UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany visited the Zvartnots Cathedral

ArmInfo. UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany, who is in Armenia to participate in the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, visited the Zvartnots Cathedral, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

According to the press service of the Armenian Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, and Culture, the guest toured the monument and its museum. The Director-General was briefed on the monument's history, its current state of conservation, and the work completed and planned.

The UNESCO Director-General emphasized the importance of proper management of monuments and their use for cultural and educational purposes. Opportunities for further cooperation were discussed.

Zvartnots Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Gregory the Illuminator, a 7th-century monument of Armenian architecture, is located near Yerevan and Vagharshapat. In 2000, the ruins of the temple and the archaeological area around it were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. According to one version, the name translated from ancient Armenian means "temple of the vigilant angels", from the Armenian zvartun - angel. According to the Armenian historian Sebeos, it was built during the reign of Catholicos Nerses III the Builder in 640-650, who planned to move his residence from Dvin to Vagharshapat. In the 10th century, due to the weakness of the support joints of the second tier, the temple collapsed during an earthquake. The ruins of Zvartnots were discovered by excavations in 1901-1907. By now, the first tier has been almost completely reconstructed.