Last week, Arsen walked in with a bright blue temporary tattoo on his left hand.

Say hello to our little friend, Artur. Artur is a 5′0” Karabakhtsi, 17 year old who was assigned to take care of us during our time in Karabakh and boy, is he a character.

As a summer baby, I always seem to be away from home on my birthday every year.

Days before Camp Martuni began I was nervous and anxious.

After an 11 hour drive to Martuni, with a 15 passenger van filled with suitcases, smelly bodies and no air conditioning, the idea of a shower sounded like a dream. Around midnight we were able to settle into our new home for the next two weeks and meet our host family.

I am less than three weeks away from my departure and currently mixed with many emotions.

The last few years, there have been two things that I have really wanted to do, and this summer, I have the opportunity to do both things.

The famous monument of Tatik and Papik, the grandmother and grandfather of Artsakh, is a top destination for almost everyone’s first visit to Karabakh.

The Gandzasar Monastery is located about a one hour drive from Karabakh’s capital city of Stepanakert. If this is the only site you visit in Artsakh, your trip will still have been worthwhile.

A group of 12 American tourists had just arrived in Shushi during their first-ever visit to Armenia last month, and they were ready to see the sights.

With the U.S. Capitol looming large in the background, Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) led a Congressional press conference on Tuesday condemning the forced depopulation of the historically Armenian city of Kessab, Syria by Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorists aided and abetted by neighboring Turkey, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh told Amy Goodman of Democracy Now on Monday that the US intelligence community did not share its fears of Turkey’s role in the alleged chemical attack when making the case for launching a strike on Syria.

Turkey has angrily rejected Armenia’s claims that it is harboring Al-Qaeda-linked militants that captured an Armenian-populated town in northwestern Syria and caused its residents to flee their homes two weeks ago.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday urged the warring parties in Syria and their supporters to “do everything” to protect civilians in the Middle East country, where armed conflict entered its fourth year in March.