Multi-language information panels installed at the Matenadaran Institute for Ancient Manuscripts

VivaCell-MTS continuously stands by projects aiming to present the uniqueness of our ancient culture to tourists visiting Armenia

April 29, 2010, Yerevan, Armenia VivaCell-MTS, a subsidiary of “Mobile TeleSystems” OJSC, is glad to inform that multi-language information panels were installed at the Matenadaran Scientific Research Institute for Ancient Manuscripts after Mesrop Mashtots.

This initiative of the Armenian Monuments Awareness Project (AMAP) is another remarkable event in the series of events aiming at raising awareness on the cultural-historical and natural monuments of Armenia, as well as promoting tourism in the country.

The event included an exclusive guided tour in the museum, and a special performance by the New Names string quartet of medieval music.

The Matenadaran is one of the world’s richest manuscript depositories, with a collection of nearly 17,000 manuscripts covering almost all areas of ancient and medieval Armenian culture and science: history, geography, grammar, philosophy, law, medicine, mathematics, cosmology, chronology, alchemy, literature, art history, miniature, music, literature in translation, etc. Many originals lost in their mother tongue are available only in their Armenian translations, preserved at the Matenadaran and particularly valuable to world culture and science.

In addition to the Armenian manuscripts, which form the main body of the Matenadaran collection, there are also preserved manuscripts in Arabic, Persian, Greek, Assyrian, Old Slavic, Latin, Ethiopian, Indian, Japanese and other languages.

The Matenadaran is both a museum of ancient manuscripts and a scientific research institute. It is named after Mesrop Mashtots, who is credited with the creation of the Armenian alphabet in 405. Mashtots also established a collection of Armenian manuscripts at the Holy See of Echmiadzin (the center of the Armenian Church). In 1939 the Echmiadzin Matenadaran was moved to Yerevan.

The installation of information panels was sponsored by VivaCell-MTS, the US Ambassadors Cultural Fund, USAID/CAPS, Honorary Consul for Italy in Gyumri and the Norwegian Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

“It is not enough to be proud of our history we need to preserve it to our children and promote it properly among our visitors,” told VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian.

“Matenadaran is a treasure we should cherish, where the whole Armenian spiritual legacy is represented chapter by chapter. Matendaran is the repository of Armenian spirit, culture and its legacy of inspiration, achievement, and perseverance that helped our Nation, long-lasting and unfading, like its world-famous Vordan Karmir paint, reach those days even without having statehood. And therefore, there has never been a better time to be an Armenian as today we have this statehood, and much more opportunities for preservation and development of our cultural identity. We are confident in our determination to contribute to its preservation, which, I believe, will be the best memorial to the great Armenians standing behind and watching us,” told VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian at the ceremony of opening.

This was AMAP’s first presentation in 2010 but not the first ever. In just two years over 320 installations at 49 monuments have been installed at more than 60 locations in Armenia. This year we add 142 installations at 26 monument locations, adding 20 additional Braille panels for blind visitors, Armenia’s first Audio Tours program and first Adopt a Monument Program.

Be ready for more! VivaCell-MTS… More than operator!