International Herald Tribune: Present Territory Of Armenia A Small P

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE: PRESENT TERRITORY OF ARMENIA A SMALL PART OF ITS ANCESTRAL LANDS

arminfo
Friday, February 24, 12:23

Armenia did not acquire a modern homeland until 1918 and then only
in a small part of its ancestral lands, writes International Herald
Tribune in an item “The key to Armenia’s survival; Exhibition Review”
By Roderick Conway Morris.

The item is the review of the “Armenia: Imprints of a Civilization,”
an impressive exhibition organized by Gabriella Ulluhogian, Boghos
Levon Zekiyan and Vartan Karapetian of more than 200 works spanning
more than 1,000 years of Armenian written culture. These range from
inscriptions and illuminated manuscripts to printed and illustrated
books, including many unique and rare pieces from collections in
Armenia and Europe.

Armenian civilization is one of the most ancient of those surviving in
the Middle East, but for large parts of its history Armenia has been a
nation without a country. This has given the spoken and written word,
the primary means through which Armenian identity has been preserved,
enormous prominence in its people’s culture.

Over the centuries this emphasis has fostered a particular regard
for books and the means of producing them. Scribes added notes on
the proper care and conservation of books and advice on hiding them
during dangerous times, even on “ransoming” them should they fall into
the wrong hands. A late 19th-century English traveler observed that
the Armenians prized the printing press with the same “affection and
reverence as the Persian highlanders value a rifle or sporting gun.”

In 1511 to 1512 (the exact date is uncertain), the first Armenian
book was printed in Venice. The event was especially significant for
this scattered nation, which did not acquire a modern homeland until
1918 and then only in a small part of its ancestral lands.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress