Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Presentation of the Ghazir Armenian Rug | Thursday 2.26.15

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Presentation of the Ghazir Armenian Rug | Thursday 2.26.15

    Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region
    104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
    Glendale, California 91206
    Tel: 818-500-1918
    Fax: 818-246-7353
    Email: [email protected]
    Web: http://www.anca.org/


    Ghazir Armenian Orphan Rug
    Presented to President Calvin Coolidge in 1925
    Thursday, February 26th | 7PM | Glendale Public Library


    The public is invited on Thursday, February 26, 2015, at 7pm to a
    power point presentation of the Ghazir Armenian Orphan Rug by Maurice
    Missak Kelechian at the Glendale Central Library Auditorium, 222 East
    Harvard Street in Glendale. The presentation will be in
    English. Admission will be free. Library visitors receive 3 hours FREE
    parking across the street at The Market Place parking structure with
    validation available at the Loan Desk.

    The program is sponsored by the Glendale Library, Arts & Culture
    department and the ANCA-WR Initiative "America We Thank You: An
    Armenian Tribute to Near East Relief," which recognizes the outpouring
    of philanthropic generosity and humanitarianism by the American people
    from the onset of the Armenian Genocide that rescued and rehabilitated
    over 1,000,000 refugees and 132,000 Armenian orphans.

    Msar Palace in Ghazir is about 20 miles from Beirut, Lebanon, perched
    on a hill, the Msar (often spelled Mizar) palace in Ghazir was built
    during the 19th century by a Lebanese prince, Emir Chehab II. Early in
    1923, the Near East Relief organization rented Msar palace and turned
    it into an Armenian girls' orphanage, the largest in the area. Under
    the American flag, the orphanage became a safe haven for 1400 Armenian
    girls who had witnessed the destruction of their country, during the
    Armenian Genocide. The place is well known for its rug factory. From
    1923 to 1930, the orphanage produced 3254 rugs and around 1000 orphan
    girls certified in the art of rug weaving. These girls made history by
    introducing the art of rug weaving into the Lebanese culture.

    Three years after the Ghazir orphanage was founded and within a period
    of ten months, seven Armenian orphan girls wove their masterpiece rug
    on behalf of tens of thousands of Armenian orphans around the world.

    The Ghazir Rug, also known as Armenian Orphan Rug is a magnificent
    11.7 by 18.5 feet rug, woven into 4,404,206 individual hand-tied knots
    of figures of more than one hundred animals and plants. The solemn
    expression of pain and sorrow for everything lost: homeland, loved
    ones and, trust in humanity. In December 1925, the rug was presented
    to United States President Calvin Coolidge as a token of gratitude and
    it stayed with Coolidge and his family even after he left the
    office. The rug was returned to the White House in 1982, and stored in
    the storage room for thirty-two years until November, 2014 when it was
    exhibited at the White House Visiting Center.

    "The Ghazir Rug is not just a carpet; it is a tangible connection to
    the first genocide of the Twentieth Century -a silent, beautiful
    rebuttal to those who deny the murder of 1.5 million men, woman and
    children in a campaign of mass murder, forced marches, rape and
    looting that befell the Armenian people from 1915-23. " -- Congressman
    Adam Schiff--




    From: A. Papazian
Working...
X