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The Armenian Museum in Jerusalem has reopened, and you must visit it - voila! tourism

2023-01-18T05:58:18.409Z


After a decade of renovations, the Armenian Museum in the Old City of Jerusalem reopened with a mosaic floor from the 6th century AD, as well as many years of history. Details here! tourism


The Armenian Quarter in Jerusalem (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)

After a ten-year renovation, the Armenian Museum in Jerusalem, also known as the Mardigian Museum, was recently opened, named after its donors - Helen and Edward Mardigian.



The Armenian Museum is located in a building that was established in 1853 as a hostel for Armenian priests, and when the Armenian Holocaust began in 1915, in which the Turks murdered the Home to about one and a half million people from the Armenian people, the place was also used as an orphanage for child survivors, some of whom were brought to Israel by the Americans.

In 1975, the two-story building became a museum, with arches and an inner courtyard, which presents the long connection between the Armenians and Jerusalem and the rich history of the community in the city, in general, and exhibits from the 14th century AD.



It is not for nothing that one of the four quarters of the Old City is Armenian.

The Armenians were the first nation to embrace Christianity in 301 AD, at a time when the religion was forbidden in worship throughout the Roman Empire, and its believers worshiped it and their Lord, Jesus, in secret.



"The recently opened Armenian Museum is without a doubt one of the pearls of the old city. The closed and closed quarter to foreigners, opens its doors and allows us a rare glimpse into a rich, magnificent and ancient cultural world," says Lavala!

Tourism Michal Ben Atar, a road teacher who wrote a research paper in anthropology on the Armenian brotherhood and guides tours about the Armenians in the city.

"Maps, charts, prints of historical contracts, digital photos, copies of rare manuscripts, treasures and gifts of the patriarchy - everything is displayed in the museum, alongside priestly robes and rich and colorful sacred objects. The story of a small and fascinating community closed behind mighty walls and many fears and anxieties opens before us , and now available and closer than ever."

Opened after a decade of renovations.

The Armenian Museum in Jerusalem (photo: surfer photos, Yifat Pearl)

The Armenian Museum in Jerusalem before the renovation (Photo: Eyal Shapira)

Armenian calendar from the 14th century.

One of the original exhibits in the museum (Photo: Surfer Photos, Yifat Pearl)

The building was renovated by the French architect Antoine Francis Yadi (photo: surfers' photos, Yifat Pearl)

Don't miss the mosaic

The renovated museum was renovated by the French architect Antoine Francis Yadi, who incorporated a glass roof (which is slightly reminiscent of the triangular glass pyramid in the Louvre Museum in Paris) and is located right above the magnificent mosaic of birds on the floor of the courtyard in the center of the museum.



This is a mosaic with 39 medallions of birds depicting winged animals that lived in the Land of Israel, such as pigeons, pheasants, pelicans, and more, which was copied from its location on Haneviyim Street in the Shear Nablus area, where it was discovered in 1894, and later purchased and preserved in the archives of the Armenian Museum.

"In an unusual step, the Antiquities Authority allowed the transfer of the mosaic from its original location to the museum in the Armenian quarter and it stands as a foundation stone in the center of the renovated historical museum building and testifies to the existence of the community in the city since ancient times," explains Ben Atar.



The Armenian inscription at the top of the mosaic, "To the memory and redemption of all Armenians whose names are known to God alone", shows that it was part of the floor of a place of prayer and remembrance for the dead (dedicated to the holy martyr Polyoctos from the 3rd century AD), which was dated by archaeologists to 550 AD.

Today, the mosaic is integrated in the center of the courtyard in the museum and under it are buried Armenian remains that were moved to it when the museum was renovated.

Armenian soldiers are buried under the mosaic.

The Armenian Museum in Jerusalem, last week (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)

Khachkar - Armenian cross in the museum (photo: Surfers' photos, Yifat Pearl)

An Armenian khachker at the entrance to the museum (photo: surfers' photos, Yifat Pearl)

Pina for the first holocaust

The museum also displays the great wound of the Armenians - the genocide during World War I - committed by the Turks in 1915 and lasting until 1923, and shows photographs from the Armenian Holocaust, records made by the Turks regarding a number of murders in various cities and other exhibits.

However, the most interesting of them is the collection of photographs and the names of Armenian intellectuals and intellectuals who lived in today's Istanbul, and were executed or deported on the night between April 23 and 24, 1915 (known as "Red Sunday"), in order to exterminate the entire Armenian elite.

That is why the Armenian Genocide Memorial Day, which Israel has not yet recognized, is held every year on April 25.



The museum has a variety of restored and authentic items, such as an Armenian calendar from the 14th century, as well as a genealogy of Armenian kings and leaders, including Gregory the Illuminator - who is considered the baptizer of the Armenians to Christianity, and also the first crusader queen, Melisinda, who reigned over Jerusalem in the 12th century AD .

before the visit

How much:

the visit to the museum is paid (NIS 25 per person, discount for groups and residents of Amerani Jerusalem), and you can also get guidance for an additional fee, also in Hebrew (look for Arik).


Address:

Armenian Quarter


Open:

Monday to Saturday, 4:30-9:30 p.m

  • tourism

  • Trips in the country

  • Excursions in the center

  • Excursions in Jerusalem and its surroundings

Tags

  • a museum

  • Armenians

  • Jerusalem

Source: walla

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