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ARMENIAN CONVERTS MAINTAIN THEIR IDENTITY IN TURKEY, SAYS EXPERT
Tert.am
15:17 08.08.11
A large group of Turkish Armenians forcibly converted to Islam continue
living in Turkey, not forgetting about their roots, an expert in
Western Armenian studies has said.
Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Haykazyun Alvyrtsyan, the
head of the Western Armenians' Studies Center, shared his impressions
of the Mdzur Nature and Worship festival held recently in Turkey's
Dersim province.
He said the event had attracted the Armenian folk ensemble Maratuk,
as well as more than 10 Armenian intellectuals had toured the province
to collect ethnographic records.
It is the 13th year Dersim has been hosting this kind of festivals,
the first two being non-official, the expert noted.
"This is an exceptional event that spreads our culture to the
most remote ends of Western Armenians. It is somethiong out of the
ordinary," he added.
Further he said that most Armenian converts disguised behind the mask
of Kurds or Alevis inwardly maintain their ethnic identity despite
living in Turkey.
"This festival convinced us yet another time that there are a great
number of Armenians living there. Many of them would come up to us to
tell their stories - full of horror, tragedy and thrilling episodes,"
Alvrtsyan said.
He noted further that the event is important not only for incognito
Armenians but also those residing in Armenia.
"We too, need to realize what we have, and what they have [in order
to know] what to give them and what to take from the pieces of culture
they have preserved," the expert added.
From: A. Papazian
Tert.am
15:17 08.08.11
A large group of Turkish Armenians forcibly converted to Islam continue
living in Turkey, not forgetting about their roots, an expert in
Western Armenian studies has said.
Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Haykazyun Alvyrtsyan, the
head of the Western Armenians' Studies Center, shared his impressions
of the Mdzur Nature and Worship festival held recently in Turkey's
Dersim province.
He said the event had attracted the Armenian folk ensemble Maratuk,
as well as more than 10 Armenian intellectuals had toured the province
to collect ethnographic records.
It is the 13th year Dersim has been hosting this kind of festivals,
the first two being non-official, the expert noted.
"This is an exceptional event that spreads our culture to the
most remote ends of Western Armenians. It is somethiong out of the
ordinary," he added.
Further he said that most Armenian converts disguised behind the mask
of Kurds or Alevis inwardly maintain their ethnic identity despite
living in Turkey.
"This festival convinced us yet another time that there are a great
number of Armenians living there. Many of them would come up to us to
tell their stories - full of horror, tragedy and thrilling episodes,"
Alvrtsyan said.
He noted further that the event is important not only for incognito
Armenians but also those residing in Armenia.
"We too, need to realize what we have, and what they have [in order
to know] what to give them and what to take from the pieces of culture
they have preserved," the expert added.
From: A. Papazian