Yerevan was founded in 782 BCE as a fortress called Erebuni, built on a hill overlooking the plains. Archaeologists found a stone tablet there that gave the exact date the city began - making Yerevan one of the few cities in the world with a known birthday. The city celebrates its birthday every October.
About a third of all Armenians live in Yerevan - around a million people. The city centre is built around a big circle called Republic Square, where pink stone buildings curve around a fountain that dances in time with music every evening in summer.
The pink colour comes from a stone called tuff (or 'tuf'), which forms when volcanic ash settles and hardens. Armenia is full of old volcanoes, so there is lots of tuff. It comes in pink, orange, black and even green - and Yerevan's architects have used all the colours like a giant box of crayons.
From most parts of the city, you can look south and see Mount Ararat rising above the rooftops. Yerevan also has a metro system, big parks, a cable car, museums full of ancient treasures, and a famous market called Vernissage where artists sell paintings, carpets and carved wooden objects every weekend.