It isn’t very often I fall off my chair while reading an e-mail but this was the last straw. There before me were fashion models representing Elle Magazine in alluring and seductive forms posing by our desecrated cathedrals in Ani.
What next?
It isn’t bad enough the Turks show little regard for our sacred churches and institutions. It’s not bad enough they desecrate our historical structures and deny a genocide.
Now they open the door for models to mock our sacred lands while beneath the soil may rest lifeless Armenians who shed their blood in 1915.
The e-mail arrived on my screen from another Weekly columnist, Betty Apigian Kessel, who was just as distraught by the stark images. My initial reaction was to jump into the screen and give the photographers a heave-ho. My angst was just as overt.
Why did the fashion editors pick Ani of all places—the former capital city known for its 1,001 churches? Couldn’t they have chosen another site, some place a bit more glamorous? Was the intent to portray an interpretation of “Beauty and the Beast” by showing gorgeous gals by wrecked monuments?
I shot off an e-mail to the magazine, not expecting a response but more as a venting reaction to this debacle. Of course, the damage had already been done and the photos were traveling the circuit by now, ready for publication.
One showed a model in a mini-skirt inside a monument. Had this been Pigalle or the Latin Quarter, the scene would have fit. Another showed a backlit image of a model opening a cathedral door as if she owned the place and was inviting business.
Others depicted tandem women strolling by the remains of a famous church often used to represent the ruins of Ani. The rest were exposed by the sanctuary area using pillars as a backdrop.
The logical side of me doesn’t fault the models. They have a job to do and a paycheck to earn. It’s their profession.
Being a photographer myself, I’ve often worked with models and even nudes to create an art form. There’s nothing indecent about it. The girls were building up their portfolios and wanted copies of their pictures. Any gratuity was most appreciated.
The onus falls upon the Elle photo editors and magistrates for choosing such an illogical site for their shoot to portray fashion in such an ill-mannered way. Would the Vatican have been a choice if it were available?
Did the Turks give Elle Magazine permission to use the sites? Did they require restrictions about identifying the site? These questions require answers.
The debacle gets even worse. Some Armenians condoned the ludicrous act. They saw nothing wrong with it. One wrote to say she shared the photos with her friends, including those who never purchase anything from the Turks or Turkish content, especially now that Godiva chocolate has been purchased by the Turkish government.
“We saw the beauty in these photographs,” says the woman. “For someone like me who never visited Historic Armenia, I’m grateful to have seen the ruins and prompted me to find out more about them. Let the world see.”
Her comment followed others that crossed my desk. Another Armenian wrote to say she didn’t see any harm in having the pictures of the ruins exposed to the world.
But in such a fashion and at the expense of embarrassment? Is that all our monuments and churches are worth these days—as a stepping stone for luridness and obscenity?
Kessel herself was livid. The columnist from Keghi, Turkey, as she bills herself, roused the hornet’s nest by letting others know how the Turks defiled the memory of our ancestors and the religious interpretation of our beautiful ancient churches.
“The models are parading around, stepping on the very blood-filled ground totally blind to what the architect represents,” she disdains. “Why didn’t the editors use their own mosques for such a photo shoot? Because the Turks have no respect for our civilized culture. If this doesn’t make your blood boil, well…”
Here we are, planning our genocide commemorations and honoring the few remaining survivors when this breaks. It seems the Turks have no limits to their insensitivity. I wonder what my mother and others like her would have said if they were exposed to such filth.
How would the 1.5 million victims feel? Or the 200,000 Armenians who once occupied Ani? The images are covered with their blood.
It was in these Armenian churches where the Turkish gendarmes killed, raped, and massacred our people 96 years ago.
As a proud and conscientious Armenian, I am offended. I hope you are, too.
Tom Vartabedian
Latest posts by Tom Vartabedian (see all)
- Vartabedian: My Final Column - November 13, 2016
- A Hat to Match Any Occasion - October 19, 2016
- More Smiles Keep the Frowns Away - October 12, 2016
Turkey itself is pornographic and degraded. Whatever high culture it has was stolen from others. It can only imitate, not invent. Turkey: land of murder, rape, and theft.
“How would the victims of the Armenian genocide feel”? Seriously? This about a fashion shoot in the ruins of Ani? Perhaps they’d be happy that Armenians and their history are remembered? Perhaps we ought to appreciate the exposure? I’ve seen Armenian churches in Armenia that are out of service to THIS DAY in Armenia being used as barns. Yes. Armenian churches as barns in Armenia. Full of cow manure. And guess what, it’s no big deal. Sorry, but I really think you’re way off on this.
This happened a few months ago and I’m with Raffi. You’re off on this one. Why are aren’t you complaining about the nationalist members of a Turkish political party who held a religious service in one of the churches of Ani to commemorate the conquest of Ani by Seljuks? This happened last year and that was offensive. They were commemorating the conquest of Ani and massacre that followed. That ceremony was deliberate and hateful and directed towards Armenians. This is a photoshoot for goodness sakes, in an ruined city no-one is living in.
What about all those churches in Turkey that are being used as barns as well?
I see this photo and i see the pros and cons….however the models seem to be making a mockery of what is behind them. this is the message i see.
as for cows in churches….well, all of God’s creatures are being taken care of in one way or another this time it just happens to be a church. just my opinion.
Dear Random Armenian: The Weekly DID cover the terrinle event held by Turks in Ani. Moreover, many Armenians complained about it.
Dear Raffi: We DO complain when Armenia does not take care of churches.
Look, the people who did the photo shoot of models at Ani are interested in one thing: money.
Raffi > Sorry, I do not agree.
It would be no different than having a fashion show in front of the gas ovens in Dachau, Maidenek, Treblinka or Auschwitz.
The question is> WHO allowed them / gave them permission to do a fashion shoot there? Under what permit/authority?
Was permission requested from the Armenian authorities?
And has Elle published credits to Turkey – as the location?
Next > did the Turks run any ads/tourist/products/services in the same issue?
Last > Cow manure has never been used as a weapon of genocide, torture and rape, Joseph and Mary gave birth to their son Jesus in a cow / animal shed.
rebecca,
Which Armenian authorities have authority over Ani? Unfortunately Turks have defacto authority over Ani and they give permissions as they wish, like they did to the nationalists I mentioned earlier.
Pauline, yes but we’re seeing complaints in this article about the photoshoot a *second* time after it first happened a few months ago.
Also, I thought Ani abandoned before 1915. Was anyone living in Ani at the time of the genocide?
Random Armenian, you are right. Ani was abandoned centuries ago. This has nothing to do with the genocide at all, and trying so hard to draw a link is I think a disservice to the genocide.
The nationalist Islamic prayer held in the Cathedral on the other hand was meant solely to offend and was offensive because of it’s intent.
Dawn, I think your opinion that “the models are making a mockery” of the churches/setting is a result of your prejudice against the shoot to begin with. They’re doing what models always do in these shoots.
And Pauline, yes, the fashion shoot was done to make money. I don’t understand your point.
Congratulations to my fellow Weekly columnist Tom Vartabedian for so quickly responding to my call to action in regards to the Elle Magazine layout where models are parading around our ancient Armenian churches and cathedrals in the City of Ani for a photo shoot. I have to assume they were given permission by the Turks to perform yet another display of disrespect to our martyrs and our cultured history. Some who responded thought it was “art” and therefore acceptable. NO! It boggles my mind anyone could find any positve aspect in this act of disrespect. This is no time to see the glass as half full. Ani is ours to defend. Turks will trample on us at every occasion and this was a typical example. Shame of them and Elle magazine. Contrived poses, scantily dressed, trampling on holy ground where our ancestors were raped, slaughterd, and tortured leaves me to think the Turks have not come far as far as becoming civilized. Those that follow Tom and I in being activists must understand it is their obligation to take up the mantle, to be observant and vigilant. No matter how many gnerations pass, always remember the Turks’ focus was only on exterminating the Armenian Nation. Tom moved quickly, moved by a sense of emotion and responsibility. Ani is our glorious past. It lies crumbling because it represents the beauty of Christianity. Why didn’t the Turks insist this shoot use mosques as a location? Because that would have been disrespectful. April 24, is near and Turks will resort to any show of ignorance to nullify its importance. They lose every time. You don’t have to be Armenian to know the importance of preserving beautiful architecture, Armenian or otherwise, that is unless you are just plain ignorant. If the shoe fits the Turks, they should wear it. My column will reflect the opinion of the many who have responded at my request. Observe and learn the way of the deniers.
Instead of ranting and ravings about a few models tramping around the ruins of Ani, we should be asking ourselves what we have done as a dispossessed nation to reemphasize our rights as owners of the cultural and historical monuments.
Sadly, we have done precious little.
Betty; I sincerely doubt that Elle magazine was “given permission by the turks.” The Turks don’t “give” anything. They charge Armenian tourists $12U.S. just to walk around and look at Ani. Have to go to the bathroom while you are there? There is a putrid hole with flies buzzing around near the entrance where the armed guards are. Give them $1 and you too can use it. You can bet Elle payed plenty for the use of Ani. Bet they brought along their own porta-potties.
I think what we have above is some Armenians who are willing to give Turkey a free pass because they don’t see Ani as ours (they want Armenians to provide a notarized deed), and they think that anything goes in the moderrn world.
They’re liberals.
You’re asking all the right question, Tom. And need we answer? We’ve had the answer given us too many times over.
To Raffi & Random Armenian,
Would you still think it in good taste if these pictures were shot at Aucshwitz? Would you think that it was bringing attention to places that had not been used in a while?
I think you’re off base.
I ask posters to please refrain from using the word “abandoned,” on this site or any other. We did not “abandon” Ani. We did not “abandon” any of our churches, or villages, or families or wealth, or land, or way of life. An unarmed population was forced into exile; we were driven off our historical lands at the end of rifles. There is a big difference in meaning of word usage here. The turks like to say that we “abandoned” everything. The implication is that 2 million people simply got up out of their beds and took their terrified children out into the death marches, voluntarily abandoning their lives and their land and their possessions.
Very well said Perouz:
There is a well established law in the US about participating in criminal acts.
I don’t know the legal definition of it, but here is an example:
When a group of robbers invades a Bank and the cops shoot one of the robbers, the surviving robbers are charged with – murder.
That’s right: Murder. They are so charged, the charges stick, and in a Court of Law the indicted lose every time.
The idea is that when you participate in an illegal act, all consequences that flow from that illegal act are your responsibility.
Even though the individual did not kill – cops did – by participating in an illegal act he created the situation in which the killing by cops took place; so he is the one responsible, not the cops who were acting within the law.
Everything that has happened in Western Armenia is a result of the illegal invasion by the Seljuk Turks circa 1000.
People seem to forget that prior to 1915 everything was NOT normal for Armenians.
There was almost a non-stop campaign of forced subjugation, destruction, persecution, theft, confiscation, mass murder, mass rapes, abduction and forced conversion (or worse) of Armenian boys and girls, and on, and on, and on.
Everything that has gone wrong in Western Armenia is the result of the illegal invasion of the Seljuk Turks.
HISTORICAL NOTE: ANI WAS UNINHABITED AT THE TIME OF THE GENOCIDE!!!! “Ani was entirely abandoned by the middle of the 18th century”. Yes, nobody at all has lived there for 250 years. So yes Perouz, it was abandoned.
Please be aware of that when you make comments linking Ani and the genocide. This has nothing to do with genocide or holocaust.
This discussion is simply regarding whether or not we think it is in good taste to do a photo shoot of models in what remains of Armenian churches. That’s all. I think it’s fine. Some of you don’t. I would support this same thing being done at any of our non-functioning churches. These models were simply wearing clothes and being photographed.
Turkey is guilty of a LOT of very very nasty stuff, and we need to call them on it. I have done a lot of work documenting it. But this is simply a distraction in my opinion. If someone can make a genuinely good argument as to why this is bad, I’m happy to listen.
We wish to thank Betty Apigian Kessel & Tom Vartabedian for bringing up at Ani the degrading our historic churches by taking pictures of Turkish Fashion Models and degrading our Martyrs and our Christian Heritage. As one comment was made would Turks allow them to do it in front of a Mosque, course not. Our Armenian Organizations should protest this to the Turkish authorities and to not to let this pass.
This is what the world has become today … no respect, no shame, no consciousness … or perhaps even awareness. Where will the next fashion shoot be? Arlington National Cemetery or on the altar of St. Paul’s Cathedral?
After the outrage, I can see opportunity. The opportunity to inform the knowingly insensitive yet highly communicative fashion community about the Armenian Genocide and the story of its historic lands.
It may be possible to ask Cher, Kirk Krikorian or other media/fashion celebrities such as the Kardashians, even though they have spoken up before. Here’s a good place to start: http://www.style.am/tag/armenian-fashion-designers to influence our own and take a stand.
Just like with the Genocide Resolution, failure of final passage does not mean that the whole mission has failed. Nothing has brought more quality attention to the Armenian genocide issue than the energy, outreach and continuing efforts to support passage of the resolution.
We must respond to each opportunity occurring in every forum to counter disrespect and insensitivity to what has been done to Armenians in the past and present with a consistent quest for recognition and justice. That inherited effort, I believe, has been a key as to why Armenians have had the strength and determination to survive as a nationality, while many others have ended.
Here, this unconscionable trespassing on our former holy worshipping houses, now perhaps solemn burial sites, can hopefully lead to an even greater awareness in the media/fashion community of our past and current struggles with recognition and reparations for the Armenian Genocide as well as the current treatment of Armenianism in Turkey.
Thank you all for keeping the torch lit.
Raffi,
We have been in exile from our historic lands in western Armenia for almost 100 years. Do you consider them “abandoned”? Or is there a reason we are not there? Do we still claim ownership? Do you view Mount Ararat as being abandoned? Or is it still ours? What about our historical villages that are filled today with Kurds instead of Armenians? Did we abandon them? To “abandon” is not the same as to “not occupy.” Ani is not, has not been, and never will be, “abandoned.” Ani is ours. It will always be ours. Time itself will end before it is “abandoned.” It is drenched with our blood. If your documentation shows that “Ani has nothing to do with the genocide,” then I ask you to not publish your inaccurate information. I have extensive primary source documentation written by an ARF volunteer who fought for Ani during the genocide. Here is just one short sentence from his voluminous writing-
“Yerevan’s Tenth Reserve Regiment held Ani’s ruins and the hills of Araz village up to Muvrag village.”
This heroic regiment of Yerevan Armenians and ARF volunteers shed blood at Ani during the genocide. They knew it was ours. They did not abandon it.
As for the tasteless fashion shoot; the fashion industry has already been sneered at for going to poverty-stricken areas they considered “picturesque” and shooting photos of half-naked women in bizarre clothing prancing among camels and people who struggle simply to survive. This is pseudo art that depends on shock value because it has nothing creative or innovative to say. Good art does not depend on a picturesque background. It can stand on its own.
Perouz,
I think we need to define the word “abandoned” first before getting emotional, since that word can have multiple meanings. I believe me and Raffi are using the meaning “no longer inhabitted” when it comes to Ani itself. Ani went through through highs and lows, prosperity and massacres, and it eventually declined and had not been inhabited for a few centuries before the genocide. You’re referring to a broader definition of “abandoned” about ownership in terms of territory and history. It’s my understanding that the very acts of genocide in 1915 did not occur within the walls of Ani. That was the basis for my original comment in reaction to Tom’s second to last paragraph.
Nobody here is claiming we abandoned the towns cities and villages we were living in until 1915!
Sometimes when we clearly define the words we’re using, it ends up that there isn’t anything there to be arguing over to begin with. Ani was an Armenian capital that was populated by Armenians even through conquests by others.
What year was this ARF regiment fighing in and around Ani?
Random Armenian,
The sentence I sent was taken from an account of Nov. 3, 1920. Here is another part of the same paragraph. The following two paragraph segments do not follow the first in consecutive order. There is, of course, much more to this narrative. I hold copyright to the original extensive documentation.
“For that reason, the Armenian army retreated along the entire front, and during the same night, formed a new general front in the following manner: Yerevan’s Tenth Reserve Regiment held Ani’s ruins and the hills of Araz village up to Muvrag village. Sebouh’s Seventh and Eighth Regiments held the hills of Pa Shoragal and Diknis, having Ghuzultchakhtchakh as center. These were the new central positions of our front, and beyond them, for three or four versts in all directions, were the front positions.”
“They forced the Eleventh Regiment, which had advanced up to the front of Kurmuzlou village, to pull back to where it was facing Ani. Here the Armenian regiments gathered their forces, and with great determination, attacked the enemy division as they passed the Akhourian River by Ani’s ruins. That day’s fiercest battle had begun.”
“Passing Arpatcha, the enemy sought refuge in Ani’s rugged ruins. The battle against Ani continued until almost noon; they then directed the fury of battle against Commander Sympad’s mounted men, who were on our right side.”
Perouz, Tserkut hampourem. You are a knowledgeable Armenian warrior. Welcome to The Cause. I believe in defending and protecting anything that was and is Armenian, especially against the vile Turks. Ani may have been destroyed by earthquakes but it was the Seljuks whose feet trampled the ground of our beautiful former capital.
My initial reaction to this news item was disgust and my current view is that we need to get beyond our anger and take action and make supporters out of the fashion community.
I find I difficult to believe that the Turkish government, at some level,was not aware of this offensive display. Their is very little that goes on with some local military or civilian bureaucrat reporting activity to more senior authorities… especially when foreigners are involved. There is a clear practice of limiting or downplaying the Armenian presence in our historic homeland. Allowing these architectual marvels to deteriorate and the Islamic presence are examples to frustrate Armenians.
The debate over the connection of Ani and the genocide is irrelevant. These buildings are consecrated holy ground. The consecration of these structures set them aside as special places to honor our Lord. To conduct social and fashion displays is completely inappropriate. It does not matter if they are active or the area is depopulated. I was horrified when I saw the models parading in the sanctuary of the Holy Virgin Cathedral.
The political implications are frankly secondary. I don’t care if the Turks sanctioned it or not. This is a holy consecrated place that has but one eternal purpose… to pray to our Lord. Even today when tourists visit the site, they pause in prayer. There is no active parish, there are no parishioners, there is no local priest, but it is still and always will be a house of worship. This is not a secular issue. It is about respecting our faith. Would any of you hold a fashion show down the center isle of your local parish? Come on!!
Random Armenian, you have again recapped what we have both been saying very well. Perouz, your very quote mention that Ani was a ruins already. Nobody is saying the ruins do not belong to Armenians, and always will, but they were abandoned at the time of residents.
It seems we will have to disagree on this regardless. I saw the photos. I mean really, tourists flock through there wearing whatever they like, just like the churches in Armenia. The models were wearing more than the average tourist if anything. I would be happy if they did this in churches in the Republic of Armenia and in Karabakh as well. The churches are no longer in use. I repeat, churches in Armenia are being used as barns and I don’t hear any complaints here. The cathedral in Ani was used for a large Turkish nationalist Islamic prayer last year, and I don’t think the reaction was this strong. So I just don’t get this position, I don’t see where it’s coming from and I will move on now.
Raffi,
When the handful of ragged, displaced, wandering, survivors attempted to flee from Turkey after the genocide, their exit visas were stamped “Return Prohibited.” Turkey then explained the empty villages by telling the world that they had “abandoned” their lands, knowing that they could never return. This is still the terminology they use. I refuse to use the language of the Turks in describing the plight of my people.
The bad judgment and poor taste of this fashion shoot is about more than disrespect of our religion, or about fashion. For Turkey, it is a display of sovereignty; it is valuable marketing publicity in order to promote tourism, and about money paid for the commercial use of Ani. This is similar to the recent use of Aghtamar. For the fashion industry, it is simply about marketing their brand, about giving the appearance of being cosmopolitan, exotic, of creating purchasing desire in the mall shopper. The reason Ani is not piled high with cattle manure is because, even in ruin, Ani has market value for the turks. Pauline has it right – this is simply about money for both the Turks and the fashion industry. They have no awareness of any religious issue. It is a marketing coup for Turkey to say their tourism numbers are up, to say that film and fashion and art and advertising find it picturesque, worth travelling to, worth paying for. Out of the way churches are not as commercially viable; they are not as romantic, or as exotic a backdrop as Ani. I have seen Kurds hang their laundry inside our churches, grow their tomatoes and peppers in the church courtyards on top of the bones of our ancestors. I have seen evidence of dismantled churches, their stones with carving still evident in them, used in the building of Kurdish homes. Kurds always seem somehow ashamed and embarrassed, diffident, and unfailingly courteous to us. They know that we know.
What I do not understand is why the fashion industry doesn’t simply use painted backdrops for their shoots, in the way that Hollywood often still does? It would be a far more creative and innovative, less controversial and more economical approach. And they wouldn’t have to worry about having a buck in hand to pay for using the hole in the ground.
Let’s not forget that Ani has been ravaged by major earthquakes several times in history and that fact, perhaps above all else, led to its abandonnment hundreds of years ago. While I understand how some people might see or interpret the fashion shoot as being distasteful, maybe we need to start seeing the glass as half-full, rather than half-empty? Didn’t Atom Egoyan also use ruined churches in Armenia in his movie Calendar? The models and photographers did not do intentional harm to anyone or anything in Ani, and were not brandishing guns or bombs or anything consciously negative. Instead, they brought attention and media focus to these magnificent, historic Armenian ruins, examples of unparalleled architectural genius and stonework, for a worldwide audience that might have never seen or heard of anything Armenian. In fact, the overall sadness and solemnity of the ruins may have actually conveyed an unintentional message about Armenians, the genocide and our losses over the centuries. As we all know, one good picture is worth a thousand words. For that reason, I agree w/ Raffi and RA that this is not something to get worked up about. Lots of people visit the churches of Ani in shorts, t-shirts and who knows what else? There really are bigger fish to fry. So, at least in this case, let’s see the glass as half-full for a change. These models and photographers brought more worldwide attention to Ani than any Armenian has in a very long time. And yes, I fully understand, Ani is not under Armenian control at this point and that is lamentable, but that should not cause us to reject something as benign as a photoshoot. PS: as far as I know, Godiva was not bought by the Turkish government at all, but by very well known and respected private candy company, Ulker.
“Let’s not forget that Ani has been ravaged by major earthquakes several times in history and that fact, perhaps above all else, led to its abandonment hundreds of years ago.”
Were all the crosses mounted on Ani structires, plentiful of crossstones around them, and magnificent frescos inside those structures desecrated as a result of earthquakes? Or Turkish tank regiments’ maneuvers and the selection of Ani churches as targets in the 1950s also were a result of earthquakes?
No Paul, of course not, but alot of history has happened there in the last 1000 years. On the scale of positives and negatives, where does a photoshoot fit in? We can choose to focus on it as a negative or we can choose to see it as a positive. It’s up to each one of us, I suppose, and is a very individual choice. However, anything that brings attention to Ani in a positive way and highlights Armenian history and our cultural heritage is a good thing in my book.
I wonder how many people commenting here have actually been to Ani, or to the other Western Armenian lands they claim to cherish and want back? I visited Ani in 1999, and would go again in a heartbeat. I didn’t pray, and I admit I took a lot of pictures (though I wasn’t wearing anything remotely fashionable). I have absolutely no problem with this photoshoot, and frankly, I have a serious problem with the linkage between the ruins of Ani and the genocide. It may be that some Armenians died in these ruins during the genocide, but that is basically true of all of what is now Eastern Turkey. It is all a massive burial ground, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go and be there. Be there, be a presence on that land, even if only temporarily. While you’re at it, talk to Kurds, as I did, and realize that few of them deny the genocide, and most are more than happy to meet and speak with Armenians. More and more Turks are also beginning to question the history taught to them, even if the Turkish government is far behind.
The fact that the Turkish state refuses to protect or restore the monuments at Ani is a mixed blessing. Of course, the slow decay of these monuments is a horrible thing, but the soldier that accompanied me when I was there was all too eager to tell me that the churches were all “Georgian.” Any rebuilding or restoration might involve reducing the apparent Armenianness of these buildings.
Ultimately, though, the only way to keep Ani Armenian is for Armenians to go there regularly. This is true of all historically Armenian places. Cancel your Caribbean cruise and go somewhere meaningful this summer, for heaven’s sake! Rough it a little (you can even climb Ararat if you’re willing to), and by so doing, show the Turkish government that the exile it forced on your ancestors is not permanent. There is no reason why most Armenians (depending on their citizenship, of course) cannot visit Turkey today. Believe me when I say your individual tourist dollars will neither make nor break the Turkish economy, and if you feel guilty, then by all means, follow up with a trip to Armenia (which is easy if you go through Georgia).
Visit Turkey, and while you’re there, on your ancestral land, do the most rebellious thing of all: have a good time, smile, laugh, dance, celebrate, and do what we all do whenever two of us meet anywhere in the world, create a new Armenia.