Tours start in the glittering church and are conducted by multilingual monks, who amply demonstrate the order’s reputation for scholarship. After passing through the 18th-century refectory , you’ll head upstairs to the library . In 1789 the monks set up a polyglot printing press here and translated many scientific and literary works into Armenian. Those works are still housed in the 150,000-strong collection alongside curios from Ancient Egypt, Sumeria and India.
An Egyptian mummy and a 15th-century Indian throne are the rather quirky main features of the room dedicated to the memory of Lord Byron, who spent six months here in 1816 helping the monks to prepare an English-Armenian dictionary. True to his eccentric nature, he could often be seen swimming from the island to the Grand Canal.
Before you leave, stop in at the shop to purchase some Vartanush jam made from rose petals plucked in the monastery’s exotic gardens .
