The holy savior cathedral, also known as church of saintly sisters is a cathedral located in Isfahan. The church is commonly known as Vank cathedral which means “monastery” in Armenian.
It was built in 1606 by the order of Shah Abbas I for the Armenian population who were forced out of their homeland by ottoman empire.
The church is built by Persian architects and it looks like a mosque from outside. But once you set foot inside the building, you will see the amazing paintings and unique Persian / Christian tile work resembling Christian faith.
The paintings describe many biblical stories; depiction of heaven earth and hell on the walls, delicately blue and gold painted central dome depicts the Biblical story of the creation of the world and man's expulsion from Eden, angel, demons and men.
The library and the museum outside the church contain items, objects and books dating back to Safavid era. The highlights of this collection are the bibles. Some of these holy books date back to 10th century.
If you got a chance to go to Isfahan we strongly recommend you to visit this stunning symbol of religious freedom.
