نو جلفا‎‎ / Նոր Ջուղա

While I was in Iran this fall as a guest speaker for the Commonwealth Club of California, I had the opportunity to visit churches in the Armenian quarter of Isfahan — which dates back to the reign of Shah Abbas I (who personally established this Christian colony by edict).

We especially enjoyed visiting Vank Cathedral — which is surrounded by a museum (filled with Christian art), a library, and an Armenian Genocide Memorial. There are fourteen churches in this unique historic quarter.

A compulsive polyglot, I was delighted to find this colorful plaque with Armenian writing hanging over a church entrance. Every inch of the interiors of Bethlehem Church and Vank Cathedral is decorated with beautiful Christian murals. In fact, one set of murals in the Vank Cathedral displays scenes of Armenian martyrs being tortured in the Ottoman Empire.

If you go to Isfahan, do not miss these treasures of Christian history, culture, and art. It was truly an amazing experience to learn more about the history of the Armenian community in Isfahan, and observe the contemporary practice of Christianity in the Islamic Republic of Iran.