Khatchkars - "Stone Cross"

Khatchkars - "Stone Cross"
Khatchars are everywhere in Armenia; in and around churches, on streets and roads, and out in the countryside. There are tens of thousands all over. Some characteristics of khatchars are that they are seldom symmetrical left to right or top to bottom. This symbolizes the assymetry of the world. The carved background patterns (similar to celtic knots) on many khatchkars have no beggining or end - symbolizing the eterenity of the universe. And, finally, a common practice was to break a small piece of the carving with a chisel. This symbolizes the idea that nothing on earth is perfect. Khatchkars date from at least the middle ages if not earlier. .

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Gevorg Dabaghyan and Shoghaken in the U.S.



The Armenian Folk Ensemble, Shoghaken (http://www.road-to-armenia.com/music/music.html), that was founded by Gevorg Dabaghyan, my duduk teacher and friend, in 1990, toured the US in January - March 2008. I was depressed because the closest they were coming to Washington State was Berkeley and San Francisco. They started their tour at Carnegie Hall. This is a group of absolute world-class musicians.
But my dear companion and wife, Kristina, wasn't about to give up. Without my knowing, she emailed our friends and family members and asked for a donation to get me to California for the end of their tour. And she succeeded. For my 60th birthday present, we went down there for a four-day weekend. We got hold of Harold Hagopian, the tour producer, and he suggested that we get a motel room in the same motel as the band. So an added bonus was that we got to meet the band members and get to know some of them. We particularly enjoyed our time with Hasmik Harutunyan, the singer, and her husband, Andranik.
I got a couple of duduk lessons from Gevorg and also bought a piccolo duduk that he had made. We had a good time renewing our friendship although I don't know how he manages to listen to me mangling the potentially beautiful sounds of the duduk.
We heard and danced to Shoghaken Saturday night in an old bar/dance hall from the 60's called Ashkenaz. This was a demonstration of instruments, dance instruction and a dance. The next day, Sunday, was a formal concert at the Armenian Cultural Center in San Francisco.
It was a wonderful time and one that I'll treasure forever.







Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Armenian Coat of Arms


Independence Day, Armenia

Independence Day is celebrated on 21st September each year in Armenia. It commemorates the referendum held in Armenia on 21st September 1991, after the attempted assassination of President of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev.

The Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked mountainous country between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Southern Caucasus. It shares borders with Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran and the Nakhichevan enclave of Azerbaijan.

A former republic of the Soviet Union, Armenia is one of the oldest and most historic civilisations in the world, with a rich cultural heritage. It was the first nation to adopt Christianity as its official religion, and although Armenia is constitutionally a secular state, the Christian faith continues to play a major role both in its history and the identification of the Armenian people.

From the 13th century, Armenia was part of the Ottoman Empire, although it had considerable autonomy compared to other Ottoman possessions.

During World War I, the Armenian people found themselves in great difficulty - they had soldiers in both the opposing armies as a result of being located on the divide between the Ottoman Empire and Imperial Russia.

The Russian Army gained much of Armenia before the end of World War I, but the onset of the Russian Revolution meant that the Imperial forces were themselves defeated. At the time (1917) Russian-controlled Eastern Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan attempted to bind together in the Trans-Caucasian Democratic Federative Republic, but this federation only lasted from February to May 1918, when all three parties decided to dissolve it.

As a result, Eastern Armenia became independent, as the Democratic Republic of Armenia (DRA) on 28th May 1918. The DRA's short-lived independence was fraught with war, territorial disputes and a mass influx of refugees from Ottoman Armenia spreading disease and starvation. The Entente powers, appalled by the actions of the Ottoman government, sought to help the newly-founded Armenian state through relief funds and other forms of support.

At the end of World War I it was decided to divide up the Ottoman Empire. The Allied powers and the remnants of the Ottoman Empire agreed the Treaty of Sèvres on 10th August 1920, which promised to maintain the existence of the DRA and to attach the former territories of Ottoman Armenia to it.

Because the new borders of Armenia were to be drawn by the United States President Woodrow Wilson, Ottoman Armenia is also referred to as "Wilsonian Armenia." There was even consideration of possibly making Armenia a mandate under the protection of the United States. The treaty, however, was rejected by the Turkish National Movement, and never came into effect. This movement, under Mustafa Kemal (later Atatürk), used the Treaty as the occasion to declare itself the rightful government of Turkey, replacing the monarchy based in Istanbul, with a republic based in Ankara.

In the early 1920s was the Turkish-Armenian War and the invasion of Armenia by the Soviet Red Army. Much "horse-trading" took place between the Turks and the Soviets over Armenian territory (which to this day the Armenians do not recognise) and Armenia, under various guises and within various internal federations and groupings, became part of the Soviet Union – the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Under the Soviet regime life for Armenian Christians was at best "difficult" and under Stalin, in particular, there were many deportations and executions - what would now be called "ethnic cleansing".

World War II did not directly involve Armenian soil but, of course, many Armenians were among Soviet forces killed in battle or at sea. As the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) it was one of the 15 SSRs which to the wider world were all "Russia" or the "USSR" in terms of East-West relations (unless one had a special reason to identify with a particular Soviet republic).

This remained the case after Stalin's death in 1953 and throughout the '50s, '60s and '70s. Things began to change internally in the 1980s, as they did throughout the Soviet Union, with the advent of Glasnost and Perestroika.

On 19th August 1991 there was an attempted coup to overthrow Mikhail Gorbachev as President of the USSR by hard-liners; it failed, but fatally injured his position. Across the 15 SSRs there were differing reactions. Armenia chose to hold a referendum on its future – which it did on 21st September 1991. The outcome was decisively in favour of being an independent nation – the date of which they celebrate as their Independence Day.

Two days later, 23rd September, Armenian independence was officially declared – although the Soviet Union technically continued to exist.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Here is another story about a family that was helped due to the Fuller Center for Housing in Armenia. This is the agency I will volunteer with in 2012


Atabekyans of Etchmiadzin celebrate homecoming after years of trials

Published: Tuesday August 16, 2011

Atabekyan family.

ECHMIADZIN, ARMENIA - Fuller Center Armenia beneficiary family of Atabekyans finally moved to their new home and celebrated the long-awaited home blessing and shared their happiness with those who supported them.

The family has passed through many adversities of life. The downfalls in the family followed one another. In such cases people say "tough luck". They lived in very poor conditions near a dusty road, in a rusty and old metal container (domik).

"We lived in very bad conditions and I thought we would not be even able to raise the second child, but I did not even have money for an abortion and I'm happy I didn't" Loreta says hugging small Milena. Before moving to that metal container the family lived in an apartment dangerous for life: they stayed awake all night long to protect their children from scorpion bites.

But with the shallow income coming from family father's labor work it was impossible to cover all family needs and build a new house at the same time.

Indeed difficulties and mishaps in life never come alone: during a school matinee a sparkler has fallen on their daughter's, Diana's, synthetic dress burning the forty-five percent of the eight-year-old girl's body. Doctors struggled for the child's life, but did not give any hope to the Atabekyans that the child would overcome the crisis and survive. She underwent three surgeries and with the support of kind people from Boston community survived.

The family was presented to "Fuller Center for Housing Armenia" NGO by "Hay Santa" Charitable Foundation which before then supported the family in household and health affairs.

Now, after overcoming many difficulties, they enjoy their new social status of homeowner. The family longed for a home of their own for a very long time.

"I feel this was just like a dream to come true" said Loreta, the mother of the family. Now they are glad to bid good bye to the uncertainty of renting or living in metal shipping container.

Thanks to the Armenian Community of Boston and Fuller Center for Housing Armenia "His Holiness Karekin II" Work Project the Atabekyan family of 4 obtained a house of their own.

The Fuller Center for Housing Armenia is a Non-government Charitable Organization that supports community development in the Republic of Armenia by assisting in building and renovating simple, decent and affordable homes, as well as advocating the right to decent shelter as a matter of conscience and action.

For more information, please visit www.fullercenterarmenia.org

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Armenian Alphabet

The Armenian Alphabet was created in 405-406 AD by Mesrop Mashtots and Sahak Patrev. The impetus was to be able to translate the bible into Armenian but other factors included creating and maintaining a national identity by having a unique alphabet.

The original alphabet had 36 letters which, although some were borrowed from Greek and Syriac alphabets, are unique. In the Cilician period (12th Century) two letters were added in order to be able to spell some of the words and names that the Crusaders brought. These letters were an "f" and an "o". Now there are 38 letters.

This picture is from the Alphabet Field in Armenia. In a very rural area, this wonderful monument stands amidst wandering cows and other livestock. The letters are beautifully carved out of stone. The closest one that looks like a "U" is the letter "AYP" or "A."

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Thanks for Donations

I just want to thank those folks who have donated to my fund for the Fuller Center for Housing Armenia. Again, I'm planning on going in the summer of 2012 and working for two weeks building houses in Armenia. The money I collect will go for building supplies. Many people have lived in metal containers, basements in houses with no roofs and in sheds for 15-20 years.

Shnorhagalutyun,
Bob