. Some 30 years before Rome was founded, the city that is now Armenia’s capital was serving as an important stop along the caravan routes from Asia to Europe. It was invaded by Assyrians, Romans, Byzantines, Persians, Arabs, Seljuks, Mongols and Turks, and later by the Soviet Red Army in 1920. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the capital of the Republic of Armenia has seen the growth of cultural institutions (it is home to a bewildering number of museums). Tourism is also developing slowly – a handful operators currently offer guided trips to the country.
The list of 16 oldest cities in Europe is below:
Yerevan, Armenia, 782 BC
Zadar, Croatia, 900 BC
Mtskheta, Georgia, 1,000 BC
Cádiz, Spain, 1,100 BC
Mytilene, Lesbos, Greece, 1,100 BC
Lisbon, Portugal, 1,200 BC
Chalcis, Greece, 1,300 BC
Larnaca, Cyprus, 1,300 BC
Kutaisi, Georgia, 2nd millennium BC
Thebes, Greece, 3,000 BC
Trikala, Greece, 3,000 BC
Patra, Greece, 3,500 BC
Chania, Crete, 4,000 BC
Plovdiv, Bulgaria, 4,000 BC
Athens, Greece, 5,000 BC
Argos, Greece, 5,000 BC
