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A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ON THE ARMENIAN CASE
Today's Zaman, Turkey
May 8 2014
Professor Marsoobian asked me while we were in a historic but wrecked
church that is now being used as a barn in a village near Marzovan
what I would feel if this were a wrecked mosque and not a church. I
hesitatingly struggled to say something but I was very well aware that
there was nothing to say for me to justify what we were witnessing.
I was just ashamed because we weren't even able to protect this
historic heritage that Armenians left. Later, I re-asked this question
myself and tried to find an answer: As a Muslim, how would I feel if
I had seen a mosque used as a barn by villagers in some other country?
A couple months ago I had Armenian-American guests in Turkey whose
family once lived in Anatolia. They came back to their grandparents'
hometown to see what was left from those days. One of our guests in
Marzovan was Armen Marsoobian, a philosophy professor at Southern
Connecticut State University in the US, who had launched an exhibition
in İstanbul and Merzifon featuring Anatolian social life in the 19th
century, through the eyes of the Dildilian brothers, who lived in
Marzovan and were subjected to deportation before and during World
War I. Today, the same exhibition is open to visitors in Diyarbakır
as well. Mr. Marsoobian's first visit to Turkey was approximately 10
years ago. This time, I had the privilege to accompany him. We have
visited the house where his family once lived, until the early 1900s.
We stayed there for an hour and embarked on a journey into the depths
of history. Mr. Marsoobian's response to my question regarding his
feelings towards Turkey and Anatolia was quite surprising: "If I used
one word, it would have to be 'home.' It feels like home. I would have
never imagined that 10 years ago. But I have this feeling, when I am
in Turkey, that there is a deep connection I feel. I know that I will
probably keep coming until I die. I could sit in this house for hours
peacefully. This is the place where my grandparents had lived once. I
even have a photo of my mother standing at the entrance of the house.
It feels like I belong here."
Mr. Marsoobian is also planning to launch an exhibition in Ankara
after İstanbul, Merzifon and Diyarbakır. He is quite eager to expose
Turkish citizens, whether or not they are of Armenian background,
to rich cultural presents of Armenians on these lands. "I have been
spending the last few years, doing work on my family history which
dates back a few centuries, but in particular what happened to my
family during World War I and the Armenian case in Ottoman Turkey. My
grandfather and my great uncle were photographers. They have hundreds
of photographs dating from the 1888 to end of their lives there in
Turkey in 1923. And along with these photographs, I have extensive
memoirs about this period. I started to put all this together in terms
of a book and an exhibition which is on display in İstanbul now. I
have also made amazing discoveries [about] how my family survived
during the war, how they were forced to adopt Turkish names. Those
were unfortunately bad times in Turkey. I am sharing this both in
the United States and in Turkey," he said.
What Mr. Marsoobian does in Turkey is quite important -- opening
exhibitions in different cities without any intention to use them as
tools of propaganda against Turks, a strong support for initiating a
genuine dialogue. We need more of those. Fanatic diaspora communities
are the last thing that either Armenians or Turks need. After all,
we are the children of the same empire and our predecessors actually
lived side by side as good neighbors for centuries until nationalism
set us against each other. In fact, how similar both nations are
can even be seen by looking at their musical traditions. I strongly
suggest that you enjoy the numinous rhythms of catchy Armenian music.
You will find it so familiar.
http://www.todayszaman.com/blog/arslan-ayan_347211_a-different-perspective-on-the-armenian-case.html
Today's Zaman, Turkey
May 8 2014
Professor Marsoobian asked me while we were in a historic but wrecked
church that is now being used as a barn in a village near Marzovan
what I would feel if this were a wrecked mosque and not a church. I
hesitatingly struggled to say something but I was very well aware that
there was nothing to say for me to justify what we were witnessing.
I was just ashamed because we weren't even able to protect this
historic heritage that Armenians left. Later, I re-asked this question
myself and tried to find an answer: As a Muslim, how would I feel if
I had seen a mosque used as a barn by villagers in some other country?
A couple months ago I had Armenian-American guests in Turkey whose
family once lived in Anatolia. They came back to their grandparents'
hometown to see what was left from those days. One of our guests in
Marzovan was Armen Marsoobian, a philosophy professor at Southern
Connecticut State University in the US, who had launched an exhibition
in İstanbul and Merzifon featuring Anatolian social life in the 19th
century, through the eyes of the Dildilian brothers, who lived in
Marzovan and were subjected to deportation before and during World
War I. Today, the same exhibition is open to visitors in Diyarbakır
as well. Mr. Marsoobian's first visit to Turkey was approximately 10
years ago. This time, I had the privilege to accompany him. We have
visited the house where his family once lived, until the early 1900s.
We stayed there for an hour and embarked on a journey into the depths
of history. Mr. Marsoobian's response to my question regarding his
feelings towards Turkey and Anatolia was quite surprising: "If I used
one word, it would have to be 'home.' It feels like home. I would have
never imagined that 10 years ago. But I have this feeling, when I am
in Turkey, that there is a deep connection I feel. I know that I will
probably keep coming until I die. I could sit in this house for hours
peacefully. This is the place where my grandparents had lived once. I
even have a photo of my mother standing at the entrance of the house.
It feels like I belong here."
Mr. Marsoobian is also planning to launch an exhibition in Ankara
after İstanbul, Merzifon and Diyarbakır. He is quite eager to expose
Turkish citizens, whether or not they are of Armenian background,
to rich cultural presents of Armenians on these lands. "I have been
spending the last few years, doing work on my family history which
dates back a few centuries, but in particular what happened to my
family during World War I and the Armenian case in Ottoman Turkey. My
grandfather and my great uncle were photographers. They have hundreds
of photographs dating from the 1888 to end of their lives there in
Turkey in 1923. And along with these photographs, I have extensive
memoirs about this period. I started to put all this together in terms
of a book and an exhibition which is on display in İstanbul now. I
have also made amazing discoveries [about] how my family survived
during the war, how they were forced to adopt Turkish names. Those
were unfortunately bad times in Turkey. I am sharing this both in
the United States and in Turkey," he said.
What Mr. Marsoobian does in Turkey is quite important -- opening
exhibitions in different cities without any intention to use them as
tools of propaganda against Turks, a strong support for initiating a
genuine dialogue. We need more of those. Fanatic diaspora communities
are the last thing that either Armenians or Turks need. After all,
we are the children of the same empire and our predecessors actually
lived side by side as good neighbors for centuries until nationalism
set us against each other. In fact, how similar both nations are
can even be seen by looking at their musical traditions. I strongly
suggest that you enjoy the numinous rhythms of catchy Armenian music.
You will find it so familiar.
http://www.todayszaman.com/blog/arslan-ayan_347211_a-different-perspective-on-the-armenian-case.html