MONUMENTS

1962

Architect: Rafael Israelyan

The stele is located on Sayat-Nova Avenue, near the intersection with Nalbandyan Street. It is on the sidewalk.

It is dedicated to Sayat-Nova (Harutyun (Arutin) Sayadyan, 1712-1795), an Armenian troubadour of the late Middle Ages, poet, and unparalleled master of the art of minstrelsy.

It is a rectangular, polished stone, made of red tuff, in the form of a cross-stone. On the wide and flat surface, facing the sidewalk, is an inscription from the poetry of Sayat-Nova:

“Don’t say, who this poor musician is,

I am the master of my word; my skill is in writing,

I am Arutin, they call me Sayat Nova,

I say such words that make the whole world resound”.

Below the quatrain is a drawing of Mount Ararat, which completes the decoration of the cornice. The lower front surface of the stele is entirely decorated with high reliefs of large and small roses, buds, and stems.

On the cornice of the street-facing surface, another quatrain by Sayat-Nova is engraved:

“Let’s turn with heavenly grace, the bud has opened,

Let's sing with rhythm, the roses of various colors have bloomed,

With lilies and hyacinths, with the nightingale in exile, the garden is filled,

Dark garden with grace, I praise you with the saz, beloved with flowing hair”.

Below the cornice, the composition decorated with buds, flowers, leaves, and stems is complemented by images of a wine jug, a goblet, a graceful deer, and a singing bird - images often praised by the poet.

The dimensions are 2.0 x 1.0 x 0.3 m.

In June 2018, the stele was broken and fell due to a car accident, damaging the base and cornice. At the suggestion of the Ministry of Culture of Armenia, it was restored by Yerevan Municipality and reinstalled in its former place a few days later, on June 18, 2018.

 “Scientific Research Centre of Historical and Cultural Heritage” SNCO

Yerevan Municipality