YEREVAN, October 4. / ARKA /. An exhibition "Armenian Bridges" dedicated to the 350th anniversary of the Ashtarak Bridge built by architect Yerevantsi Hoja Grigor in 1664, opened on Tuesday at Hovhannes Tumanyan Museum, the press service of ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK said.

The exhibition is organized by the Foundation for the Study of Armenian Architecture with the assistance and sponsorship of ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK.

The purpose of the exhibition is to raise the awareness about numerous bridges built over rivers which are abundant in the Armenian Highland and which are recognized as unique samples of the Armenian architecture.

"Our country is extremely rich in samples of cultural heritage, but it is somewhat unfair that we know more about religious buildings, while we have other architectural monuments as well. And since this year marks the 350th anniversary of the Ashtarak Bridge, we decided to introduce bridges built over 2000 years throughout the Greater Armenia and to exhibit some of them," said an expert on Armenian architecture Samvel Karapetyan.

According to ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK Deputy CEO Arsen Petrosyan, in the past the Bank initiated a number of measures designed to open Armenia for its citizens.

"The natural duty of each of us is love of our country and knowledge about it,” he said.

The exhibition runs until November 15. Admission is free.

ACBA was established in 1996, within TACIS program of the European Union. Long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation between ACBA Bank and the leading French banking group Credit Agricole led Credit Agricole bank group to become the biggest shareholder of ACBA on September 15, 2006, by making a significant financial investment into the bank capital. ACBA was restructured, becoming a closed joint stock company and it was renamed ACBA CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK.

The bank's assets as of October 1, 2014 stood at 273.4 billion drams, an increase of 2.15 percent from the beginning of the year; its obligation grew by 3 percent to 220 billion drams and its capital dropped by 1.26 percent to 53 5 billion drams. The bank reported 673.2 million drams in net losses for the third quarter of this year against 3.9 billion drams in profit earned in the third quarter of 2013. The bank has 52 branches. ($ 1 - 412.25 drams). -0-