Finally someone uploaded this great documentary about the Armenian presence in the Holy Land.
Archive for January, 2012
Aronian in Wijk aa Zee (Photo by Fred Lucas)
Yet another Chess victory for Armenia. Levon Aronian, the chess player currently ranked no. 2 in the world, won the first place at the prestigious Tata Steel tournament in Wijk aan Zee (Netherlands). Aronian secured the first place with 9 points, a full point ahead of Carlsen, Taimur Radjabov (Azerbaijan), and Fabiano Caruana (Italy). His victory this year, a full-point ahead of the rest of the field, is testament to his brilliant performance at the tournament.
Twenty-nine-year-old Aronian has registered a number of top tournament victories in recent years and has cemented his position as one of the top chessplayers in the world today. He has also led Armenia’s national team to victories in the Chess Olympiad (2006 and 2008) and in the World Team Championships (2011).
Here the results:
Final results of Wijk aan Zee 2012
Close up photos of Old Armenian Doors by talented photographer Suren Manvelyan. He has a bunch of other great photographs on his personal site.
Journeyman pictures released a short documentary on the Armenian Genocide
The flag of the Cilician Kingdom, 1334 AD
In the light of a wonderful song I discovered (see below) I’d like to tell a thing or two about the medieval Armenian kingdom of Cilicia. The Kingdom was established by Armenians amid fierce religious wars (c. 1080 by the Rubenid dynasty). Cilicia was known for its strong ties to the European Crusaders, and saw itself as a bastion of Christendom in the East. It also served as a focus for Armenian culture, since Armenia proper was under foreign occupation at the time. Its special relation with the Crusaders was described by Pope Gregory XIII in his Ecclesia Romana: “Among the good deeds which the Armenian people has done towards the church and the Christian world, it should especially be stressed that, in those times when the Christian princes and the warriors went to retake the Holy Land, no people or nation, with the same enthusiasm, joy and faith came to their aid as the Armenians did, who supplied the Crusaders with horses, provision and guidance. The Armenians assisted these warriors with their utter courage and loyalty during the Holy wars.”
Cilician Armenians had an important impact on Crusaders returning to the West, most notably with the architectural traditions. Europeans incorporated elements of Armenian castle-building, learned from Armenian masons in the Crusader states, as well as some elements of church architecture. Most Armenian castles made atypical usage of rocky heights, and featured curved walls and round towers, similar to those of the Hospitaller castles Krak des Chevaliers and Marqab. Cilician Armenia had a thriving economy, with the port of Ayas serving as a center for East to West trade. Marco Polo on his travels to the east passed through Cilicia and spoke of Ayas, as “a city of good and great and of great trade”in his renowned book, The Description of the World. The Cilician period also produced some important examples of Armenian art, notably the illuminated manuscripts of Toros Roslin. Many of
Constantin III of Armenia on his throne with the Hospitaller, painting by Henri Delaborde,1844.
which survived the genocide when the patriarch Catholicos of Cilicia brought them over to Lebanon (Antelias), upon establishing the Holy See of the Great House of Cilicia. Cilica was at its time the only safe place for Christian Armenians as other parts of the Armenian Highlands where conquered by foreign invaders. Cilicia therefore managed to safeguard Armenian traditions, sciences, religion and many forms of medieval art. Thus emphasizing the importance of this period and Kingdom to Armenians and the development of their culture. With the invasions of Mamluks, Mongols and later Turks the kingdom eventually fell to the Muslims and the Armenian population was gradually pushed out with the Armenian Genocide in 1915 as the final stroke.
Although the territory of Cilicia is now under control of the Turks, the Armenians still honor the Kingdom in many forms of art. Below a song dedicated to Armenian Cilicia by the band “The Beautified Project”.
Yesterday evening France has finally taken the historic step forward in supporting human rights around the world. As I have mentioned earlier, a month ago the French lower house of parliament approved a bill to condemn the denial of the Armenian Genocide as an offense by law. The bill still had to pass the Senate and therefore was uncertain about its official approval. But yesterday evening, despite provocations by the Turkish protesters and the blackmail from Ankara a majority vote in the Senate finally approved the bill declaring the denial of the Armenian Genocide officially an offence. As expected the Turkish government reacted furiously, threatening to break all relations with France once again. They already recalled their ambassador from Paris and cancelled bilateral visits between the two countries after the French lower house passed the bill in December, and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned “this is only the first phase.” In response Sarkozy said : “France doesn’t need an OK from another nation to develop its policies.” In a letter to the Turkish government, he added the law is not aimed at any country, but only at addressing past suffering.
Thousands of Turks converged on Paris to protest against the proposed bill
Many analysts ponder on whether this is a political decision by Sarkozy and his party in order to gain votes from the Armenian community. I for one strongly doubt this assumption for the simple fact that there are about twice as much Turks living in France than there are Armenians. According to most experts about 350,000 Armenians reside in France, while Turks of France amount to 500.000 to 600.000 people. Not to mention the ever growing influx of immigrants from Turkey into France. After all, after Germany, France is the main destination country for Turks who emigrate. Furthermore, Turkey has for long been and still is a major strategic and economic partner of the West. Being a NATO ally and one of the major economies in the region, angering Turkey has far more consequences than pleasing a select group of Armenians. According to official Turkish statistics, the volume of trade between Turkey and France from January to the end of October this year was more than $13.5 billion. In addition Turkey is still the most important Muslim partner of France and the west. In contrast Armenia is struggling economic development and holds little to no geopolitical significance with little to no natural resources. In addition Armenia never threatened with any sanctions whether this bill be adopted or rejected. Turkey on the other hand has for long been threatening France with seizure of all diplomatic, economic and political ties. Which they always implement whenever the issue of Armenian Genocide is mentioned. Therefore the speculation on the approval of the bill being an opportunist political move by the Sarkozy’s camp simply falls apart in the face of reason. I’m sure Turkish lobbyists hold way more power and money to influence French voters and the consequences of aggravating Turkey far outweigh the gains Sarkozy would receive from a few Armenians.
Armenian Genocide victims
No, on the contrary, I believe France has taken a bold stance on condemning crimes against humanity in the face of fierce provocations from Turkey and against all odds. People of France have made their decision in support of human rights and universal peace, despite threats and accusations. Unfortunately in the world we live in crimes have to be punishable by law in order to prevent future occurrences and past crimes need to be recognized and condemned in order for peace to prevail over chaos. Criminals should not set the example by getting away with crimes unpunished and uncriticized. Attesting to the significance of condemning such past transgressions is the infamous conversation Hitler had with his officers. When Hitler first proposed his final solution, he was told that the world would never permit such a mass murder. Hitler then silenced his advisers by asking, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?“ Being a descendant of Armenian Genocide victims myself I applaud the French government for this bold move. Besides the bill does NOT limit itself solely to the denial of the Armenian Genocide, in fact the bill condemns denial of ALL Genocides around the world and throughout the history. This is a huge victory for human rights across the world. Therefore I again say VIVE LA FRANCE!!!
During the WW2 the 812 German battalion consisting solely of Armenian soldiers was brought to the Dutch province of Zealand. Where they soon made contact with the resistance and became favored by the locals, especially the local girls. Some got pregnant, but those Armenian soldiers who survived the war were abruptly summoned by the Soviet leaders. Where Stalin put them to trial and thus many ended up in Siberian work camps. In this radio-documentary, the children of these lost Armenian soldiers talk about their lives without fathers, their experiences and their search for them.
This documentary consists of 5 parts. I added pictures to accompany the text.
Part 1-5
Great initiative! People should be aware of the events that unfold regarding this issue. We could all lose freedom on the internet very fast vary soon.
These are the best pictures I could find of Grigor Khanjyan’s mural depicting the creation of Armenian alphabet. Unfortunately the second one is of lesser quality.
A few months ago, I made a YouTube video about the history of the Armenian Wheel of Eternity. Maybe the most iconic among many ancient Armenian symbols. As expected people started to ask questions and post comments. Among the commentators a keen observer noticed that in some cases Armenians depicted the Wheel of Eternity inside a six pointed star. Because of the many questions I received since, I’ve decided to finally grant this symbol attention in a manner of a blog post.
Marble tombstone of the Armenian Grand Prince Hasan Jalal Vahtangian (1214-1261)
Most people today associate the six pointed star (hexagram) with the Jewish Star of David (Magen David), as it is the modern symbol of Jewish identity and Judaism. In 1948 it was even adopted on the official flag of Israel. According to Wikipedia: “Its use as a symbol of the Jewish community dates to the 17th century.” However, like many other aspects of Armenian culture, not much has been written about the Armenian usage of the hexagram. Even though its usage in science, art, architecture, decorations and even for religious purposes has been extensive throughout the history. View full article »
