1968 Avaguian Pictorial Tourist Map of Armenia

This is a 1968 Grigor Avagyan pictorial tourist map of Armenia that highlights Armenia's incredible architectural heritage. According to the verso text, tens of thousands of historical architectural monuments are scattered throughout Armenia, dating back as far as the 9th century BCE. Pagan temples, monasteries, palaces, fortresses, and basilicas are among these manmade treasures. Obelisks, funerary monuments, and mausoleums add to Armenia's rich cultural heritage. The most famous monuments within each region are identified and illustrated in profile and listed to the left and below the map by region. In practice, this means the lowest numbers appear frequently, forcing the user to be attentive when seeking to correlate a vignette illustration with a site in the index. Awe-inspiring illustrations surround the map and the index, providing the viewer a glimpse of the incredible sites awaiting their visit. Some of these drawings, such as the view of the Zvartnots Cathedral in the lower left quadrant, present depictions of what existed at one point in history, since today only the ruins of the cathedral remain. Others, like the view of the AShtarak (Achtarak) Bridge, illustrate sites that can be visited to this day.

Publication History and Census

This map was created by Grigor Avagyan and published in 1968. Two examples are cataloged in OCLC and are part of the institutional collections at the New York Public Library and the National Library of Israel.