I was pleased to have a chance to see the Armenia exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum, having long been both intrigued and perplexed by the existence of an early Christian nation at the foot of Mount Ararat, culturally rich traders at the crossroads of the eastern trade routes.

A sixth century capital from Dvin:-

Carved doors from Mush:-

They established Cilicia on the Mediterranean in 1198 under King Levon. This is stone carving from Hromkla:-

An incredibly beautiful Cilician reliquary cross:-

Details of a Arm Reliquary of Saint Sahak Partev, formerly in the monastery of Lim:-

In 1604, Armenian merchants were forced by Shah Abbas to move to Isfahan, where they continued to dominate the silk routes.

So, what happened ? They were wiped out by the Turks in the early part of the twentieth century, nor is there mention that there is still a state of Armenia and what relation it has to historic Armenian culture.