Vank, the Armenian Cathedral of Isfahan

Now, here's a strange structure, an Armenian Cathedral in Iran that looks like it was built partly by Armenians and partly by the usual masons and tile artists of Isfahan. Its official name is Holy Savior, but it goes by the moniker Vank.

According to online sources, this happened because of the Ottoman War of 1603-1618. Shah Abbas I of Persia deported thousands of Armenians from disputed border zones back to his capital; I suppose one way to deny your enemy the productivity of a disputed region is to pack up all the people and move them somewhere else. That included all the priests, monks, and nuns, plus their bishop. These Armenians obviously needed a monastery and church. So this property in Isfahan was set aside for them to build on. It is the cathedral that gets all the attention but the complex also includes monasteries for monks and nuns. Vank, the name, is actually a folk term for monastery.

The original building was begun in 1606, but that rather hasty version was much altered and enlarged in 1665-1680. It remains an Armenian cathedral.

Which is the cause of some of the strangeness, because some of the frescoes have been repainted in fairly recent times, while others look much older.

I find the contrasts between the mosaics in the domes and the frescos jarring, but this certainly is a fascinating structure.

Tombstones.

In the crypt.