The Yazidic Sun Temple in Aknalich (Armenia), which I haven't seen

 

What kind of travelogue is this? Talking about a place, the authors haven't seen?!

Let me first say a few words about this monstrous statement, because when I write after my travels, I hardly finish what I want to report about my travels before the next one starts. And I just realized by chance that I hadn't seen a place in Armenia that would have been important to me. I was traveling with a group at the time, and I had no idea that the Yazidis were represented in Armenia with such a large number and a large temple. I've always placed the Yazidis in Kurdistan. But this shows once again what it's like with places you haven't managed to see. This is at least an indication that one should visit a place again. But let's get to why I had and still have a special interest in this specific temple in Armenia.

Armenia was the first kingdom to adopt Christianity as its state religion, in 301 AD. Interestingly, it had its own scripture, and the Gospel was translated into Armenian very early on. This was unusual, as it took quite a long time for this to happen in the rest of the Christian world. And the translation was very important for Germany, for example. The Latin Bible (Vulgate) was translated into German by Martin Luther (and later Huldrych Zwingli into Swiss German), which thereby standardized high German. But let's stay with Armenia. Armenia experienced a conflict between Christianity and with influences from the Greek and Syrian cultures. There was the temple in Garni, which I haven't written about yet, but of which I have already posted a photograph; the picture here is from this blog post [1]. This temple was dedicated to Mithras. It is believed that Nero founded the temple; more concerning Mithras below. Today a reasonable number of Yazidis are found in Armenia, and this faith traces its roots back to Zoroastrianism, but also has elements from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Perhaps this is why the Yazidis are so persecuted in Iraq, where most Yazidis live. They live in parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran, with small numbers living in Armenia and Georgia. In the town of Aknalich (west of Yerevan) there is the Ziarat or Ziyarat temple ("Pilgrimage Temple"), which is the first Yazidi temple in Armenia. It literally means "Pilgrimage Temple." And then there is the world's largest Yazidi temple dedicated to the angel Melek Taus and the Seven Angels of Yazidi theology (Quba Mêrê Dîwanê temple) [2].

It's a shame, because from Yerevan to Aknalich it's only about 30 km, as far as from Cologne to Brühl, where my parents liked to take the tram when they were older, or from Boston to Salem, the distance is similarly far or close.

Most translations of the Bible tell of Mount Ararat, where Noah's Ark landed after the Flood [3]. One translation has "mountains of Armenia," but that is the exception. However, the translation from Aramaic (Peshitta Holy Bible Translated) states: "And the ark came to rest in the seventh month, in the seventeenth of the month, on the mountains of Qardu—Kurdish." This, however, refers to Mount Judi, and that is in Turkey [4]. "The identification of biblical Ararat with Mount Judi as the landing site of the ark persisted in Syriac and Armenian tradition throughout Late Antiquity." The mountain lies approximately halfway between Van and Mosul in the middle of Kurdistan. The Yazidis, however, are a religious group who speak Kurdish. [5]

Let's return to Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic Mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, which has its roots in Zoroastrianism but was a new religion centered around the god Mithras. This religion was popular in the Roman Empire from the 1st to 4th centuries, especially in the imperial army. [6]

The Yazidis also have elements of Zoroastrianism, but just as Zoroastrians are not fire worshippers, Yazidis are not sun worshippers. They worship God (monotheism!) facing the sun. Further elements of Judaism, the Church of the East, and Islam can be found. [7] The mythology is non-Islamic, but the religious terminology shows an influence from Sufism. [8] And before I go further into Sufism, there is a Sufi center here in the Eifel region two villages away [9], we should take a break here.

It's a shame that my trip through Armenia didn't even briefly touch on Aknalich, but I hope I'll have another chance to visit this place. There's a saying in German: "Knapp daneben ist auch vorbei!" [A miss is as good as a mile!]

Links and Annotations:
[1] Medea, Jason and the Argonauts in Georgia
https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2024/12/medea-jason-and-argonauts-in-georgia.html
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Yazidi_holy_places
[3] https://biblehub.com/genesis/8-4.htm
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Judi
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yazidis
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithraism
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yazidism
[8] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufismus / https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufismus
[9] What's going on with the Ottoman hostel in Sötenich (Eifel)?
https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2025/07/was-ist-los-mit-der-osmanischen.html

.

Pogromes, Genocide and the Armenian Genocide Memorial

 

das linoleum
denn es weiß nicht wo baku liegt
aus:
Aber das sind Ausnahmen
Tomaž Šalamun [1]

I've recently read the poem "But these are exceptions" [Aber das sind Ausnahmen] by Tomaž Šalamun, and it probably refers to the Schengen Agreement and the Baku pogrom, and also depicts people fleeing. When I heard about the Baku pogrom in 1990, I had to admit that I hadn't noticed it at all during my trip through Armenia. But I came into contact with the problem in Armenia when we visited the genocide memorial in Yerevan. And so I want to start with talking about the Baku pogrom, and then introduce the Armenian Genocide Memorial and what it actually stands for, and what extensions it could also stand for, because the genocide of the Ottoman Empire still is an issue. The ethnic cleansing continues, most recently in Nagorno-Karabakh (Armenian: Լեռնային Ղարաբաղ, Russian: Нагорный Карабах).

The Baku pogrom (Armenian: Բաքվի ջարդեր) was directed against the ethnic Armenian inhabitants of Baku in 1990, when Azerbaijan still had been part of the Soviet Union [2]. Armenians were raided, robbed, beaten, murdered,  expelled from the city, some appartments were arsoned, and all started on January 12th 1990, so that there will be the 35th anniversary of these hineous crimes in six weeks. The progrom lasted for seven days. Unlike the Sumgait pogrom in 1988, the Soviet army wasn't late for only three hours, but for a whole week. As the attackers had lists of Armenians and their addresses the pogrom hasn't been spontaneous.

Massacres of Armenians had occurred in the 1890s and 1909 in the Ottoman Empire. However, the systematic destruction of the Armenian people (the proper word is genocide [3]) in the Ottoman Empire during World War I took the lives of an estimated 800,000 to 1.2 million Armenians only during the march into the desert of Syria without sufficient water, starvation and the dispersion of survivors in concentration camps. After the constitution of the Turkish Republic, the Kurds, who helped in the genocide, and the Alevis replaced the Armenians as internal enemies in the 1920ies, they still suffer nowadays, as the Turkish army bombs Kurdish settlements. Only Turkey, Pakistan, and Azerbaijan deny the genocide, but „34 countries have recognized the events as genocide, concurring with the academic consensus.“

The Armenian Genocide Memorial complex (Armenian: Հայոց ցեղասպանության զոհերի հուշահամալիր) or shorter after the locality Tsitsernakaberd (Armenian: Ծիծեռնակաբերդ) is Armenia's official memorial dedicated to the victims of the Armenian genocide during World War I in the Ottoman Empire [4]. The construction started after demonstrations demanding an official recognition of the genocide during 1965 and were completed in 1967. Wikipedia: „The 44-meter stele symbolizes the national rebirth of Armenians. Twelve slabs are positioned in a circle, representing the twelve lost provinces in present-day Turkey. In the center of the circle, at a depth of 1.5 meters, there is an eternal flame dedicated to the 1.5 million people killed during the Armenian genocide.“ Among the people, who were committed to relieving the distress of survivors after the genocide, were Anatole France,  Franz Werfel, Henry Morgenthau Sr., Fridtjof Nansen, Pope Benedict XV, and more. There are also graves of soldiers, who died in the Nagorno-Karabakh war, and an alley of trees to commemorate the victims.

Our local guide told his personal story of how he experienced the genocide in his family. He comes from Istanbul and his grandmothers survived just by chance.  We observed a minute's silence at the memorial itself and the guide  sang a very moving song for us. After all, he had been trained as a singer.

The Armenian Genocide Memorial commemorates primarily the genocide of the Armenian people during World War I, but sadly crimes against the Armenian people and its heritage are still being committed to this day [5].

Links and Annotations:
[1] Translation: „the linoleum / because it doesn't know where baku is” from: “But these are exceptions”, title of the book as well of this poem. “Tomaž Šalamun (1941–2014) was a Slovenian poet who was a leading figure of postwar neo-avant-garde poetry in Central Europe ...”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toma%C5%BE_%C5%A0alamun 
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baku_pogrom
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_genocide  
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsitsernakaberd
[5] We'll have to talk about this topic, when I tell you more about the  Armenian cross-stone or khachkar (Armenian: խաչքար).

.

The Cemetary of Gyumri

 

The Cemetary of Gyumri, the Spitak Earthquake some notes on Funeral Traditions

Gyumri has more than one cemetary and we passed one and stopped there. At the center there had been a group of mourning people with lots of military, but the cemetary is vast. It has to be. So we went a little further.

Gyumri (Գյումրի) is the the second largest city of Armenia [1]. It is an old city having been found in the 8th century BC, but the area has been populated since at least the third millennium BC.

The picture of the family, mother and daughter and more I don't want to show have images or even real life images of the deceased persons [2]. Often you read year of death 1988. There is a simple reason: it's the year of the Armenian earthquake aka the Spitak earthquake (Սպիտակի երկրաշարժ), which occurred on the 7th of December [3]. In between 25,000 to 50,000 people were killed, 130,000 were injured.

The funeral (Թաղում) itself takes place on the 3rd day after death, if it isn't a Saturday or Sunday. The lid of the coffin is placed next to the door of the house to inform neighbors and friends or also passers-by of the death, who may come in to respect to the deceased, who would clean hands and shoes with water or a wet towel. “Death and honoring the afterlife is a very important event.” You may read more in the two citations below [4]. The funeral ritual has thress sections [5]:
    Home Service/Wake – Dan Gark (Դեն Գարկ)
    Church Service – Yegeghetsvo Gark (Եղեգեցվո Գարք)
    Graveside Service – Kerezmanee Gark (Քերեզմանի Գարկ)
“Also, no lay person may speak or give eulogies in the sanctuary during either Home Service or Church Service at the Graveside Service. Instead, lay people should speak at the funeral home or the memorial meal (Hokejash).”

The sheer number of dead after the earthquake will not have allowed the funeral rites to be properly observed, which will have increased the grief even further. May the dead rest in peace, but also may the survivors have found their way back to life.

Links and Annotations:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyumri  
[2] With migration being a part not only of the past, I could show you such tombstone works e.g. in Cologne as well.
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Armenian_earthquake
[4] https://www.advantour.com/armenia/traditions/funeral.htm and https://bayercemeterybrokers.com/armenian-burial-traditions/  
[5] https://stjamesevanston.org/sacraments-and-pastoral-care/funeral  

.

Cathedral of the Holy Martyrs in Gyumri

 

We arrived late at Gyumri, but I could sneak out of the Hotel for a short visit of the vicinity before I had to return for dinner. I chanced to visit the Cathedral of the Holy Martyrs, which is next to the Museum of National Architecture and Urban Life, but which wasn't mentioned in the Lonely Planet Guidebook [1]. So I've been off the beaten track!

Now let's analyse what I had stumpled upon. I better quote Wikipedia: "Cathedral of the Holy Martyrs (Armenian: Սրբոց Նահատակաց եկեղեցի), in Gyumri, Armenia, is the cathedral of the Ordinariate for Armenia, Georgia, Russia, and Eastern Europe of the Armenian Catholic Church." [2] There were less than 14,000 Catholics in Armenia in 2011, and if you like to know how they are divided, please look up Wikipedia [3] under "Territorial jurisdictions and dioceses". Two years later, Armenian Catholic Church has been formally established by Pope Benedict in 1749 [4]. During the Stalin era many clergies had been killed and churches demolished. After the collapse of the Soviet Union Pope John Paul II reconstituted the catholic Hierarchy of Armenia, Georgia and Oriental Europe in 1991 [5].

The name of the cathedral was changed from "Holy Cross" to "Holy Martyrs" in honor of the martyrs of the Armenian genocide and was consecrated by Krikor Bedros XX Gabroyan, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church, and Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches on 24 September 2015 [6]. So the catherdral is relatively new, but Pope Francis paid a visit on 25 June 2016.

You might still wonder, why I am so excited about this church. It is different to the national church of Armenia, which is the Armenian Apostolic Church (Հայ Առաքելական Եկեղեցի). "The Armenian Apostolic Church believes in apostolic succession through the apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus (Jude)." [7] The church belongs to the Oriental Orthodox Churches, which is one of the oldest branches in Christianity [8]. Please do not confuse the Oriental Orthodox Churches with the Eastern Orthodox Churches (like in Russia).

Don't miss the Cathedral of the Holy Martyrs in Gyumri, but make sure that you also visit all the interesting churches and monasteries in Armenia and Georgia.

Links and Annotations:
[1] Lonely Planet: Georgien, Armenien & Aserbaidschan. Authors: Tom Masters, Joel Balsam, Jenny Smith. Mairdumont, Ostfildern 2023. ISBN: 978-3-575-01063-6.
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_the_Holy_Martyrs,_Gyumri
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_in_Armenia If you understand the paragraph „Territorial jurisdictions and dioceses“ on your first try: Congratulations!
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Catholic_Church  
[5] http://armenianchurchco.com/en/22282.html
[6] The information comes from [2] and maybe you are interested to know that Sept. 24th is my birthday.
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Apostolic_Church  
[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental_Orthodox_Churches#Theology_and_ecclesiology

.

Jerewan's Hraparak and Musical fountains

 

Yerevan is the capital of the Republic of Armenia and in its center is the Republic Square, which is called Hraparak, which is an abbreviation for Hanrapetutjan hraparak (Հանրապետության հրապարակ) [1]. It used to be called Lenin Square during the Soviet era, but before that it was generally just called Maydan (մայդան). Maydan is an interesting word, therefore I just looked it up [2] in which languages ​​it is used. I first saw it in Persian, because we lived in Isfahan right next to the (میدان امام Meidān-e Emām) or Meidan (میدان). In Arabic it is also called (ميدان). In Georgian you have Meidani (მეიდანი) and in Abkhazian Amaidan (Амаидан). Hindi has Maidaan (मैदान). We could certainly find more languages ​​within and outside the Indo-European language family that have a similar word to maydan for square.

The Lenin statue was removed when independence was achieved and now Republic Square is an architectural highlight. In addition, on some evenings there is a concert of classical and modern music for around two hours, accompanied by a fireworks display with water. This may sound paradoxical, but I will explain it later.

In front of the National Gallery there are ponds with fountains. Music from the National Gallery comes from a tape onto the loudspeakers. The Wasserorgel - the German word means literally water organ and I like it better than the English word music fountain - is controlled synchronously with the music and the fountains conjure up various aesthetic shapes [3]. But that would not be fireworks, because the colors would be missing. These are created by illuminating them with lamps that constantly change their colors.

The "water organ" has 2750 fountains, because it was inaugurated in 1968 for the city's 2750th anniversary. But then it was broken for years and was renovated at a cost of 1.4 million euros. It has been in operation again since 2007. And because it is such a beautiful spectacle, it attracts many visitors every time.

National Gallery

Links and Annotations:
[1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platz_der_Republik_(Jerewan)  
[2] One can use Google Translator for such purposes.
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_Square,_Yerevan#Fountains and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_fountain

.

Art and Linguistics at the Berlin Art Hotel in Gyumri

 

In Gyumri I stayed at the Berlin Art Hotel [1]. One thing you've got to know about Gyumri: the city had been hit by a terrible earthquake in 1988 was largely destroyed [2]. Around 25,000 people died at the time. The Berlin Art Hotel is one half of a project that was launched shortly after the earthquake. A polyclinic [3] was built in 1993 with the help of the German Red Cross and donations from Änne Burda (the wife of a German publicist), among others. And later on the clinic was still needed, but not in the original dimensions. The clinic also had to be maintained. Now the Polyclinic for Mothers and Children is financed by donations and the hotel operation. The hotel slowly developed out of a guesthouse. Today it is a hotel, but it also includes other projects. Art is exhibited in the hallways, breakfast lounge, lecture theater and also in the guest rooms.

I only want to mention two objects of art in this blog post: a picture and a sculpture. The picture shows the Tower of Babel. This is already a reference to linguistics in itself, because Babel stands for the confusion of languages or the diversity of human languages. Last but not least, George Steiner called one of his books “After Babel” [4].

And on the other hand, there was this sculpture, which I had already photographed in my first photo, but which I didn’t really notice. Then I first saw it from a distance, egg-shaped with a hole in the middle in dazzling white. But only when you look at it closely, you find finely chiseled characters from different languages -: Chinese, Mayan, Phaistos Disc, cuneiform, Devanagari, Tibetan, Armenian, Albert Einstein’s signature and many other writing samples as well. I have been interested in writing systems since I was young. One of the books that has accompanied me since then is a German book by Karl Faulmann [5]. It is a reprint of an edition from 1880 -: Illustrated History of Writing. Then I read about typography [6], but also about semiotics, after reading more by Umberto Eco [7]. In the end, I hardly had enough time to take a closer look at the sculpture, as I only discovered it when my group left to continue our journey. I definitely have to go there again; but not just because of the sculpture, of course.

Links and Annotations:
[1] https://berlinarthotel.am/about-us/
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Armenian_earthquake
[3] The German term “Poliklinik” comes from the Greek polis [πόλις], which means city, i.e. clinic for the city. While the English term “polycinic” goes back to the Greek poly [πολύς], which means many, a lot. Both are correct and simply mean: outpatient department.
[4] George Steiner: Nach Babel. Aspekte der Sprache und des Übersetzens. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2014. ISBN: 978-3-518-29725-6. Title of the original edition: After Babel. Aspects of Language and Translation (1975).
[5] Karl Faulmann: Illustrirte [!] Geschichte der Schrift. Entstehung der Schrift der Sprache und der Zahlen sowie der Schriftsysteme aller Völker der Erde. Wien 1880.  Neu verlegt bei Franz Greno, Nördlingen 1989. ISBN 3-89190-633-1. [Karl Faulmann: Illustrated History of Writing. Origin of Writing, Language and Numbers as well as the Writing Systems of All Peoples of the Earth. Vienna 1880. Newly published by Franz Greno, Nördlingen 1989. ISBN 3-89190-633-1.]
[6] Herbert Lechner: Geschichte der modernen Typographie [History of Modern Typography]. Karl Thiemig Verlag, München 1981. ISBN 3-521-04128-X.
[7] Umberto Eco: Die Suche nach der vollkommenen Sprache [The Search for the Perfect Language]. Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich 1997. ISBN: 3423306297. Title of the original edition: La ricerca della lingua perfetta nella cultura europea (1993).

.

Georgian Scripts and Language

 

We have already talked about the Armenian language and the Armenian alphabet [1]. Now I want to tell you more about the alphabets of Georgia, yes alphabets, and the Georgian language. But let's go back a bit.

Եթե նայեք Հայաստանի գրչին, ապա այն ամբողջովին տարբերվում է Վրաստանից. [If you look at the script in Armenia, it looks completely different from that in Georgia. ]

საქართველოს დამწერლობას თუ დააკვირდები, სომხურისგან სულ სხვანაირად გამოიყურება. [If you look at the script in Georgia, it looks completely different from that in Armenia.] [2]

In the blog post about Armenia, I mentioned Mesrop Mashtots, who invented the Armenian alphabet around 405 AD. He is also considered to have been the inventor of the alphabets for Caucasian Albanian and Georgian, although this is not undisputed [3]. Armenian is an Indo-European language and the only representative of the branch of Armenian languages [4]. Caucasian Albanian belongs to the Caucasian languages and bears no linguistic relationship with the Albanian language spoken in Albania, which belongs to the Indo-European family. The distinct Caucasian Albanian alphabet used 52 letters, but is extinct now [5].

After these excursions, I would like to come to the Georgian alphabets, because three writing systems have been developed: Asomtavruli, Nuskhuri and Mkhedruli, which were awarded the national status of intangible cultural heritage in Georgia by the UNESCO in 2015 [6]. Mkhedruli is the alphabet in use today, whereof 33 letters are used; previously there had been 38, but five of them are no longer needed today. They are arranged like the Greek alphabet and the letters that were needed for Georgian sounds were added. Asomtavruli and Nuskhuri are still used but only by the Georgian Orthodox Church for ceremonial religious texts or iconography. In summary, I have to qualify the above statement about the origin of the Georgian alphabets, because we do not know exactly how these alphabets developed.

Georgian or better Kartuli Ena (ქართული ენა), as the Georgians call their language, is the official language of Georgia [7]. Georgian belongs to the Kartvelian language family and the Karto-Zan subfamily; there are no connections to other language families. This is why this language and its preservation are of great cultural importance. It is estimated that there are 3.8 million speakers of Georgian, so there is hope for the preservation of the language.

For the linguistic nerds, I have a quote: “Georgian phonology features a rich consonant system, including aspirated, voiced, and ejective stops, affricates, and fricatives.“ Georgian is an agglutinative language. Nouns have seven cases and postpositions are used rather than prepositions. There is no grammatical gender [8] and no articles either. What makes it difficult for speakers of other languages are the clusters of consonants, especially at the beginning of words. The capital Tblisi (თბილისი) is therefore called Tbilisi in English (and in German formerly Tiflis).

Georgian shares another peculiarity with Basque, although otherwise the two languages have no connection, namely the vigesimal number system [9]. Yes, French and Danish also have parts of such a system. In French there is quatre vingt (80, i.e. 4x20) or quatre vingt onze (91), but not demi soixante for 30! But Maya and Aztec also used this system - that's where it's particularly interesting, unfortunately not here and now. I just found out that Dzongkha, the national language of Bhutan, also uses this system. And during a stay in Hunza I have been interested in the Burushaski language, which also has this system. A rudiment has been lost in Great Britain, because the British pound used to be worth 20 shillings.

I hope that Georgia and Armenia will move closer to the EU, because in my humble opinion they are an enrichment for Europe both linguistically and culturally.

Links and Annotations:
[1] Matenadaran, Mesrop Mashtots, Armenian Alphabet and Language
https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2024/10/matenadaran-mesrop-mashtots-armenian.html
[2] I had Google Translate create the two sentences.
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesrop_Mashtots
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_language
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasian_Albanian_language
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_scripts There are examples of all three scripts in this article.
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_language
[8] In Germany, gender is currently causing considerable problems in the populist parties.
[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigesimal

.

Matenadaran, Mesrop Mashtots, Armenian Alphabet and Language

This title calls for lots of research, but it all fits together so well. Matenadaran (Մատենադարան) is ancient Armenian for library or repository of manuscripts. It is a central archive in Yerevan, Armenia. I was able to visit it on this trip and I was very fascinated. This library dates back to the holdings of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Echmiadzin. It was expropriated in 1920 and all manuscripts were transferred to Moscow, but in 1939 the collection was brought to Armenia, but now to Yerevan. The current building was built between 1945 and 1957 in neo-Armenian style. The warehouse is carved into the rock to be safe from atomic bombs, but today it suffers from water ingress.

In front of the building stands a statue of Mesrop Mashtots; he is a saint who invented the Armenian alphabet. The Matenadaran is actually called the “Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts” (Armenian: Մեսրոպ Մաշտոցի անվան հին ձեռագրերի ինստիտուտ). Its collection has been included in the register of the UNESCO Memory of the World program in 1997 [1].

Mesrop Mashtots (Armenian: Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց) was, among other things, theologian, linguist and composer [2]. He lived from 362-440. He is venerated as a saint in the Armenian Apostolic Church. He is particularly known for developing the Armenian alphabet, which dates back to 405.

Why was a separate alphabet necessary? It was explained to me on the trip that other letters had already been used to spread pagan/satanic contents. In the German alphabet there are 26 basic letters, three umlauts and the sharp s, written ß, which is actually a ligature of ss, but is now often written ss or sz. In total there are 30 letters. The English alphabet consists of 26 letters. The Armenian alphabet (Armenian: Հայոց գրեր) today has 39 letters, with և ev being a ligature [3], but like the German ß is counted as a letter. The English sh is rendered as sch in German, but other languages just have a letter for this sound (same applies to th). The further back in time we go, the more ligatures we can find. Therefore, the number 39 should not confuse us too much. The script looks elegant, but subjectively it seems to me to be insufficiently discriminatory, i.e. some letters look very similar to others. This is very subjective and does not do justice to the Armenians' attitude to their script. For Armenians, the Armenian alphabet is part of their national identity.

What does the Armenian language belong to? I would have thought it belonged to the Persian language area, because there are points of contact in history, but that is wrong. The Armenian language (endonym: հայերեն [hayeren]) is the only member of a separate branch of the Indo-European languages [4]. It is estimated that there are 5-7 million speakers worldwide. There are a number of loan words from ancient languages such as Hittite or especially Luwian, which I dealt with six months ago in a biblical context [5].

Now let us enter the museum. We had a tour with an elderly lady (certainly over 80 years old) who explained the exhibits to us with great enthusiasm and knowledge. She had a wooden stick with which she pointed to the objects. That reminded me of two things. I had a tour in North Korea where a pointer was used, namely a telescopic pointer (similar to what car antennas used to look like). Then I remembered that I had a telescopic pointer myself when we still gave lectures with an overhead projector and not presentations with a projector (which is called beamer in German by the way).

The Echmiadzin Gospel Book is particularly beautifully designed and dates from the year 989. You can find out more about it on Wikipedia or directly in an article in the museum [6]. Also interesting is a large-format Bible that had to be cut in half and was saved by two women on the run, but could only be put back together decades later, or rather, one half is on display and the other is kept in the storeroom under a constant climate. They are changed every six months. The manuscripts are kept behind glass and attempts are made to prevent them from drying out or becoming too damp (which could lead to mold). Thyme plays a major role in preventig both. There are also other linguistic monuments, such as palm leaf manuscripts from Sri Lanka or early Chinese prints. Incidentally, Armenians began printing on paper much earlier than Western Europe. I would have liked to have stayed there longer, but I hope I will have another opportunity to do so later. In the mean time I'll pay a virtual visit every now and then and you could do so, too [7].

Links and Annotations:
[1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matenadaran and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matenadaran
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesrop_Mashtots
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_alphabet
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_language
[5] Paulus und Barnabas in Lystra https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2024/02/paulus-und-barnabas-in-lystra.html  
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echmiadzin_Gospels and „The Etchmiadzin Gospel Is An Ancient Exhibit Of The Matenadaran With A Thousand-Year History“ https://matenadaran.am/en/2024/06/25/the-etchmiadzin-gospel-is-an-ancient-exhibit-of-the-matenadaran-with-a-thousand-year-history/
[7] https://matenadaran3d.am/ and I just looked at this: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=PuKQibNfPsd&ss=162&sr=-.62%2C-.05&tag=KL3cYIa09X2&pin-pos=-4.52%2C1.17%2C-11.26

.

The Lesser and the Greater Caucasus

 

Mount Kazbek

My journey through Armenia and Georgia took me particularly to the Greater and Lesser Caucasus, or rather the German-speaking tour guide spoke of “dem Kleinen und dem großen Kaukasus”, which in German sounds very similar to “der kleine und der große Klaus”. That is the German title of a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen; in Danish and in English this similarity isn't as striking [1].

The Caucasus is an important region that separates Asia Minor from Europe. It is hard to imagine that there is a region that belongs to Europe so far to the east. Turkey stretches its entire length in between; there are over 1700 kilometers between Tbilisi and Istanbul. This region, which lies between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, has been very interesting historically: at the moment I would like to concentrate more on geography.

Mt. Kazbek glowing in the morning

The Lesser Caucasus lies in the south and is approximately 600 km long [2]. It is home to Armenia's highest peak, Mount Aragat at 4,090 m. And between the Lesser and Greater Caucasus there is another mountain range that does not run roughly east-west, but rather north-south. It is called Lichi or Surami Mountains [3]. Interestingly, this range isn't verry high; it reaches up to 2,470 m. And the pass that you have to drive over between Tbilisi and Butami, or rather Kutaisi, is only 949 m high. Nevertheless, it is a very rugged mountain range and the Chinese are currently building the modern Silk Road. More than 90 tunnels and more than 50 new bridges are needed, slopes are being removed or at least road has to be protected from rock avalanches with concrete covering. It is a major project and I may want to report on it at length. To the north lies the Greater Caucasus [4], which is about 1,100 km long. To the east of it lies Mount Elbrus; this is the highest mountain in the region (and in Europe, by the way) at 5642 m. Mount Kazbek is in Georgia at 5047 m. Mount Aragas is the highest mountain in Armenia at 4090 m, as already mentioned, and is located in the Lesser Caucasus.

And what about Ararat? Ararat is not in the Caucasus, because it is of volcanic origin and is located in today's Turkey, but it is the national mountain of Armenia. It can be seen from Turkey, Armenia and Iran. I had seen it first from Iran [5] and only now from Armenia. Noah is said to have landed with the ark on Mount Ararat [6]. The word comes from Hebrew or later from the Assyrian word Urartu: Armenian Մասիս Masis or Արարատ Ararat [7].

Mount Ararat as seen from Armenia
(enhanced photography)

Mount Ararat as seen from Iran

Links and Annotations:
[1] Der kleine Klaus und der große Klaus (dänisch: Lille Claus og Store Claus. Englisch: Little Claus and Big Claus), a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, published in Danish in 1835. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_kleine_Klaus_und_der_gro%C3%9Fe_Klaus and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Claus_and_Big_Claus 
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_Caucasus
[3] „Likhi Range (Georgian: ლიხის ქედი, romanized: likhis kedi) or Surami Range (Georgian: სურამის ქედი, romanized: suramis kedi) is a mountain range in Georgia … .“ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Likhi_Range Fun fact: The imitation crab meat surimi (Japanese すり身) sounds only roughly like the mountains.
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasus_Mountains
[5] A Visit to the Armenian St. Thaddeus Monastery in Iran
https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2018/10/a-visit-to-armenian-st-thaddeus.html
[6] You can read it like this in the Hebrew Bible: https://biblehub.com/genesis/8-4.htm or in the New American Standard Bible: https://biblehub.com/nasb/genesis/8.htm or in the Luther translation of 2017 and the Einheitsübersetzung (German): https://www.bibleserver.com/EU.LUT/1.Mose8%2C4
[7] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ararat und https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Ararat

.