All About Armenia
Azerbaijan continues to erase Armenian history in favor of a discredited theory that the region’s Christian sites were made by a now-extinct group called Caucasian Albanians. Around 3am on September 27, my phone buzzed with messages that Azerbaijan had launched an aerial assault on Nagorno-Karabakh — the landlocked, mountainous enclave in the south Caucasus populated …
Yuhanna al-Armani has long been known by historians of Coptic art as an eighteenth-century Armenian icon painter who lived and worked in Ottoman Cairo. Here for the first time is an account of his life that looks beyond his artistic production to place him firmly in the social, political, and economic milieu in which he …
What makes Istanbul beautiful is the Bosphorus, dividing the city between Europe and Asia. And what makes the Bosphorus beautiful is a series of architecturally magnificent palaces, mansions, and mosques. Most of these architectural masterpieces on both sides of the Bosphorus are created by one Armenian family of architects: the Balyans. This article will explain …
This is the only book on the planet that made the attempt to collect, preserve and publish the academic work and details of Basquologist Vahan Sargsyan after his untimely departure from us. And it is the only publication in the Diaspora that made the attempt to add further details beyond his academic work in supoort …
This highly original icon is a tribute to the revered Ethiopian visionary Ewost’atéwos, who was born about 1273. The House of Ewost’atéwos is one of the two major monastic orders of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Ethiopia’s earliest state adopted Christianity as its official religion in the fourth century. The country thus shared with Armenia the …
From a message addressed to Vahan Setyan “Mr. Setyan: Here is a image of one of our legendary mountains. Its real name is not known. But you will see the hole in the Mountain is filled with the sun. Many legends about our mountains, I believe they originate from the ancient armenian culture. It reminds …
Charles Aznavour is perhaps the best-known French music hall entertainer in the world — renowned the world over for the bittersweet love songs he has written and sung, which seem to embody the essence of French popular song, and also for his appearances on screen in such wildly divergent fare as Shoot the Piano Player, …
Said to have been found east of the Suez Canal or in Alexandria in 1912, the statuette was acquired in June 1949, by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was purchased through the Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York. Period: Late Hellenistic or Early ImperialDate: mid-late 1st century B.C.Culture: Greek, Ptolemaic or RomanMedium: BronzeDimensions: H. 25 …
As we are about to commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire, Armenians all over the world will be organizing silent marches & protests in order to get recognition for the atrocities committed by the Young Turks government during the last days of the Empire. The Komitas Monument In …
Tsaghkunyats mountain range The Teghenyats Monastery is located in a forested fold of the Tsaghkunyats mountain range. It’s set between two streams, with a distant view of Mt. Ararat. The monument has sheep and horse-shaped tombstones, an impressive half-intact gavit (narthex) next to the ruined sanctuary (12th century) and parts of a monumental dining room (13th c.). …
My grandfather survived the Armenian Genocide. His name was Khachik Gevorgi Khachatryan and he was born in 1910 in the village of Norshen, located in the Artske-Aljavaz district of the province of Van. His mother, Gyozal Muradi Lputyan (circa 1882-1957) and sister Mariam (Far’è) Gevorgi Khachatryan (1907-1992) also survived. They later told my grandmother Shushik, …
Christian architecture in Armenia is a form of architecture very unique to the nation. It’s original, unlike some of the surviving monuments of the pre-Christian era, which had Assyrio-Babylonian, Hellenic or Roman influences. Some historians of art believe that Christian Armenian architecture was the prototype of modern Gothic Architecture that flourished in Europe during the high and …
One of the most impressive monasteries under the Armenians during the 11th and 12th centuries is the White Monastery (Deir el-Abiad) near Sohag, situated about 500km south of Cairo and northwest from Aswan. Originally built in 4th century as a Coptic Church by St. Shenute’s uncle, it was also a place of exile for Bahram …
San Lazzaro degli Armeni is an Armenian monastery in Venice, Italy named after St. Lazarus, the patron saint of lepers. The island functioned as a leper colony from the 12th to 16th centuries, until it was abandoned. Mechitar, the Armenian monk who fled his Turkish persecutors arrived in Venice in 1715 and the Venetian government, …
On top of a mountain in Jermuk, you can spot a majestic statue of a deer, looking over the landscape. It’s a spectacular view, especially during sunset or sundown. The story behind the statue is basically a legend, regarding the once full of deer populated region of Jermuk and the healing powers of the Jermuk …
The Armenian tradition of illuminating and illustrating hand written manuscripts dates as far back as the seventh century and continued to flourish under royal patronage in the kingdom of Cilicia in the tenth and eleventh centuries. In this video, Professor Christina Maranci explores the range of functions that these manuscripts served—from modest personal devotion to …
The “Yarkhushta” is traditionally known as a ceremonial war dance that originated in Western Armenia, specifically in Sassoun. It belongs to a wider category of Armenian ‘clap dances’ or also known as tsap parer – ծափ-պարեր. Armenian soldiers traditionally dance Yarkhushta before combat engagements, for ritualistic purposes and partly to cast off fear and boost …
Henry Jeffreys visits a country rediscovering its viticultural riches. Every 100 metres or so on the main road to Iran that runs through the Vayots Dzor province of Armenia there is a stall selling tomatoes, watermelons and Coca-Cola. I was with an Italian-Armenian businessman Zorik Gharibian and his wife Yeraz, and they suggested we stop …