Ayas Nautical Research Club celebrates its 25th anniversary March 25

March 25, 2010 - 15:03 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Jubilee events dedicated to 25th anniversary of the Ayas Nautical Research Club will start on March 25 evening at Yerevan Chamber Music Hall after Komitas. During the jubilee evening a concert and an exhibition will be held. National Chamber Choir of Armenia, the "Narek" quartet and the "Libero" quintet, honored artist of Armenia Anna Mailyan, Lilith Pipoyan, Vahan Artzruni and Edward Zorikyan will perform.d songs. The photo exhibition with 150 pictures will feature the history of the Ayas club.

"I think the club has earned the right to celebrate its 25th anniversary since, despite all difficulties, it managed to implement several major projects for the Armenians. And, perhaps the most important of them was the creation of a sailing vessel of Cilicia, and its navigation, " Karen Balayan , President of the Ayas Club said.

Ayas is the port city of ancient Cilicia where the original ship was built by Armenians in XIII century. Today Ayas still exists but the Turks call it Yumurtalik. The range of Ayas Nautical Research Club activities is quite wide, including historical aspects of World and Armenian navigation and ship buildings, reconstruction of ancient Armenian vessels, study of sea routes, old maps, navigation devices, banners, collecting data on Armenian navigators, making underwater archaeological surveys and research. Since 1985 the Club has organized 15 exhibitions and has carried out several surveys on Armenian navigation. There are more than five thousand books in the Club library. Twenty-six different types of vessels (rafts, leather boats, log-boats, boats and ships) used in historical Armenia, were restored and reconstructed.

Ayas Nautical Research Club

25 years ago, Ayas Nautical Research Club was established. Over the years the club has undertaken numerous projects and managed to give his dream the Armenian people. Ayas Nautical Research Club had built a replica of XIII century merchant sailing-ship of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, and had sailed by medieval trade sea routes around Europe, via the Black, the Mediterranean, the North, the Baltic Seas and the Atlantic Ocean. Within two years (2004-2006) under the flag of Armenia the craft club members have repeated the sea route of their ancestors sailed around Europe, visiting 62 ports of 25 countries.

The ship had been reconstructed in strict accordance with the information found in the medieval manuscripts and miniatures have used the techniques and technologies available in XIII century. The travels have equipped 'Cilicia' with all accessories traditional to the XIII century (navigation tools, merchandise goods, meals, clothes, etc.) replicating the methods of navigation and the lifestyle of medieval sailors. The main goal of the experiment is to feel and to check how our ancestors had sailed and operated with this kind of vessels. However, to date sailboat of Cilicia, being the indisputable value, did not become a museum exhibit, and stored in the stadium Hrazdan in Yerevan.

Ayas has set a goal to establish in Armenia the Marine Museum, which will exhibit not only 'Cilicia', but also numerous other items found by the research members of the club.