Illuminated pages
Miniatures and gold.
Diego Delso — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Furkan Akkurt — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gardmanahay — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Soghomon Matevosyan — CC BY-SA 4.0
One of the world's richest repositories of ancient manuscripts, an institute and museum in a stately stone building at the top of Mesrop Mashtots Avenue, named after the monk who created the Armenian alphabet in the early fifth century, whose statue stands before the entrance. The institute keeps tens of thousands of manuscripts and documents, most of them Armenian, alongside Arabic, Persian, Greek and other manuscripts on medicine, astronomy, philosophy, history and literature, some more than a thousand years old and decorated with fine coloured miniatures and gold. In the exhibition halls visitors see selected treasures behind glass, among them a giant manuscript weighing nearly thirty kilograms and another the size of a palm, and learn about medieval traditions of making paper, ink and bindings. Tickets are AMD 2,000 per adult, per the official site, and guided tours are available in several languages for an extra fee. It is close to the Cascade, so the two combine in one visit.
Miniatures and gold.
Nearly 30 kg.
The alphabet's creator.
53 Mesrop Mashtots Avenue, at the top of the avenue, Yerevan
The CascadeA giant white limestone stairway climbing a hill on the north side of central Ye7 minutes walk4.8
Republic SquareThe architectural heart of Yerevan and its finest square, a broad oval laid out 22 minutes walk4.7
Vernissage MarketArmenia's best-known handicraft market, an open-air market a few minutes from Re23 minutes walk4.6Yes, alongside Armenian manuscripts it keeps Arabic, Persian and Greek works on science and literature.