The Armenian capital, Yerevan, is dominated by Mount Ararat, where Noah's Ark is said to have come to rest after the flood. Armenians are proud of this biblical association. Noah's Ark has given its name to everything from a brand of mineral water to one of the country's main news agencies, Noyan Tapan in Armenian. The ancient world lives on in Yerevan. Flocks of sheep can be seen by the side of main roads on the outskirts of the town.
Cattle cross suburban streets.
Since the killings, they pass checkpoints where soldiers peer out of armoured personnel carriers while their comrades stop and search cars. If Armenians are proud of their biblical history, they are not proud of their modern assassination. Many people I spoke to talked of the shame they felt over the killings. The country has not prospered since it became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. Hundreds of thousands have left during the 1990s to try to find the wealth and stability which were out of their reach at home.