The Beautiful Story of "Akhtamar"

Our “Akhtamar” iPhone has a unique story behind it. There is a well-known legend in Armenia about the tragic love between a Princess and a commoner. The story goes that they first met at a book market in town. The commoner didn’t realize she was the princess and so talked to her freely about the poetry he enjoyed. When they met again the next week, he gave her a poem he wrote, and they fell in love.

Unfortunately, marriage between commoners and royalty wasn’t allowed in ancient society. So every night, Princess Tamar lit a fire to guide her lover as he swam to the island where she lived. They met in the dark and were happy to be together, if even for a brief moment. Soon, however, the King discovered their tryst, and snuffed out the light. One night, when her lover tried swimming to the other shore, he lost his way. Without the light to guide him, he drowned in the darkness, screaming, “Akh, Tamar!”

To this day, the island of Akhtamar still exists on Lake Van in Turkey, and it’s said to be the ancient setting of the story. Legend has it that his tragic cries can still be heard. To commemorate the story, a statue of Tamar holding the fire to guide her lover is located on the shore of Lake Sevan in Armenia. It is this stunning statue that our iPhone design is based on.

This wonderful, hand-finished phone case is meant to capture the heart and beauty of this story. The graceful pose of Tamar holding the fire for her lover is etched intricately into the wood, and is a touching symbol of the power of devotion and romance.

 

The design comes in walnut wood or cherry wood, and is hand-painted with brilliant colors of gold, red and cobalt blue. In crafting the iPhone case, we wanted to give the phone a modern, sleek look, but we also wished to keep some of the traditional essence and style of Armenian culture. The iPhone case makes a great gift for your partner, but it is also just a simply beautiful piece of art that captures this timeless legend from Armenia.