Erevan, a tour of the city
Eribuni, the old Urartean settlement
Matanaderan, collection of manuscripts
The Genocid-Memorial
782 bc., Argischti I., king of Urartu built the Eribuni-Fortress on the hill Arin-Berd. That's why it is said that Erevan is one of the oldest cities of the world. Old inscriptions tell about that time.
Today, the city looks quite young as I wrote already. Boulevards and parks surround the center, big and monstrous monuments and buildings are located at the hills. Some of the monuments are pathetic and ugly, that's why I do not present them here ;-)
The Matanaderan, the Institute of old manuscripts, is the treasure-house for the greatest part of armenian manuscripts: fragments from 5th / 6th century, mediaval manuscripts - an unmeasurable value.
Here you can read in the only existing version of Ibn Batuta's (Avicenna's) book of geometry, one script from early medieval times tells about the form of the earth: an egg, not a disk! Even gravity was discussed already!
Everything in Armenia seems to be 1000 years earlier than elsewhere!
Mesrop Maschtoz developed the armenian alphabet in the 4th century, to translate the Bible into armenian language (1100 years earlier than Martin Luther!). This alphabet is still in use nowadays, 2 letters were added.
As you see, many things happen earlier in Armenia...
At Zizernakaberd-hill, a museum and a memorial were built in 1995 to the memory of the Genocid in 1915, when Turks killed one and half million of armenians. There is an eternal light and solemn music, flowers are laid down every day.
The wall bears the names of all places, where people became victims of the genocid or resisted the turks.
Even today, 1999, I am ashamed that this first, planned genocid of the 20th century, was undertaken with the help of thousands of german military advisors. 85 years later, I am ashamed of that.
main page
introduction to Erevan
scetches from Erevan