It’s 11pm, the temperature’s a still-balmy 23C. Towards the end of my 25-minute taxi ride from Yerevan’s international airport into the city, we come to a vast, largely pedestrianised square where a series of illuminated fountains gush to the soundtrack of classical music (and, at one point, the theme tune to Star Wars). Throngs of people, young and old, are milling around, enjoying the spectacle alongside persistent balloon and flower sellers. Some kind of special event or celebration? Turns out it’s just your average Monday – the Dancing Fountains show, as it’s known, takes place every afternoon and evening during summer, here at Republic Square.
By daylight it transpires that the square is actually oval-shaped, ringed by imposing, curved buildings and an important part of Armenian architect and urban planner Alexander Tamanian’s vision for the city. He designed it all practically from scratch in the 1920s, just after the country fell under Soviet rule. A grand affair, the square is home to various government ministries, the Central Post Office, the National Gallery and the History Museum, all constructed from the rose-coloured tuff (a volcanic stone) which has caused Yerevan to be dubbed, poetically, the Pink City.
