Khor Virap Monastery, with Mount Ararat, known in Turkish as Mount Agri, in the background
Something seems to be missing from Armenia’s new biometric passport. That’s according to many in the country, who have flagged an unusual image in the document.Among pages showcasing Armenia’s heritage and culture is a picture of Khor Virap. The 17th century monastery is famous largely for its spectacular backdrop of Mount Ararat. In the passport, however, the monastery is depicted from an angle showing only nondescript mountains on the horizon. Critics have called the unusual image a “ploy” to avoid including Ararat in the official document.
Pages 24-25 of the new Armenian passport
Mount Ararat is situated inside Turkey and officially known by its Turkish name Mount Agri, but the landmark rises prominently above Yerevan on clear days.The 5,100 meter mountain was a part of ancient kingdoms of Armenia, but ethnic Armenians were driven from settlements around Ararat amid the Ottoman state-led killings, which have been recognized as genocide by dozens of countries including the United States. When borders in the region were redrawn following World War I, Ararat's twin peaks were included within the eastern edge of modern Turkey.Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian recently hinted at the controversy over the passport depiction of Khor Virap, saying during a live stream with Interior Minister Arpine Sargsian that, “we’ve chosen such a perspective to suit our policies and what we have discussed for a long time.”“Given it is the passport of the Republic of Armenia," Pashinian added, the passport reflects “the territory of the Republic of Armenia.”
