"ARMENIANS: ANCIENT CHRISTIANS IN A YOUNG COUNTRY" EXHIBITION OPENED AT LEIDEN UNIVERSITY

news.am
May 7 2010
Armenia

The exhibition "Armenians: Ancient Christians in a young country"
has been opened at Leiden University on the 350th anniversary of the
first Armenian book printed in Amsterdam.

The exhibition has been organized by Prof. J.J.S. Weitenberg, and Dr.

Arnoud Vrolijk, Curator Oriental Collections at Leiden University.

Attending the opening ceremony were university staff, students and
representatives of the Armenian community.

Guided by colorful illustrated materials, from 10th century manuscript
to contemporary dictionary, you can learn about a part of Armenian
history. The exhibition narrates for example about the discovery of
the Armenian language by European scholars and about the Armenian
Diaspora in Europe from the perspective of printing activity in
Amsterdam and Venice.

British Biblical scholar James Rendel Harris, who received an honorary
doctorate from Leiden University a century ago, spent six months in
Turkey in 1896, organizing relief work for the Armenian victims of
Turkish pogroms. He collected dozens of Armenian manuscripts which
he donated to Leiden University in 1906.

The exhibition will last until July 31.