World Armenia Echmiadzin

Fall 2008 Caravan of Countries Along the Central Asian Silk Road

Echmiadzin Oct 3, 2008

October 3, 2008 – Friday – Echmiadzin

This morning we headed west out of Yerevan for a visit to the Vatican of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Echmiadzin. Along the way we stopped at a 7th C. church which I will let Wikipedia describe: St. Hripsime Church, completed in 618, is one of the oldest surviving churches in Armenia, and is known for its fine Armenian architecture of the classical period, which influenced many other Armenian churches. The church, together with other nearby sites, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is dedicated to Saint Rhipsime.

A few miles down the road we arrived at Echmiadzin that includes a cathedral & churches, a museum, offices and living quarters for church officials. We had a special tour of sections of the museum not ordinarily open to the public. Priests and monks, many with beards and cellphones attached to their faces move about the grounds tending to the affairs of the church. Women in skimpy sundresses visit the interior of the cathedral. I try to imagine what would have happened two days ago had an Iranian woman attempted to enter a mosque dressed in this manner.

Back in Yerevan we had a tasty Armenian lunch. After lunch we had a break and I went to mail some Iranian guidebooks and maps back home that are no longer needed on this journey. As there are many Armenians in the States, the Armenian Post Office is adept at dealing with packages going to the States and the entire experience was hassle free, unusual in a post office in this part of the world.

We then visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial and Museum that documents and memorializes the early 20th C. effort of the Ottoman Turks to eradicate Armenians in Anatolia. The Turks deny that the slaughter that lasted several years was an effort at genocide but the museum presents compelling evidence to the contrary. The memorial that sits atop the underground museum is a fitting tribute to those who lost their lives.

Our final stop for the day was the Matenadaran, home to some 17,000 Armenian manuscripts from centuries past. The museum houses the expected Armenian historical and biblical documents but also includes many items from Roman, Greek, Iranian and Arabic cultures that have been an integral part of Armenia’s development. Many of the books are illustrated with exotic paintings on the borders of the pages in the books. The building that houses the museum stands atop a hill at the end of the city’s main street and is an architectural jewel.