Interviews
Olives and Horizons: The Melkonian Class of 1968 Reunites on Board the AHC
Below is an article published in the Feb. 2, 2008 issue of the Armenian Weekly on a reunion on board the Armenian Heritage Cruise. The 13th Armenian Heritage Cruise sails on Jan. 16. For more information, go to www.ArmenianHeritageCruise.com.
“All the support I have provided to Melkonian—whether moral or financial—does not even pay for the olives we ate there,” says Vahe Soudjian, an import/export negotiator from France, who was on board the Costa Fortuna from Jan. 12-20 to partici




The olive tree is native to the Mediterranean region and Western Asia, and spread to nearby countries from there. It is estimated the cultivation of olive trees began more than 7000 years ago. As far back as 3000 BC, olives were grown commercially in Crete; they may have been the source of the wealth of the Minoan civilization.