On the 161st day I visited the oldest and largest Armenian Quarter in the world in New Julfa, Isfahan, Iran.

History records that when King Abbas the Great moved the capital of Safavid Persia to Isfahan in 1598, he brought many immigrants to fill his new capital.

It is said that nearly 300,000 Armenians were displaced from Armenia as a result of the war between the Safavid Persians and the Ottoman Turks in the region. Most of them came from Julfa, so the Armenian area of Isfahan was called New Julfa.

In New Julfa several Armenian churches were immediately built. What later became the main church was Vank Cathedral which is said to be the most beautiful Armenian church in the world.

The outside combines Persian and Eastern styles, while the inside combines Armenian style with Western frescoes.

The paintings from the 17th century are well preserved today. Apart from that, there is also a chair which is still used by the archbishop there.

In this complex there is also a museum which stores the history of the Armenians of New Julfa. Most interesting is the oldest press in the Middle East brought by the first Armenian churchmen to settle in New Julfa.

This press was originally used to print the Armenian Bible. Of course, presses existed before, as did the Armenian Bible printed in Europe. Meanwhile, the handwritten Armenian Bible is even older. This is reasonable considering Armenia was the first kingdom to embrace Christianity, even before Rome.

From New Julfa, I visited a friend from Iceland who was studying Farsi at Isfahan University. At first glance I noticed that the campus was quite beautiful with views of the city of Isfahan.

Tomorrow I would leave Isfahan and go to Shiraz by bus.


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Stage 1 Route - Sumatra (DONE!):
Jakarta - Bandar Lampung - Baturaja - Lahat - Pagar Alam - Bengkulu - Lebong Tandai - Kerinci - Jambi - Kuala Tungkal - Batam - Johor Bahru

Stage 2 Route - ASEAN Mainland (DONE!):
Johor Bahru - Kuala Tahan - Kota Bharu - Su-Ngai Kolok - Nakhon Si Thammarat - Chaiya - Nakhon Pathom - Bangkok - Nakhon Ratchasima - Phimai - Nong Khai - Vientiane - Vang Vieng - Luang Prabang - Chiang Rai - Chiang Mai - Pai - Chiang Mai - Chiang Rai - Boten - Kunming, China

Stage 3 Route - China (DONE!):
Kunming - Dali - Lijiang - Shangri-La - Shambala - Litang - Chengdu - Leshan - Chengdu - Xi'an - Zhangye - Jiayuguan - Dunhuang - Turpan - Urumqi - Almaty, Kazakhstan

Stage 4 Route - Central Asia (DONE!):
Almaty - Shymkent - Tashkent - Nukus - Muynak - Turtkul - Khiva - Bukhara - Samarkand - Tashkent - Khujand - Fann Mountains - Dushanbe - Kunduz, Afghanistan

Stage 5 Route - Afghanistan (DONE!):
Kunduz - Samangan - Mazar-i-Sharif - Balkh - Kabul - Bamiyan - Band-e Amir - Yakawlang - Lal - Chagcharan - Herat - Mashhad, Iran

Stage 6 Route - Iran:
Mashhad - Tehran - Isfahan - Persepolis - Shiraz - Ahvaz - Shushtar - Shush - Shalamcheh Border - Bandar Abbas - Sharjah, UAE

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Music Credits:
And Awaken - Stings by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.