Armenian Ambassador to Iran Spoke of First Published Armenian Book

In honor of Iran’s 18th Book Week, Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance organized a roundtable on Nov. 16 on “The Role of the Book in Bringing Nations Closer.” Book publishers, cultural workers and heads of cultural centers of accredited embassies and diplomatic representations in Tehran were invited to the roundtable. 

Addressing the roundtable was Republic of Armenia’s Ambassador to Iran Grigor Arakelyan, who spoke on the role and significance of the book in Armenia and in Armenian communities.

Speaking on the Yerevan being named World Book Capital in 2012 by a committee of representatives from three main international professional associations in the book industry and UNESCO, the Armenian ambassador also spoke of the first Armenian book that was published which was in 1512 in Venice, Italy, by Hakob Meghapart. The book was called “Urbatagirq” (literally, “Friday Book”). 

Arakelyan noted that the 500th anniversary of the first published Armenian book will be celebrated with great fanfare in not only Armenia but also Armenia communities around the world. The ambassador added that the first published book in the Middle East was published about 400 years ago in Isfahan’s New Julfa, which is a great honor for the Iranian-Armenian community.

With the purpose of joining the spiritual values of the two neighboring peoples, Ambassador Arakelyan proposed to those in Iran to prepare joint cultural programs prior to 2012, and try to organize events dedicated to books in the capitals of the two countries.