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Travel... Real & Fantasy
BY GAREN YEGPARIAN
For some two decades I've snarled, ground my teeth, and bewailed to
myself about the great positive publicity Turkey gets from all the
write-ups and advertising in the LA Times Travel section.
No doubt various travel agencies as well as perhaps the government
itself have also been showcasing their "wares" and travel shows
worldwide, though that's not something I've seen. Of course the
pup-Turks of Azerbaijan are following at the heels of the genocidal
state they want to emulate and appearing at travel shows, too.
The LA Travel and Adventure Show 2014 is taking place this weekend at
the Long Beach Convention Center. It is billed as "the largest" of its
kind. Turkey will be represented with not just one, but two, booths,
and Azerbaijan will be there too. One of the Turkish booths is to be
right at the entrance of the show and the largest there!
One of the Turkish booths will be concentrating on "Eastern Turkey"
which of course is occupied Armenia. And that's what's so frustrating
and annoying about all this. They are profiting from Armenian and
other cultural legacies they have brutally usurped. Of course
Azerbaijan is doing the same, focusing on Artsakh, again. Yes "again"
because this is where it gets weird.
Perhaps it should come as no surprise that when a country is led by a
megalomaniac, the realm of fantasy is always near. The most prominent
banner at Azerbaijan's booth at the LA Times Travel show held January
17-18 is headlined "Karabakh - Crown Jewel of Azerbaijan". Yes, you
read that correctly. And, it's a banner they've been using for at
least a year or so, since one of my sources had observed it at an
Orange County travel show, that long ago. These people are promoting a
travel destination that they cannot deliver any of their potential
customers to! What happens when someone wants to go there? Who knows?
Maybe they've cut a back-door deal with some oligarch in the Republic
of Armenia to shuttle them from Yerevan to Artsakh. But then, we also
have to wonder, if the Azeris are encouraging travel to Artsakh, why
are they blacklisting anyone who goes there?
An Azeri pamphlet featuring Karabakh
Of course this is all part of the "soft" propaganda that any country,
especially one with image problems, loves to have. So it's natural
that the Azerbaijani consulate in Los Angeles has put out a
promotional video about it (see below). What's frustrating about this
video is the glowing praise that a Devin Galaudet, travel writer who
also has some affiliation with the Huffington Post, heaps on
Azerbaijan after his trips there some three months ago. Are we doing
these things? I am not aware, and I fear the answer is not
affirmative.
The other bit of fantasy, if not farce, that came out of the January
show is a "news" item appearing about it in "Trend", an online Azeri
so-called-news source. It is headlined "Armenian lobby fails to
prevent Azerbaijan's participation at Los Angeles Times Travel Show"
but contains not a word about the matter until the penultimate
sentence which reads: "It should be noted that despite various
attempts by the Armenian lobby in California to prevent Azerbaijan's
participation at the show, these attempts have utterly failed." What's
funny is, no one I spoke with knew anything about any effort our
community has made in this vein. It's possible some individuals did
some work below the radar, of course. But, I'm more inclined to
believe this is just the Azeris trying to slam us and appear heroic to
their audiences.
It's time our travel agents and the governments of our two republics
started showcasing our cultural wealth. After all, we are the
originators of the culture, not the thieves who are profiting from
their ill-gotten gains.
http://asbarez.com/119331/travel-real-fantasy/
From: A. Papazian
BY GAREN YEGPARIAN
For some two decades I've snarled, ground my teeth, and bewailed to
myself about the great positive publicity Turkey gets from all the
write-ups and advertising in the LA Times Travel section.
No doubt various travel agencies as well as perhaps the government
itself have also been showcasing their "wares" and travel shows
worldwide, though that's not something I've seen. Of course the
pup-Turks of Azerbaijan are following at the heels of the genocidal
state they want to emulate and appearing at travel shows, too.
The LA Travel and Adventure Show 2014 is taking place this weekend at
the Long Beach Convention Center. It is billed as "the largest" of its
kind. Turkey will be represented with not just one, but two, booths,
and Azerbaijan will be there too. One of the Turkish booths is to be
right at the entrance of the show and the largest there!
One of the Turkish booths will be concentrating on "Eastern Turkey"
which of course is occupied Armenia. And that's what's so frustrating
and annoying about all this. They are profiting from Armenian and
other cultural legacies they have brutally usurped. Of course
Azerbaijan is doing the same, focusing on Artsakh, again. Yes "again"
because this is where it gets weird.
Perhaps it should come as no surprise that when a country is led by a
megalomaniac, the realm of fantasy is always near. The most prominent
banner at Azerbaijan's booth at the LA Times Travel show held January
17-18 is headlined "Karabakh - Crown Jewel of Azerbaijan". Yes, you
read that correctly. And, it's a banner they've been using for at
least a year or so, since one of my sources had observed it at an
Orange County travel show, that long ago. These people are promoting a
travel destination that they cannot deliver any of their potential
customers to! What happens when someone wants to go there? Who knows?
Maybe they've cut a back-door deal with some oligarch in the Republic
of Armenia to shuttle them from Yerevan to Artsakh. But then, we also
have to wonder, if the Azeris are encouraging travel to Artsakh, why
are they blacklisting anyone who goes there?
An Azeri pamphlet featuring Karabakh
Of course this is all part of the "soft" propaganda that any country,
especially one with image problems, loves to have. So it's natural
that the Azerbaijani consulate in Los Angeles has put out a
promotional video about it (see below). What's frustrating about this
video is the glowing praise that a Devin Galaudet, travel writer who
also has some affiliation with the Huffington Post, heaps on
Azerbaijan after his trips there some three months ago. Are we doing
these things? I am not aware, and I fear the answer is not
affirmative.
The other bit of fantasy, if not farce, that came out of the January
show is a "news" item appearing about it in "Trend", an online Azeri
so-called-news source. It is headlined "Armenian lobby fails to
prevent Azerbaijan's participation at Los Angeles Times Travel Show"
but contains not a word about the matter until the penultimate
sentence which reads: "It should be noted that despite various
attempts by the Armenian lobby in California to prevent Azerbaijan's
participation at the show, these attempts have utterly failed." What's
funny is, no one I spoke with knew anything about any effort our
community has made in this vein. It's possible some individuals did
some work below the radar, of course. But, I'm more inclined to
believe this is just the Azeris trying to slam us and appear heroic to
their audiences.
It's time our travel agents and the governments of our two republics
started showcasing our cultural wealth. After all, we are the
originators of the culture, not the thieves who are profiting from
their ill-gotten gains.
http://asbarez.com/119331/travel-real-fantasy/
From: A. Papazian