Saturday – July 27, 2013
Spoiler alert: if you don’t care for ancient books and manuscripts or modern art, skip to another page.
I had a wonderful day today! I took a city taxi to the edge of the city to the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts, commonly called The Matenadaran. The magnificent building houses the world’s largest collection of ancient Armenian manuscripts. One of the guide books stated that the stone building is dug into a hill and can withstand a nuclear attack. I’m not sure about that information, but the museum appeared to be a very solid and impressive building.
The Matenadaran
Lobby of the Matenadaran
The Main Manuscript Room
Illuminated Manuscript
The collection at the Matenadaran includes more than 17,000 manuscripts. The oldest parchment book is the Gospel of Lazarus written in 887. There are older fragments of manuscripts dating from the 5th to 8th centuries. It is an amazing collection.
Manuscript
Another Manuscript Room
Map of the World – 1110 A.D.
Plants Used to Make Ink
Hacob Meghapart – “The Sinner”
The first book printed in the Armenian language was The Friday Book in 1512. It was printed in Venice, Italy by Hacob Meghapart some years after Gutenberg invented the printing press. Hacob Maghapart was a monk who called himself “the Sinner” because, at that time, it was believed that the words in books came from God and were transmitted through a religious scribe. Therefore, printing was a sin because the words were placed on the pages by a machine.
Friday Book – Venice 1512
I spent more than three hours in the Matenadaran because the collection of ancient manuscripts was so vast and impressive. Afterwards, I walked down the broad tree-lined Mashtots Avenue. I passed a small book store and noticed English language books in the window.
Little Old Book Store
I entered the store and was surprised to find impressive paintings on the ceiling. After a little bargaining, I purchased an overpriced paperback book and some post cards.
Ceiling in the Book Store
On the corner, I found another branch of the Russian Tashir Pizza chain. Since it was almost three o’clock, I stopped in for a late lunch. The waitress was surly and unfriendly, but a young man at the next table, who spoke English, helped me and ordered in Russian. When I thanked him in Armenian, he asked if he could join me. He was an Armenian/Russian university student from Omsk, Siberia who came to Yerevan “to practice English.” He said he was staying in a local youth hostel where all the international students speak English. When he heard me speak English, he was eager to practice with a real English-speaking person. I had company for lunch, learned a little about Omsk, and admired his youthful enthusiasm.
Tashir Fast Food
After lunch, I walked along Isahakyan Street toward The Cascade. Anahit and Karin brought us here on my first day in Yerevan, but the museum was closed. I returned today to visit the Cafesjian Center for the Arts. This is a magnificent multi-level gallery of modern art with a fabulous sculpture garden on the first level.
Foot of The Cascade
Cafesjian Center for the Arts
There are indoor and outdoor spaces for exhibiting the amazing world-class private collection of Gerard Cafesjian. The museum climbs five levels up the side of a hill. There is an indoor escalator, as well as indoor and outdoor stairs to view the art works. The structure is simply called “The Cascade.”
Decorative Fountain
Modern Art in the Cascade
Looking Out
Photography was prohibited in the galleries so I have no photos of the objects on display indoors. My favorites were: in the first floor gallery there was an exhibit of glassworks created by Dale Chihuly and in another upper level space there were the works of the Czech couple, Libensky and Brychtova.
Modern Art
Sculpture Garden Below
The Cascade
Good Gelato
The lovely tree-lined street in front of The Cascade is lined with cafes and restaurants. I needed a short rest, so I stopped in one for a bottle of cold water and a dish of Italian gelato. It was very tasty!
Street Sign
Fireworks From My Hotel Window