Travel
Tales from Trebizond
Continuing the search for authenticity, truth and the origins of the world, I had to stop and study Trebizond. Trebizond comes from the word ‘Trapezous’, which in Greek means table – the table of abundance, […]
Western Armenia
Family Histories
Our Land: Finding My Family’s Village in Western Armenia
This is a sequel, long overdue, to my piece Mascots and Flags: Thoughts from a Genocide Amusement Park. That piece was written in a couple of hours, fueled by the raw horror of finding my […]
Travel
The Armenian Town That Replaced Mining With Sustainable Development
In Armenia, the Amulsar debate continues, with the Minister of Environment calling for the examination of more data. The buzz surrounding the crisis has somewhat subsided, but traveling through Armenia this summer I saw the […]
In Sight
Those of Us Who Were Left Behind…
Nothing was more evident in my mind this past week than this beautiful quotation by Vache Thomassian. I was fortunate to attend a public lecture sponsored by NAASR and AGBU New England. The speaker was […]
Travel
Making ‘The Armenian Highland’
Eight or nine soldiers, or maybe they were ten, greeted me with cold stares as I got off the Turkish Airlines plane and walked across the tarmac. Each of them wore camo and each of […]
In Sight
American Armenians and Western Armenia: Rebuilding the Connection
For many decades, generations in this country have uttered, “We are Vanetzi” or “Our family is Kharpetzi.” Another popular one is, “We are proud Sepastiatzis.” To some, especially the new generation, the question is what […]
Travel
The Many Lives of a Church in Gurin
During my numerous trips to our historic homeland, I have witnessed tragic and quite common sites found in the remnants of our ancient churches, re-purposed into barns and mosques, and many times even outright destroyed. […]
Travel
Karanian’s ‘Armenian Highland’ a Touchstone to the Past
Matthew Karanian was about eight years old when he asked for his first camera—a vintage Brownie from his father. “Back then, we were using film,” he recalled one afternoon during a visit to the Hairenik […]
Community News
Armenian Activist Detained in Turkey for Using the Word ‘Genocide’
ISTANBUL—A prominent Turkish-Armenian activist was taken into custody last week for making controversial anti-Turkish narratives and using the term “genocide” during a requiem service on Armenian Genocide commemoration day. Nor Zartonk activist Alexis Kalk was […]
Literary Corner
Searching for Genocide Survivors a Century Ago, in the Classifieds
One century ago, on April 22, 1919, my grandfather placed a classified advertisement in the Hairenik, the leading Armenian language newspaper in the United States. His message was simple, and it was direct. I am […]