Virtual Journeys: "Let's go to Dilijan!"

Let's go to Dilijan! 

(translated version)

"The world is like a book. Those who don't travel read just the first page. And the first page is nothing from that enormous world."

I'm quoting one of my traveling stories.

We're talking about one of the coolest and craziest topics. Thanks to the opportunities given to us by our school, we can explore Armenia together. I can't choose any place to describe further because we've left lots of love and life in every story (you can find it in my blog). I also don't want to take my text outside Armenia, since Armenia is more than just a country. Armenia is a song, Armenia is love, Armenia is the sun of the suns, Armenia is art.

This time from paintings, I'll choose Dilijan. The portrait of Armenia is located 99km from Yerevan. Though due to one of the theories, the story behind the name "Dilijan" doesn't have a happy ending, I'll tell it.

Once upon a time, a man with his son Dili went to the city. When they were passing by the forest, Dili got lost. The father was wandering in the forest for hours, searching for him. Finally, he found his son's body on a hill. "Dili jan, (dear Dili) Dili jan!" cried the man. And since then, the name of this place stayed Dilijan (dear Dili).

Another theory suggests that the name "Dilijan" means "sweet tongue" and was given to this place because of the sweet dialect of natives.

Dilijan has developing touristic connections with several famous tourist centers like Luksemburg, Italy, England, and France. In 2016 UNESCO included Dilijan in the Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC).

The coloration of Dilijan brings a sense of warmth to me. I don't know why, but every time I return here, I'm full of excitement. It's transparent, but at the same time, it's one of the most colorful places in Armenia. The hills and the mountains from all around seem to be waiting for you with open arms. In Dilijan, the sun is smiling and shining to you. In Dilijan, the sky is looking at you, and the wind is playing with your hair. In Dilijan, the trees breathe kindness. Let's go to Dilijan!

The original version - «Արի գնանք Դիլի~ջան» by Alla Barseghyan