HISTORICAL BUILDINGS
THE MAMRI CANAL
VII century BC
State index: 1.6.157
Builder։ King of Van (Urartu) Russa II
(685-645 BC)
It originates from the left bank of the Hrazdan River, a 1 km down by the water-course from the Kanaker CEC, from the same basin where the Dalma Canal starts. It also passes through Arabkir administrative district. It irrigates gardens of the Hrazdan Gorge, then reaches to a Kond district through gorge slopes and short tunnel, where a branch entering a 200 m tunnel, crosses the Getar River and sheds into the Vardavar lake.
It
is considered that the Canal was built by the
King of Van (Urartu) Russa II, because it is constructed in similar style with
other canals of Yerevan repeating the principles of the hydraulic engineering
of Urartian period.
In written sources, it is firstly mentioned by Mkhitar Ayrivanetsi (XIII century) in his work “Chronology of the history”, where he named the canal as “Yerevan’s Brook”, then in the XVIII century it was noted in the book called “Jambr” written by the Catholicos Simeon Yerevantsi.
The
Canal has been known as “Mamur” (in Arabic means “reconstructed”) since the first
quarter of the XVII century, when it was renovated during the tenure of Persian
Amirguna Khan. It was also reconstructed in 1679 after the devastating
earthquake and in 1822-1824, during the reign of the last Sardar of Yerevan, Hussein
Ghuli (Hossein Qoli) Khan. During this period, the Canal irrigated the entire
Kond, the gardens of Dzoragyugh, Shahar districts and supplied water to the
Yerevan fortress through stone pipes.
In the 1840s the Dalma Canal was attached to the main ford of the Mamri Canal, which irrigated the gardens in the area of the current Aram and Pushkin streets. In the 1860s the canal extended from the continuation of Dalma, irrigated the central districts of the city, the gardens of the current Abovyan street, and flowed into the Getar River.
In
the first years of the Soviet period, in 1922-1923, works of foundation reconstruction
of the Mamri Canal were implemented. At the edge of the current Tumanyan
street, it was extended to the Abu Hayat Canal (Azatutyan Street), thus flowing
and falling into the Vardavar lake. In 1923 the Canal was given Stepan
Shahumyan name. It was supposed to supply water to the four turbines of the
first hydroelectric power station of the Soviet Yerevan (architect: Alexander
Tamanyan) being built in the Hrazdan valley. For this purpose, in some places
the Canal was deepened and water dams were built. In 1963, after the termination
of exploitation of the derivation Canal of YerHEPC, the Mamri Canal turned into
a rain collector in the central part of the city.
The length is about 15 km, the throughput is 0.6 m/s.
“Scientific Research Centre of Historical and Cultural Heritage” SNCO
Yerevan Municipality
