[IRAN] Esfahan - Vank Cathedral

21:23 Travel Bunny 0 Comments

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Vank Cathedral was established in 1606, dedicated to the Armenian deportees that were resettled by Shah Abbas I during the Ottoman War (1603 – 1618). The Armenian immigrants settled in Esfahan and started building churches and monasteries to continue their religious activities in their new home. Vank Cathedral was originally a small church called Amna Perkich, which means “All Healing”. It was later expanded under the supervision of Archbishop David before it was completed in 1664.


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The statue of Archbishop Khachatour Kesaratsi, the founder of first printing house in Iran and Middle East Vank Cathedral (1636 AD).


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Entrance to the Vank Cathedral.


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A tile work plaque inscribed in Armenian can be seen at the entrance to the cathedral.


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The cathedral has a courtyard which contains a large freestanding belfry towering over the graves of both Orthodox and Protestant Christians.


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On a raised area to the left, a memorial has been set up in memory of the victims of the Ottoman massacre.


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The exterior of Vank Cathedral.


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The interior of the cathedral is covered with frescoes, gilded carvings and eye-catching tile works. The top section of the paintings depicts events from the life of Jesus while the bottom section depicts torture inflicted upon Armenian martrys by the Ottoman Empire.


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There are information leaflets describing what the painting was about for easy reference.


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On the northern wall, the painting of Judgement Day can be seen with heaven depicted above and hell below.


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The central dome depicts Bible story of creation of the world and man’s expulsion from Eden.


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Across the courtyard and facing the cathedral is a building which houses the Vank library and museum.


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The library contains more than 700 manuscripts and many valuable resources for research in Armenian and medieval European languages and arts.


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The museum houses unique collections of artifacts from the history of the cathedral and the Armenian community in Esfahan.


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The most interesting artifact is strand of hair with writings on it, work of Vahram Hakopian (1974, Tehran). It was written with a diamond-tipped pen, 20 times thinner than the hair. Thickness of the hair is 0.1mm. It was a hair of an 18-20 years old lady.


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We all took turn to look at the hair through a microscopic lens.


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Looking through the microscope, you can see the Armenian writing on the hair. Truly amazing!


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Showcase of Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman in 1915.


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Mount Ararat painting.


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A historic printing press and the first book printed in Iran.


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Exquisite Bibles are also part of the museum’s collection.


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I have visited Armenia before in 2014. It’s interesting to see the settlement of Armenian community in Iran and it’s a refreshing change from the usual mosque visit in Iran.

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