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NEW JULFA, THE ARMENIAN QUARTER OF ISFAHAN
Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso, Italy
Aug 7 2014
Simone Zoppellaro | Isfahan
7 August 2014
Isfahan (Iran), in the ancient district of New Julfa lives an Armenian
community. From Ararat supermarket to Ani cafe, everything here is
reminiscent of the deep link of Armenians to their homeland
I arrive in New Julfa in the afternoon of a late July day, with a
scorching heat and such a strong light that almost makes disappear
the few streets that make up the Armenian quarter of Isfahan. We
are in the last days of Ramadan, and despite being a place with a
strong Christian presence, all the cafes are closed. There's a good
number in the neighborhood: most of them are well-furnished, a bit
larger than a room, and wrapped in a penumbra created specifically
to protect the privacy of the young Christians and Muslims that -
in the context of a closed and sometimes tough city like Isfahan -
can find here some relief. In one of these cafes, a few hours before
sunset, I shall have occasion to order something to drink, which is
not so obvious in Iran in the month of Muslim fasting.
No trace of Armenians today; only Persian is heard in the streets,
among the few passers-bys. I meet just one: the aged clerk of a
supermarket where I enter to buy some water.
At first glance, New Julfa immediately shows a distinct character
compared to the rest of the urban fabric of Isfahan: an elegant
residential neighborhood, which is also the shopping destination for
the urban bourgeoisie. Among the many shops available, and some small
shopping centers, I catch sight of a Benetton store. The streets seem
very accurate, with wide paved walkways that make pleasant strolling.
The impression, similar to the one I had in other Christian districts
in the Middle East, is that of a widespread economic well-being:
thus in Beirut, but also in Damascus and Aleppo before the war.
Making even more distinctive the quarter, and giving it somehow
a European trait, is the presence of some squares where young and
old spend their time talking. Above all, surrounded by a beautiful
colonnade, is Julfa square: here is the Armenian supermarket Ararat,
where it's possible to buy pork ham with the curious lettering
"reserved to the religious minorities".
Strolling around, signs of other businesses reveal their Armenian
property. I run into a coffee named after Ani, the ancient capital
of western Armenia, a pastry called Akhtamar, as the island on Lake
Van where is the site of a major cathedral, and a gym known as Masis,
after the highest peak of the sacred Mount Ararat. Significant names
that speak of the deep connection of these people with their homeland.
Finally, what is arguably the most important treasure of this quarter:
its thirteen seventeenth-century churches. The most famous, the Holy
Savior Cathedral, which was announced in May as a forthcoming entry
in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, is a remarkable synthesis
between Islamic, Armenian and European architecture. No less elegant
and beautiful - and equally covered with sumptuous frescoes - is the
nearby Church of St. Bethlehem, the only other open to visitors.
Anyone who has seen the churches of the Caucasian Armenia, must
be taken by surprise here: so are the first bare and essential,
as are those of Isfahan rich and sophisticated, designed to abduct
the eyes and hearts of those who enter - in this very similar to the
contemporary mosques of the city.
Underlying this process of acculturation is a more than four-century
long history. Arrived in Isfahan in 1604 at the behest of Shah 'Abbas
I, one of the greatest rulers in the history of Iran, the Armenians
played a key role in the heyday of the Safavid Empire. Skilled
traders, they were deported from the Ararat plain and the town
of Julfa (in today's Azerbaijan) to the capital Isfahan, with the
double aim of using a scorched earth policy in a border disputed
by the dreadful Ottoman neighbor and of giving a new impetus to the
economic development of the capital.
Allocated out of town, over the river banks of Zayanderud (the
urban limit since then, later engulfed by the city expansion),
the Armenians enjoyed a great religious freedom and soon, after
the tragedy of exile, also a considerable wealth. They named their
new settlement New Julfa, in memory of the lost homeland, and were
able in a few years - aided by the support of the Safavid crown -
to create a network of businesses whose ramifications extended from
Malaysia and India to Russia and Europe.
The next day, I talk a long time about the history of this quarter with
Artin Mouradian, director of the Diocesan Council of the Armenians
in Isfahan. While I wait to be received, sitting in the waiting room
of the offices behind the Cathedral, I observe a significant comings
and goings in the hallway. I cannot help but think: here is where
the Armenians were! The impression is that in fact many of them lead
a separate existence from the rest of the city, closed in their own
spaces. I am surprised by the figures that Mouradian gives me: there
are approximately 10 000 Armenians in Isfahan, and over 500 students
in the Armenian schools of New Julfa.
Numbers that sounds even more remarkable if we consider that the
Christians in Iran (not just Armenians) detected by the census of
2011 are just 117 704.
With the pride of knowing to belong to an important history, Mouradian
tells me of the many activities of his community, ranging from music
(two choirs) to sport (as in other Iranian cities, there is an
Armenian community centre) up to publishing (just in New Julfa, in
the seventeenth century, Armenians gave rise to the first typography
of the country). With the centenary approaching, a mention of the
Armenian Genocide couldn't be missing; and so Mouradian speaks to
me of their commitment in order to reach even in Iran an official
recognition of this tragedy.
>From a religious point of view, Isfahan is - along with Tehran,
Tabriz and Urmia - one of the three dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic
Church in Iran. Every Sunday the Mass is held in rotation in two of
the thirteen churches, so to keep them all in operation. In New Julfa
there are also rather small Catholic and Protestant minorities.
In the context of a Middle East in flames, where some of the oldest
Christian communities are in danger of disappearing forever along
with their spiritual and material heritage, that of New Julfa is a
reality that deserves to be preserved and known.
As for Iran, those of Isfahan and Tehran are the only Armenian
communities which have retained numerically relevant. Others, because
of internal (toward the capital Tehran) and external migration (to
the United States, in particular) seemes doomed to rapid extinction.
http://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/All-the-news/New-Julfa-the-Armenian-quarter-of-Isfahan-154899
From: A. Papazian
Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso, Italy
Aug 7 2014
Simone Zoppellaro | Isfahan
7 August 2014
Isfahan (Iran), in the ancient district of New Julfa lives an Armenian
community. From Ararat supermarket to Ani cafe, everything here is
reminiscent of the deep link of Armenians to their homeland
I arrive in New Julfa in the afternoon of a late July day, with a
scorching heat and such a strong light that almost makes disappear
the few streets that make up the Armenian quarter of Isfahan. We
are in the last days of Ramadan, and despite being a place with a
strong Christian presence, all the cafes are closed. There's a good
number in the neighborhood: most of them are well-furnished, a bit
larger than a room, and wrapped in a penumbra created specifically
to protect the privacy of the young Christians and Muslims that -
in the context of a closed and sometimes tough city like Isfahan -
can find here some relief. In one of these cafes, a few hours before
sunset, I shall have occasion to order something to drink, which is
not so obvious in Iran in the month of Muslim fasting.
No trace of Armenians today; only Persian is heard in the streets,
among the few passers-bys. I meet just one: the aged clerk of a
supermarket where I enter to buy some water.
At first glance, New Julfa immediately shows a distinct character
compared to the rest of the urban fabric of Isfahan: an elegant
residential neighborhood, which is also the shopping destination for
the urban bourgeoisie. Among the many shops available, and some small
shopping centers, I catch sight of a Benetton store. The streets seem
very accurate, with wide paved walkways that make pleasant strolling.
The impression, similar to the one I had in other Christian districts
in the Middle East, is that of a widespread economic well-being:
thus in Beirut, but also in Damascus and Aleppo before the war.
Making even more distinctive the quarter, and giving it somehow
a European trait, is the presence of some squares where young and
old spend their time talking. Above all, surrounded by a beautiful
colonnade, is Julfa square: here is the Armenian supermarket Ararat,
where it's possible to buy pork ham with the curious lettering
"reserved to the religious minorities".
Strolling around, signs of other businesses reveal their Armenian
property. I run into a coffee named after Ani, the ancient capital
of western Armenia, a pastry called Akhtamar, as the island on Lake
Van where is the site of a major cathedral, and a gym known as Masis,
after the highest peak of the sacred Mount Ararat. Significant names
that speak of the deep connection of these people with their homeland.
Finally, what is arguably the most important treasure of this quarter:
its thirteen seventeenth-century churches. The most famous, the Holy
Savior Cathedral, which was announced in May as a forthcoming entry
in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, is a remarkable synthesis
between Islamic, Armenian and European architecture. No less elegant
and beautiful - and equally covered with sumptuous frescoes - is the
nearby Church of St. Bethlehem, the only other open to visitors.
Anyone who has seen the churches of the Caucasian Armenia, must
be taken by surprise here: so are the first bare and essential,
as are those of Isfahan rich and sophisticated, designed to abduct
the eyes and hearts of those who enter - in this very similar to the
contemporary mosques of the city.
Underlying this process of acculturation is a more than four-century
long history. Arrived in Isfahan in 1604 at the behest of Shah 'Abbas
I, one of the greatest rulers in the history of Iran, the Armenians
played a key role in the heyday of the Safavid Empire. Skilled
traders, they were deported from the Ararat plain and the town
of Julfa (in today's Azerbaijan) to the capital Isfahan, with the
double aim of using a scorched earth policy in a border disputed
by the dreadful Ottoman neighbor and of giving a new impetus to the
economic development of the capital.
Allocated out of town, over the river banks of Zayanderud (the
urban limit since then, later engulfed by the city expansion),
the Armenians enjoyed a great religious freedom and soon, after
the tragedy of exile, also a considerable wealth. They named their
new settlement New Julfa, in memory of the lost homeland, and were
able in a few years - aided by the support of the Safavid crown -
to create a network of businesses whose ramifications extended from
Malaysia and India to Russia and Europe.
The next day, I talk a long time about the history of this quarter with
Artin Mouradian, director of the Diocesan Council of the Armenians
in Isfahan. While I wait to be received, sitting in the waiting room
of the offices behind the Cathedral, I observe a significant comings
and goings in the hallway. I cannot help but think: here is where
the Armenians were! The impression is that in fact many of them lead
a separate existence from the rest of the city, closed in their own
spaces. I am surprised by the figures that Mouradian gives me: there
are approximately 10 000 Armenians in Isfahan, and over 500 students
in the Armenian schools of New Julfa.
Numbers that sounds even more remarkable if we consider that the
Christians in Iran (not just Armenians) detected by the census of
2011 are just 117 704.
With the pride of knowing to belong to an important history, Mouradian
tells me of the many activities of his community, ranging from music
(two choirs) to sport (as in other Iranian cities, there is an
Armenian community centre) up to publishing (just in New Julfa, in
the seventeenth century, Armenians gave rise to the first typography
of the country). With the centenary approaching, a mention of the
Armenian Genocide couldn't be missing; and so Mouradian speaks to
me of their commitment in order to reach even in Iran an official
recognition of this tragedy.
>From a religious point of view, Isfahan is - along with Tehran,
Tabriz and Urmia - one of the three dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic
Church in Iran. Every Sunday the Mass is held in rotation in two of
the thirteen churches, so to keep them all in operation. In New Julfa
there are also rather small Catholic and Protestant minorities.
In the context of a Middle East in flames, where some of the oldest
Christian communities are in danger of disappearing forever along
with their spiritual and material heritage, that of New Julfa is a
reality that deserves to be preserved and known.
As for Iran, those of Isfahan and Tehran are the only Armenian
communities which have retained numerically relevant. Others, because
of internal (toward the capital Tehran) and external migration (to
the United States, in particular) seemes doomed to rapid extinction.
http://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/All-the-news/New-Julfa-the-Armenian-quarter-of-Isfahan-154899
From: A. Papazian