There is a grove of trees there, each one planted by a visiting dignitary from a foreign country. They represent the chorus of voices that protest the Ottomon Empire's genocide of the Armenian people.
There is a circle of 12 steles surrounging an eternal flame. Each stele represents one of the 12 lost provinces in modern day Turkey.
Inside, there are many exhibits that explain the history of the genocide. Armenians had long comprised a significant minority within the Ottomon Empire, but they faced increasing oppression during the empire's waning days.
Turkish ethnocentrism and nationalism grew until they no longer viewed minority populations and religions as equally human, worthy of the same right to exist. This was true even for Armenian veterans.
For me, the most impactful display was that of 2000 girls at the Near East Relief orphanage posing to spell out "America We Thank You." It is a reminder of a time -- before any international agreements on the matter -- when Americans were more compassionate toward the plight of those affected by war and famine.
One final thought: Yerevan lies at 40°10'9"N latitude. The highest that the sun ever rises in the sky -- the point at which the shadows are the smallest -- is on the summer solstice, at 1:00pm, when it reaches an altitude of 73.3° At that point, the shadow for the 44m obelisk is only 13.2 meters.These pictures were taken on July 22 at 1:15, when the sun was at an altitude of 70.1°, which made the shadow a bit longer, but still less than 16m.
Perhaps one day, when the shadow of the past casts the shortest shadow, when the spirit of ethnocentrism and religious prejudice are at their lowest, maybe then a Turkish dignitary will plant a tree there.
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