Site Background
The Yezidi Temple (Quba Mêrê Dîwanê) in Aknalich is the world’s largest Yezidi place of worship and a key symbol of the Yezidi community’s presence in the region. It reflects Armenia’s historical role as a place of refuge for religious and ethnic minorities and highlights cultural and religious connections between Armenia, Iran, and the wider Middle East through shared traditions, beliefs, and architectural elements.
The Yezidis are an ethnoreligious community of Iranian origin, embedded historically in the Iranian cultural and linguistic sphere. Their language, Kurmanji, belongs to the Northwestern Iranian branch of the Iranian languages and contains numerous Persian and Arabic loanwords, reflecting centuries of cultural interaction across the Middle East. Yezidi religion is distinctly syncretic, preserving layers of pre-Zoroastrian Iranian beliefs while incorporating core Zoroastrian elements such as reverence for light and fire, angelology, and a cyclical view of time. At the same time, it integrates motifs and ethical concepts drawn from Islam and Christianity, producing a non-scriptural tradition transmitted primarily through oral hymns, ritual practice, and a closed hereditary caste system. Central to Yezidi theology is Tawûsê Melek, the Peacock Angel, whose role reflects ancient Iranian cosmological ideas rather than later monotheistic dogma. The presence of Yezidis in Armenia is largely the result of massacres and genocidal campaigns in the Ottoman Empire, which forced Yezidi communities to flee and resettle in safer regions of the South Caucasus.
Echmiadzin (Vagharshapat) is the religious center of Armenia and the seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church, founded in the early fourth century when Armenia became the first state to adopt Christianity. The cathedral was built on the site of a pre-Christian Zoroastrian-pagan fire temple, whose remains have been archaeologically identified beneath the present structure, indicating that the location was already a major sacred center prior to Christianity and was deliberately chosen for the new faith’s principal sanctuary. Echmiadzin Cathedral has stood at the heart of Armenia through centuries of shifting imperial rule, reflecting the country’s position between major civilizations: the region passed successively under the Achaemenid Empire (the area), Parthian Empire (the area), Sasanian Empire, Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Arab Caliphate, Seljuk Empire, Ilkhanate, Safavid Empire, Afsharid Empire, Qajar Empire, and finally the Russian Empire. Despite these successive regimes, the cathedral continuously remained the spiritual center of the Armenian Apostolic Church, a rarity in world history. Armenian tradition also preserves a striking legend from the Safavid period: it is said that Shah Abbas I planned to dismantle the cathedral stone by stone and transport it to Isfahan to rebuild it for the Armenians he had earlier resettled there; when the monks learned of this, they carved the shah’s face onto the cathedral wall, and when the troops arrived, the clergy confronted their commander - “How dare you destroy a church bearing the image of your own shah?” - thereby saving the cathedral, whose wall, still preserves Shah Abbas’s carved image today.
The Mausoleum of the Kara Koyunlu Emirs is one of Armenia’s few surviving examples of Islamic funerary architecture, constructed in 1413 AD, during the period when the Kara Koyunlu tribal confederation ruled large parts of the South Caucasus and Persia. The mausoleum is traditionally attributed to Emir Pir-Hussein, a prominent Kara Koyunlu noble who governed the region during the confederation’s peak, and is believed to have served as his final resting place.
Taken together, this trip showcases the religious and cultural diversity that has existed in Armenia over many centuries. These three monuments represent Yezidism, Islam, and Christianity - religions that have coexisted in Armenia and influenced its historical and cultural landscape to varying degrees. In our next trip, we will also encounter an example of another religious tradition from pre-Christian Armenia: the pagan Temple of Garni.
Pre-Visit Activities (Bus Session)
The day begins with an introductory session on the bus. Instructors and students will introduce themselves, review the course booklet provided in advance, and outline the objectives of the day. Students are expected to have previewed key historical and technical vocabulary and phrases prior to departure. During this session, instructors will introduce the historical background of the sites in a conversational manner, review essential vocabulary, and answer basic questions related to history, culture, and language.
On-Site Activities
The main component of the day is the time spent at each site. After receiving historical and cultural explanations, the visits will proceed in an interactive format. Students are expected to actively participate by asking questions, engaging in discussions, and applying relevant Persian vocabulary in context. Each site visit concludes with a guided question-and-answer session to reinforce comprehension and encourage spoken interaction