The first printing house in Iran and the Middle East
sThe Armenian neighbourhood of Isfahan, often overshadowed by the beauty of the city’s famous central square, mosques, or bridges, hides an ambience that no visitor should miss.
Among its several hidden gems, most of them in the broader district of the Armenian Church, there is the statue of Archbishop Khachatour Kesaratsi, who, in 1636 AD, founded the first printing house in Iran and the Middle East. He is portrayed leaning on a marble block that bears the relief of a printing machine, holding a few books with one hand and, with the other, the stamp of a letter used in the printing process. In the small museum hosted in the church’s auxiliary buildings, one can also see the original printing machine and the first printed Armenian book of psalms.
The statue, even the museum, may pass unnoticed among the numerous treasures the city amply bestows upon residents and travellers alike. Still, considering how the printing press revolutionised the sharing of knowledge and, thus, changed the evolution of civilisation wherever it was introduced, this is a spot where history was literally written – or, rather, printed! Once again, it is the details that make a difference. Getting trained to notice them is worth the effort.
Photo credits: © Konstantina Sakellariou
