Armenia June 28th

Sacrifice and Sacrilege

Etchmiadzin - Repair and Reconstruct

Today I will begin by quoting from our program and from the Armenian website of hetq (a group of investigative journalists).

Today you will have a city tour around Yerevan, the ancient capital of Armenia, which was founded in 782 B.C. Armenians are proud that Yerevan is 29 years older than Rome. During the city tour, you will walk around the center of the city and visit Cascade, Opera and Ballet Theater, Mashtots Avenue, and the Republic Square. The tour also includes a visit to Matenadaran Museum, a repository of one of the richest manuscript collections in the world.

When the construction boom of 2000-2004 began, there was no institution with the authority to intervene in the destruction of monuments, because no list of Yerevan monuments had been finalized for preservation by the government. This was during a period of time when City Hall was realizing a number of huge construction programs, including the Northern Avenue project. More than five monuments were destroyed during this period alone. Marietta Gasparyan, head of the Department for Scientific Research in Architectural and Cultural Heritage, recalled the attitude of Narek Sargsyan, former Head Architect, towards that situation. "The Northern Avenue head architect would often be surprised how a monument or old building was destroyed. It turned out that he did not know about it. After learning that Gabriel Gabrielyan's house on Abovyan 1/4 was destroyed he said, 'Oh no, I'd wanted that to remain.' And then they shamelessly announced that they weren't the ones who had destroyed that building, it had been the homeless."

Yerevan City is an example of Fake News!! Or, to put it another way, it is Armenia´s answer to Milton Keynes in GB: a modern city, designed on the drawing board and as an ideal city. But Milton Keynes was built on open space - in Yerevan there had been an old city. The first steps were taken in the 1930s by an Armenian-Russian architect, Alexander Tamanian (who also destroyed a number of old buildings) and was carried on by modern architects.

If you are looking for old Armenia stay in Yerevan long enough to recover after your flight or long enough to check in your flight home. If you want to chill out after a long trek through the region and prepare for your flight home, or you are looking for a cheap alternative for the infamous "hen party" or "stag night" (Junggesellenabschied) then this is the place for you.

The Cascade

Renate, as a tourist, hates it, and Mher, our local guide and resident, is less than enthralled by it: I am fascinated by the recent architectural attempts to give it some kind of conformity and by the introduction of green spaces providing quiet oases within a city of a million or more residents. But the jury is out on this one (unentschlossen?). I have probably not provided enough photos for you to decide.

I can best describe the rest of the day by quoting our program: A short drive will take you to Etchmiadzin town – the religious center of all Armenians around the world. Here – after the adoption of Christianity in 301 AD – was built the first Christian temple in the world – Etchmiadzin Cathedral. It is the seat of the Supreme Patriarch of the Catholicos of all Armenians. The cathedral keeps an important religious relic – the Holy Lance spear. In 2000 Etchmiadzin Cathedral was listed as an UNESCO site. [Closed due to work to prevent a crack in the foundation spreading.] You’ll see the ruins of Zvartnots temple (7th century, UNESCO World Heritage Site), that was a miracle of its time.

Theology University at the cathedral

Cathedral: Unfortunately completely fenced off due to repair; but largely reconstructed and repaired. Very little of the original (301 BC) remains, but it claims to be older than anything in Rome.

Cellars to a building used as restaurant

Unplanned; Gayanah - dedicated to a female saint (is the spiral visible). She was abbess and murdered by Tiridates III in 301. Largely as built in 631. Also a UNESCO site.