HISTORICAL BUILDINGS
ABU HAYAT CANAL — STREAM OF LIFE
8th century BC (782) – 21st century
The canal originates near the
Kanaker Hydroelectric Power Plant, from the left bank of the Hrazdan River. It
passes through the entire city area: the Kanaker-Zeytun district, near the
Institute of Fine Organic Chemistry, along the slopes of Arabkir and Victory
Park, and adjacent to the Matenadaran. Reaching the Getar River, it crosses it
via an aqueduct and continues along the left-bank hillside, descending with
minimal gradient to the artificial lake of Lyon Park (formerly known as
Vardavar, Komsomol, and Tokhmakhan).
The canal and the artificial
lake were built by the ruler of Urartu and founder of Erebuni-Yerevan, Argishti
I, to supply water to the Erebuni fortress and irrigate surrounding lands. The
first written records about the canal date back to the 16th century. In the
17th century, during Persian rule, it was renovated twice. It is likely that by
that time the canal was already known as Abu Hayat (traditionally interpreted
as “water of life” or “stream of life”).
According to legend, after the
suicide of the beautiful Abu Hayat, her fiancé Tokhmakh Khan threw himself into
this lake. Since then, the canal has been called Abu Hayat, and the artificial
lake Tokhmakhan.
During the Tsarist period, in
May 1877, the canal’s reconstruction was completed. It was widened, extended,
and brought to the lake. A stone bridge was built over the Getar River, and the
canal water flowed through stone pipes laid over it.
After the establishment of
Soviet power in Armenia, alongside the construction of new canals, old ones
were also restored. During the 1922–1923 reconstruction, the Abu Hayat canal
was tripled in width, retaining walls were strengthened, and 15 iron gates were
installed. Near the Sari Tagh district, it was connected to the Mamri canal.
With the construction of the Kanaker Hydroelectric Power Plant (1936), the
initial section of the canal was eliminated and replaced by a new channel
taking water from the plant’s pressure basin.
In the early 1950s, the section
passing along Marshal Baghramyan Avenue was covered, and the water, passing
through an 800 m tunnel, flowed into the lake.
Due to construction in the
1960s, the canal was shortened and no longer reaches the lake today.
Its length was about 15 km.
Discharge capacity: 0.2 m³/s.
The Abu Hayat canal is one of
the oldest structures of Yerevan’s water supply system and testifies to the
high level of hydraulic engineering in the Kingdom of Urartu.
