SKYSCRAPERS BEING ERECTED IN HEART OF ANCIENT CITY
Turkish Daily News
July 25 2008
Turkey
Armenia, home to remnants of a time span of more than a millennium,
is a genuine open-air museum. But unfortunately, the ancient city
of Yerevan, redesigned by master architect Alexander Tamanyan in
the 1920s, suffers from a serious level of unguided or unplanned
urbanization, which is a growing trend in many cities around the world.
In many of Yerevan’s avenues and squares, you can see tall and
modern-looking buildings and even skyscrapers standing next to
historic buildings. Not only Armenian contractors, who are members of
the diaspora, but also Western contractors have become increasingly
interested in Armenia’s construction sector, which has a circulation
of millions of dollars. There has been a remarkable increase in
the number of luxury villas and tall and modern-looking buildings
scattered among decaying houses. And the apartments in these buildings
are often purchased by rich members of the diaspora with the purpose
of spending a unique annual holiday in Armenia.