Special for the Armenian Weekly
‘The freedom to make and remake our cities and ourselves is, I want to argue, one of the most precious yet most neglected of our human rights.’
–David Harvey
Already a subscriber?Log in here
This story is FREE for you...
Create a free account to access this and four more articles, and get more sent to you with our e-newsletter.By submitting your email address you agree for Hairenik Association, Inc. to send you communication by email.
if this happened in Turkey everybody would protest but in Armenia…
any comment is under moderation…
Wonderful article, thank you! Just returned from Armenia and have seen first hand lack of care for some of the most valuable architectural sites in Yerevan. For instance, all around statue of Sasoontsi David (Masterpiece by Yervand Kochar), its packed with litter and hasn’t been cleaned up for a long time. The train station is an absolute gem which I hope doesn’t fall victim to the same capitalist agenda. We must do everything in the diaspora to help preserve the architectural integrity of the homeland, the same way we are campaigning to preserve the our historical monuments in Western Armenia.
Ցավում եմ, որ մեր գեղեցիկ պատմական Երեւանը կորցնում է իր ազգային եզակի տեսքը, որը վերածվում է միջազգային շուկայի, որ իրնից ոչինչ չի ներկայացնում: Միշտ պետք է հիշել, որ հինը պահպանելով պետք է արդիականացնել երկիրը: Հինը քանդելով, մենք մեր պատմությունն ենք ջնջում, ոչնչացնում ենք մեր ակունքները եւ կորցնում ենք մեր ազգային պատկերը:Մարդու արժեքը չի որոշվում միայն նրա նյութական կարողությամբ, այլ նաև հոգևոր արժեքներով: Եկեք մոռանանք օտարամոլությունը և հարգենք մենք մեզ և մեր պատմությունը:
Thanks for this good article. But for Yerevan too late !
I am a European living in Yerevan for six years now. Since 2010 and even before, when I
visited Yerevan, I noticed the rigorous destruction of old balconies and houses. In the
Municipal Administration works obviously NOBODY who is interested in urban culture. It´s
obvious that every building project is approved just depending on the bribes paid.
What is extremely foolish in Yerevan is the fact that the stones of several old houses
had been given numbers so that you could think they would be re-erected somewhere else.
But half a year later the digger came – finished !
What a difference shows the much smaller town of Gyumri: The earthquake-shaken
churches repaired, old road plasters restored, old houses modernized in a very appreciable
way. Wandering through this city everybody can at once realize that there are people work-
ing in the Administration that love their city !
While the world as we know it is being destroyed by IS and we are pointing fingers at their callousness and lack of culture and respect for History, here is another piece of the old world HERITAGE that is being destroyed by the same lack of culture, callousness and greed by our own compatriots.
They have absolutely no respect nor a sense of preservation of history and culture. Only greed and personal gain is being considered.
Why not create a historically preserved center and build the modern city around it? It can be even interesting to have the old and the new side by side. All developing cities that have this much of a sense of historic preservation are doing that. Cities that were once totally destroyed under bombs have been revived and reconstructed, destruction is easy, preservation is not.
Shame shame and shame on the City of Yerevan that is allowing this to happen!!!
This is the responsibility of the Municipal Bodies, and regardless of how much BRIBE is involved, it should not be allowed to happen!!!
This is a reflection of total IGNORANCE, and lack of CULTURE and a lack of respect for our NATIONAL HERITAGE.
We are pointing fingers at the Turks, and their destruction of the Ani ruins, our churches in Western Armenia, and yet right in the homeland, we have people who are behaving even worse than some of these Turks, by destroying our own heritage JUST FOR GREED!
STOP STOP AND STOP these crooks and corrupt developers!