BBC Travel Publishes Article on the Armenian Alphabet

BBC Travel has published an article about the Armenian alphabet. Titled "How a 1600-Year-Old Alphabet Shaped Armenian Identity," author Sugato Mukherji explains that the Armenian alphabet is not merely a writing system; it is also a numerical system used for mathematical calculations and documenting calendar years, as well as an object of national pride.

In the article, the journalist shares impressions from a visit to the Armenian alphabet monument and the Matenadaran. "I knew that the aesthetic forms of Armenian letters, thanks to their long use in folk art and calligraphy, had been included in UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage lists, but I had no idea that the elegant, artistic representations of the letters also have secret codes, cryptography, and hidden properties. All 36 letters not only constitute the alphabet but also bear assigned numerical values based on their order in the alphabet. When arranged in four columns and nine rows, the letters of each column correspond to numbers: one, ten, hundred, and thousand," Mukherji wrote.