Uromiyeh

The most beautiful blue in the world is how people used to describe that water, which contains a concentration of salt almost as heavy as that of the Dead Sea. The ancient Persians called it the "Royal Sea".

< "Uromiyeh Lake"

Apparently in olden times, when the water of the upper reaches of the lake were a good deal sweeter, the region had been even more fertile. There are traces of ancient civilizations all over the place. Nomad tribes frequented that "Riviera" as early as eight thousands years B.C. legend has it that Zoroaster was born there and we are assured that the Three Wise Men from the East crossed the region on their way to Bethlehem. At Hasanlu, near Heydarabad (80 km South of Uromiyeh), around the south-western corner of the lake, the remnants of tombs have yielded glazed pottery as well as gold and silver objects. Modern Uromiyeh is characterized by the joint activities and coexistence of Iranians of diverse racial groups and religions.

People of Armenian, Kurdish, Turkish and Persian origin live side by side as did once the Urartes, the Medes and the Assyrians. A Church with a tall, square belfry, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, has for its neighbor for the Shiite Friday Mosque, its exquisitely sculptured mehrab is a splendid specimen of Seljuk art (12th and 13th centuries).

The Church of Holy Mary in Urumiyeh is considered one of the most ancient churches in the world. The church is said to have been erected in this city shortly after the departure of Jesus. In the Assyrian language the church iscalled "Mart Maryam" of "Holy Virgin". Some historians consider the church as the second oldest church after the Church of Bethlehem in Palestine. The square-shaped church building is highly firm and simple. The thick bases of the church are made of stone and mortar. The interior of the church includes a worship hall, an altar, some rooms and vestibules. As in the past, various aromatic and wild plants ornament the interior of the church. No icons or drawings of saints can been seen in the church, for members of the Eastern Church do not believe in their use.

A Chinese princess who visited the church in 642 A.D. contributed to its reconstruction. Her name was then engraved on a stone installed on the church wall. The famous Italian traveler, Marco Polo, is another visitor to the Church of Holy Mary who has described the church in his itinerary. In 1903, the prominent American Orientalist, professor Abraham Jackson, visited and photographed the church. Based on some accounts, the church was in the past surrounded by a beautiful garden and the fragrance of flowers and blossoms permeated the air. The ceremony in which Marpolos was appointed as the leader if the Eastern Church was held at this very church in the presence of a large number of Assyrian senior theologians as scholars on April 15, 1918. Well-known individuals have been buried in the side vestibules of the church like Maryuhana, the former archbishop of the Gavilan district, who passed away in 1874.

"Holy Mary Cathedral"