Sardarapat Battle MuseumOne of the main modern monuments of Armenia is Sardarapat Battle Museum, commemorating the Armenian victory over an invading Turkish army, May 20- 22, 1918.
The monument is guarded by Assyrian- style winged lions and is flanked by a memorial garden for Karabakh martyrs.
Bearing left before the monument, a driveway skirts the monument ridge to reach a tourist pavilion and the highly attractive Sardarapat museum, the Ethnographic Museum, the collection of which includes artifacts and memorabilia of more than 4000- year history of Armenia. A special section of Sardarapat museum is devoted to the history of the battle of Sardarapat and its participants.
The Sardarapat Memorial is located at 25 kilometers from Echmiadzin. The memorial park was laid out on the battlefield in 1968. The entrance is flanked by huge winged oxen made of red tuff. A flight of steps leads to a square from which a 26-meter- high bell tower is rising.
The beautiful trellis structure with its nine bells can be seen in the distance. The bells ring every year on the day of the historic victory. A lane of eagles, symbolizing the spirit of the fearless fighting men, leads to a curved Wall of Victory (length - 55 meters, height - 7 meters) with scenes of the battle, and the figure of a woman with a child - a symbol of revival.
The ground floor central hall contains commemorative material from the battle. Starting from the right, the lower galleries present archaeological material from Neolithic to Medieval and implements for various traditional handicrafts. Upstairs are exhibits of carpets and embroidery, modern Armenian decorative ceramics and jewelry.
It is noteworthy that the memorial complex was designed by the architect Rafael Israelyan, and sculptors Ara Arutyunyan, Samvel Manasyan and Arsham Shaginyan. Today we may proudly say that we are celebrating the 90th anniversary of our brilliant victory against the Turks.
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