My Favourite Things with Marina Vardanian

MY FAVOURITE THINGS Marina Vardanian

Marina Vardanian, NSW’s Revenue Officer, left behind her beloved country of Armenia some 20 years ago to move to Australia, and despite the distance, retains a keen interest in the rich history of her culture.

MY FAMILY

I am the middle child of three. My younger brother lives in Holland, and my older brother still lives in Armenia. I have a very large family back in my country of birth, Europe and the United States.

MY DAUGHTER - SONYA

She is eight years old and she is the sun for my husband and I! She loves animals - especially horses and cats. We have three pets, two cats and a dog. I love them all, but my favourite is Tommy, as he is my oldest and cuddliest pet.

MY COUNTRY OF BIRTH - ARMENIA

I am from Armenia - the capital city is Yerevan, where I was born. I am very patriotic about my birth country. Its history dates back to well before the Bronze Age and traces the beginnings of civilization. Armenia has a rich and unique heritage that is fascinating to explore. For instance, Ughtasar Petroglyphs date back to 12000 BC. The world’s oldest known leather shoe dates back to 3500 BC discovered in Areni. This is a country where centuries move in lockstep in the form of distinctive historical-cultural and architectural constructions, some of which are acknowledged as a part of the UNESCO World Heritage.

MY ADOPTED CITY - SYDNEY

I arrived in Australia when I was 20 years old and fell in love with it immediately because of how multicultural and welcomed I felt. I remember a complete stranger at the airport saying to me “Welcome to Sydney”. It was amazing to have such feeling of belonging from the very first moment.

BEING CREATIVE

I love dancing, painting, decorating and designing! My favourite dancing is Armenian folk dancing. I was dancing with a troupe called ‘Tamzara’ until recently. I stay in touch with some of the troupe dancers, and we are hoping to dance together again one day.

COOKING ARMENIAN FOOD

My husband is an ex-chef, so he takes over in the kitchen, but when I am in the kitchen, I like to bake lots of traditional foods like Gata, which is a traditional sweet bread, made from very simple ingredients and it tastes amazing. I love to cook different traditional stews and Tolma, which is similar to Greek dolmades.

A GLASS OF ARMENIAN WINE

Armenia Wine is my weak point! People don’t know how good the wine making is from Armenia, it’s a sub-culture in itself. The country’s wine history is ancient, the region of Vayots Dzor claims to be home to the oldest winery in the world, in operation some 6,100 years ago.

A PASSION FOR HISTORY

I am a student of history, I love ancient histories and am amazed and inspired by how history has evolved since the origins of humanity. I am interested in ancient places that are rich with archaeology (amateur of course!). I am passionate about languages and international relations and have a degree in Linguistics and Security Studies.

A LOVE OF LANGUAGE

The languages I have studied include English, Armenian, French, Spanish and Russian - I wish I had the chance to use them more often!