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Pulpulaks in Armenia

Usually built with or in stone and approximately one meter tall, the typical Armenian water fountain usually provides cold mountain spring water in Armenia.

It is called a Pulpulak which relates to the murmuring of water from the water source. Pulpulak is a source of pride in Armenia and are unique to anything you’ll find anywhere else in the world.

Pulpulaks are almost everywhere in Armenia and only 30 years ago, it was very strange for Armenians to understand the idea of “buying water” because water is something that has always been ever-flowing and free in the country.

Pulpulaks became more popular at the beginning of the 20th-century when society took to its ancestors and started to install them and celebrate the gift of water.

The fountains don’t solely have a mission to supply water to the residents but they are also built to honor someone who passed or did something remarkable.

When you see these pulpulaks, you often have to bow down to sip the water and it is a way of paying respects to the deceased person.

Illustrator Yaoyao Ma Van As