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NEW PLANS FOR IRRIGATION 205
alive to this. In 1923 an Institute for Tropical Diseases was
established at Erivan ; eight malaria hospitals and thirteen
smaller stations have been opened in different parts of the
country, and the number is constantly increasing. It goes
without saying that the draining and cultivation of the marshy
regions will be of enormous assistance in fighting malaria,
because the malaria mosquito breeds in places where there is
stagnant water. As soon as the land has been completely
drained, and the running water properly regulated, it should
be quite a manageable proposition practically to stamp out
the disease, thereby conferring a real boon on the capable
Armenian nation. On this account it is very important that
the cultivation of the marshy regions around Kara-su and
Zanga-basar should begin as soon as possible. The impression
wc got from all that wc saw was that the plans were sound,
and that they could be carried out without much difficulty
and at a very reasonable cost.
Echmiadzin.
Well pleased with the result of our investigations, wc set
out for home, stopping en route at Echmiadzin. This is a
large monastery, with a number of buildings erected in connec
tion with the great cathedral which is the national treasure
of Armenia, the spiritual centre of the whole Armenian
world. The latter stands in the middle of an ample square
surrounded by the other buildings, while outside all is a
high encircling wall.
Here the Katholikos—the Armenian patriarch or pope—
has his house and garden. There are houses for bishops,
monks, priests, and pilgrims ; besides a large and valuable
library, a museum, a school or seminary, and other buildings.
The monastery is situated near the old town of Vagharshapat,
the capital of King Tiridates the Great.
Wc were conducted, first, to a little square lake just outside
the monastery. It had been made by the Katholikos Nerses V
in the earlier half of last century. Formerly it had been sur
rounded by a park full of large shady trees, which must have
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