Simeon Lehatsi (Armenian: Սիմեոն Լեհացի, Polish: Symeon z Zamoscia, 1584-1639) was an Armenian traveler, writer, and poet from the city of Zamość, which is now in Poland.
Lehatsi was a significant member of the Polish community, and his parents were immigrants from the Crimea. He was a very God-fearing and willful man, having his own view on everything.
At the age of 20, Lehatsi started a pilgrimage to holy locations. Throughout 11 years, he has visited Constantinople, Venice, Rome, Florence, Mush, Alexandria, Cairo, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Damascus, Aleppo, Ankara, and many other major cities. His foot has stepped on the territory of fourteen modern states, such as Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Northern Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Vatican, Malta, Greece, Egypt, Israel, and Syria.
Simeon began his journey on February 15, 1608, in Lviv and completed it in the spring of 1619. While traveling, he wrote his “Travel Notes”.
Digitized original book in Armenian: Polona.Pl
Armenian text: digilib.aua.am
The only translation into Russian from M.O. Darbinyan: www.armenianhouse.org
The interactive map below (created by HAYASA) displays markers and the entire route described in the “Travel Notes”: www.google.com. The purpose of this map is to assist readers in geographic orientation and fully show the path Lehatsi has traveled.
Source: HAYASA
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