H. Hrant Agbabian Alidz and Hrant Agbabian at Mount Ararat. Aghtamar church (recently restored) Aintab Girls' Seminary. Kurdish dwelling wall using stones from the ruined Surp Garabed Monastery Dikran Honents church at Ani Marash Theological Seminary (two story building on the right) within a military compound Same - middle building The group at Mountain Ararat Hrant Agbabian at Tarsus College Rita and Gilbert Meneshian in the Dort Yol Church Dr. Ara Tilkian at the Armenian Evangelical Church of Bitias Dr. Ani Darakjian at the Yoghunoluk Fountain The group at the Karamanugian Mansion in Antep Alidz Agbabian at the Jebejian House in Antep The group at the entrance to Zeytun Armenian Evangelical church ruins in Mezreh (Elazig), Kharpert The group in the old city of Van The group on Aghtamar island Drs. Nazareth and Ani Darakjian at Mount Ararat Drs Nazareth and Ani Darakjian and Dr. Ara Tilkian at the Mediterranean Sea with Musa Ler in the back. Evkine Papazian LoMonaco at Mount Ararat Armen Aroyan at Mount Ararat The Agbabians in Ani The Armenian Evangelical Holy Trinity Church in Pera The group with the Armenian Evangelical Congregation of Pera

A SOJOURN to Cilicia and Western Armenia in Quest of Our Armenian and Evangelical Legacy By Hrant Agbabian [Mrs. Hrant Agbabian (Alidz) is an author-publisher of children's story/song picture books - web site] PDF format One hundred and twenty five years ago, my father, Rev. Siragan Garabed Agbabian, was born in Tarsus, Cilicia - Turkey, also the birthplace of the apostle Paul. Tarsus was founded four millennia ago, and was later an important city in the Armenian Cilician Kingdom. This is where in 1198 Prince Levon II was crowned as the first King of Cilicia, Levon I. My father’s maternal grandfather, Rev. Khacher Janbazian of Marash (now KahramanMaras), one of the earliest Armenian Evangelical preachers in Cilicia, served churches in Tarsus and the surrounding towns. My father graduated from St. Paul’s College of Tarsus in 1911, and the Marash Theological Seminary in 1914 (the last graduating class). He experienced the cruel treatment that his Armenian nation endured in 1895, 1909, 1915-1920, but survived to be an effective preacher and leader in the Armenian Evangelical communities of Marash, Cyprus, Syria and in his retirement years in California. On May 1 of this year, my wife Alidz and I traveled to Istanbul, Turkey, to be part of a group of four Armenian Evangelical couples who had decided to tour Cilicia (South-east Turkey), and eastern Anatolia (historic Western Armenia). Our tour director was Armen Aroyan, with many years of experience and a source of extensive and detailed knowledge of Armenian as well as Armenian Evangelical history pertaining to the lost Armenian homeland of Western Armenia and Cilicia with their cities, towns, villages, people, families, customs, etc… Besides us and Armen, the group included Nazareth and Ani Darakjian, Gilbert and Rita Meneshian, Ara and Elizabeth Tilkian. We soon realized that there was a historic golden thread weaving through our lives, not only as Armenians and Armenian Evangelicals, but also as the children and grandchildren of Armenian Evangelical ministers and leaders who had worked together in the ministry of our churches in Cilicia, and later in Syria, Lebanon and the United States. Rev. Dikran Andreassian was born in Yoghunoluk, Cilicia, and was among the graduating class of nine from the Marash Theological Seminary in 1914. Upon graduation, he was sent to Zeytun as minister of the Armenian Evangelical Church there. In 1895, the Armenians of Zeytun had courageously defended themselves against the Turkish army intent on annihilating them. But in 1915, all “Zeytuntzis” were deported. Rev. Dikran Andreassian was among them, but he found his way to his birthplace. He was a heroic leader of the brave Armenian villagers of Musa Dagh who climbed the mountain and resisted the Turkish forces, and eventually found refuge in Port Said, Egypt. Rev. Andreassian later served in Kessab and Aleppo. Ani Darakjian is Rev. D. Andreassian’s grand-daughter. Nazareth Darakjian is the son of Rev. Emmanuel and grandson of preacher-evangelist Nazareth Kevork Darakjian of Aintab who preached in Kerek-Khan and its environs. Ara Tilkian is the son of the late Rev. Garabed Tilkian of Bitias, Musa Dagh, who as a young orphan survived by his wits the ordeal of the Armenian genocide and became an eloquent preacher in various churches of Syria, Lebanon and the U.S. My wife Alidz’s great grandfather, Rev. Hagop Koundakjian, was the pastor of his native village church in Hassanbeyli, Cilicia. He was among the 28 ministers and delegates who were massacred in April of 1909, while they were on their way to attend the convention of the Armenian Evangelical Union of Cilicia. His son, Rev. Dikran, who was the pastor of a church in Kessab, got deported with his congregation to Hama, Syria in 1915, and perished during that horrible ordeal. Gilbert Meneshian is the grandson of Hagop Ekmekjian, a founder and lay leader of the Emmanuel Armenian Evangelical Church of Aleppo, Syria, which after the years of genocide and deportation was the largest Armenian Evangelical Church in the world ministering to the survivors. We flew to Adana, and after touring the city, we drove to Tarsus in a well equipped mini-bus with an experienced and amiable Kurdish ‘chauffeur’, Jemal, who has worked with Armen for many years. We visited St. Paul’s College, now named Tarsus American College (High School). It was founded by Rev. Haroutune Jenanian in 1888, and later was administered by the Congregational Missionary Board of Boston (ABCFM). Its president for many years was Dr. Thomas D. Christie, and I recall my father remembering his teacher with great respect, admiration and affection. On the college campus, Dr. and Mrs. Christie and staff cared for many of the survivors of the 1909 massacres, in an attempt to heal their physical and emotional wounds. The mini-bus climbed up the mountain with majestic views of green hills, meadows and forests and reached the village of Hassanbeyli, nestled in nature’s beauty. Armen took us to an imposing two-story masonry structure, with repetitive arched windows, above one of which we read with difficulty an Armenian inscription. It stated, “God is love” and is followed by the first verse of Psalm 112. The date of 1907 was carved above its arched gateway. Could the building have been the church of Rev. H. Koundakjian, or the residence of a wealthy Armenian? The building was vacant and the village seemed to be void of people except for several children in a fenced yard and a few chickens sauntering about. Our next stop was Chork Marzban (Dort Yol). We visited a ruined Armenian church with a three-apsed altar wall standing with a collapsed roof and dome, set back from the street full of knee high weeds. This was the church where Rita Meneshian’s maternal grandparents, the Peltekians, had worshiped in its better days. We proceeded to Bitias, Musa Dagh, where Rev. G. Tilkian was born in 1906. His grandfather, Sarkis Renjilian, was one of the founders of the church in 1857. We walked to the white- washed church, transformed into a mosque. We also climbed up a hill and saw an impressive Armenian Apostolic church, which was being renovated to serve as a community center. We went to Yoghunoluk, the birthplace of Rev. D. Andreassian and the location of the pastorate of Rev. G. Tilkian from 1929-1938. The church was organized in 1896. In 1939, after France relinquished to Turkey the Sanjak of Iskenderun in north-west Syria, including the villages of Musa Dagh, once again the entire Armenian population was forced to depart from their homeland and settled in malaria-infested Anjar, Lebanon, to start life anew with many hardships. The only people who were spared the rigors of deportation were the inhabitants of the village of Vakif. We visited with the Armenian mayor, Berj Kartun, who spoke Armenian and was proud that they grow and export organic oranges. The villagers, who number several hundred, were all Armenians. We entered their modest church and worshiped there by singing the Hayr Mer. We proceeded to Kerekhan, which used to be a summer resort for many from Aleppo during the hot summer months. Armen led us to a stately library building, which was the Armenian Evangelical church of the town. Pastor Nazareth Darakjian had preached here until his untimely death in 1926. He left behind five sons, two of whom embraced the Christian ministry: Rev. Emmanuel, and Rev. Barkev Darakjian. The oldest son, Mesrob, was my teacher at Emmanuel Elementary School, and later in Aleppo College. Our next stop was Kilis, just north of the Syrian border, the birthplace of Ara Tilkian’s mother, Nevart. A friendly native woman invited us into her home, so we could view from her roof the adjacent courtyard of the Chaghlassian mansion, now a trade school. We arrived in Aintab (now called Gazi Antep). We toured the former Armenian residential district of Kayajuk, which now seemed inhabited by Kurdish and other refugees. We were led by Armen to the home of Alidz’s great grandfather, Hovhanes Jebejian , a successful pistachio grower and merchant, and an active Armenian Evangelical in Aintab. We could not gain entrance to the house; however, next door was the home of Garuj Karamanukian, a very wealthy and innovative businessman, and a member of the Armenian Evangelical community. His sister, Mennush, married Hovhannes Jebejian, and another sister was the grandmother of the late Rev. Puzant, (former Executive Secretary of AMAA), and of Sarkis and Hrant Kalfayans. The three-story residence, with an expansive and intricately paved courtyard, is now a Turkish ethnographic museum. The Armenian Apostolic church, Surp Asdvadsadsin, which was built with great financial sacrifice beginning in 1874, was designed by Sarkis Balian, architect for the royal Ottoman court. It is believed to have been the largest Armenian Church in Turkey. It is now a mosque, with its bell tower transformed into a minaret. A second minaret was added to the structure at a later date. We were not able to see any Armenian Evangelical churches because they were either demolished, or burnt down; however, we visited several significant complexes that were instrumental in the development of the spiritual and intellectual growth of the Armenian Evangelicals and others in Aintab, during the latter half of the nineteenth, and the first two decades of the 20th centuries. Central Turkey College (C.T.C.) was located on the hills above Aintab. It was established by the Armenian Evangelicals and the missionaries in 1872. Most of the structures of the campus were demolished, except for one, which was vacant. I had read in the book Lusashavigh written by Rev Yeghia Kassuni, published on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Armenian Evangelical church, that the hewn stones of the demolished buildings were sold, and the proceeds were used in part by the Missions Board in the 1920s to construct the buildings of Aleppo College, the successor to C.T.C. This C.T.C. was where many of our community leaders, medical doctors, ministers, intellectuals studied. The famous Professor Alexan Bezjian had taught the sciences there. He had gone to Istanbul to study in Dr. Cyrus Hamlin’s Bebek Seminary, which was established in 1840, and later completed his studies at Yale University. We visited the Aintab American hospital which was established thirty years after the arrival in 1847 of Dr. Azariah Smith (1817-1851), a medical missionary, sent by the Mission board. Dr. Fred D. Shepard (1855-1915) was the chief physician of the hospital and the medical department head of the C.T.C. We drove to the Seminary for Girls, established in 1860, now part of the Aintab American Hospital as an outpatient clinic. Many Armenian young ladies of Aintab and other towns studied there. My mother, Paruhi, was sent to study there by her father, Rev. Sdepan Mahshigian of Kessab. She graduated from that institution in 1911. Like other buildings erected by missionaries, it is solidly constructed with fine masonry walls and tile roofs, usually two, three or four stories in height. The school moved to Aleppo in 1920, and was known as the American School for Girls. We proceeded to Marash, another city that had an active and vibrant Armenian Evangelical community. From the citadel, we had a panoramic view of the city, and having a map of the city of the 1920’s, we could determine with precision the location of the church in the Sheker Dere district where my father preached until February of 1920, when he, along with thousands of Armenians, joined the retreating French Army that had abandoned the city. The uprooted Armenians marched in heavy snow for several days. Thousands of soldiers and Armenians froze to death. My father was among the survivors. The church was not there, but the adjacent Ulu Jami (mosque) was. Our next stop was the American College for Girls at the north end of town, situated on a hilltop. It seemed to me that the missionaries often selected sites with panoramic views of the cities. The building was vacant, but had been used in the recent past as a trade school. My mother graduated from this college in 1914. Nearby, stood the Marash Theological Seminary, which is now incorporated within a Turkish military barracks compound. Our next destination was Zeytun (now Suleymanli), the heroic town of Armenian resistance in 1895. It had a public three-arched water fountain with various Armenian symbols and an Armenian inscription. The latter had been chiseled out after the 1915 massacres and deportation to eliminate any trace of Armenian presence. The Armenian Church, Holy Trinity of Malatya, stood desolate; once again, without a roof or dome. It was intriguing to all of us as to why so many Armenian churches and homes were left standing vacant, or in half - ruined condition, almost a century after the calamitous genocide. Next, we headed to Kharpert (Harput), which is now almost wholly populated by Kurds. We climbed the citadel of Urartian times, and viewed down below half ruined Armenian churches on the sides of the hill, desolate and forlorn. Mezreh (Elazig) was below Kharpert. We visited the roofless Armenian Evangelical church where Rev. Asadur Yeghoyan preached. It is an imposing masonry building, and stands dejected in the center of a large parking lot. In Rev. Edwin M. Bliss’s book, Turkey and the Armenian Atrocities (of 1895), he describes how thousands of Armenian girls and women were abducted and forcibly converted to Islam and married off to Turks and Kurds. On a page of statistics, he notes that in the vilayet of Harput, 39,234 Armenians were killed, 15,179 forcibly converted to Islam, and 1532 married by force to Turks. The Euphrates College and the Theological Seminary are non-existent. We passed by Palu, the birthplace of my late friend and artist, Kero Antoyan, of Los Angeles. He had gone there in search of his mother who was left behind, and discovered two half- brothers of Armeno-Kurdish descent. The plains of Mush, once the breadbasket of western Armenia and a cradle of Armenian civilization, were very picturesque but void of any agricultural activity. Flocks of sheep and goats were seen grazing here and there. Leaving the city of Mush, we proceeded to the ruins of Surp Garabed Vank (monastery) established by St. Gregory the Illuminator and the oldest site for pilgrimage for the Armenian faithful. The ruins are located in Changli, a Kurdish village. Many simple box dwellings had used the hewn masonry of the monastery, interspersed haphazardly with ornamental carved fragments, khachkars (cross stones) and Armenian inscriptions. We met the village mayor who asked us when Armenians would return to rebuild it. We drove around magical Lake Van, of great beauty with Mount Sipan in the background. We stayed in a Van Hotel with standards of a five star western facility. At the entrance was a large ceramic relief of the church of Holy Cross of Aghtamar (10th c.), which was on our itinerary. The desk clerk said that his great grandmother was an Armenian from Sassun. On the following day, by boat we approached the island of Aghtamar. I have in my possession several books of architecture with detailed diagrams and pictures of the renowned church, but was not prepared to realize how awesome and majestic is the setting of the church with its carved relief sculptures depicting Bible stories and Armenian historic figures. Turkish authorities had renovated the exterior recently (for tourism) and the interior was scaffolded. The frescoes were in the process of being retouched by artists from an art school in Izmir (Smyrna), a questionable endeavor not knowing the level of expertise possessed for such a task. We all hoped that the original intent of the magnificent but faded frescoes would not be marred in any way. A new slab stone inscribed in Armenian was recently unearthed. The person in charge of renovations asked us to decipher the text. A few weeks later, an article about the discovery appeared in the Turkish press, but no mention was made of the church or the inscription being Armenian. The inscription was dated 1884, and included the name of the Catholicos Khachadur Rshduntsi, whose broken tombstone we chanced upon among weeds in the courtyard of the Van museum, without a name but with dates of birth, ordination as priest, bishop and Catholicos and the date of his demise on Dec. 24, 1895, in Van. Upon further research, we determined that it was indeed the tombstone of the last Catholicos of Aghtamar, Khachadur the Second Shiroyan, whose inscribed tablet we had seen at the Aghtamar church complex. As we toured the ruins of the city of Van and its fortress, Yevkine Papazian LoMonaco of Los Angeles, a friend of the group from Eshrefieh High school joined us from Istanbul for the remaining days of the tour. On our way to the city of Ani, near the Armenian border, we all had an exhilarating experience of seeing both, Mount Ararat and Mount Arakats, with their snowy peaks in their full majesty and splendor. We spent several hours at Ani (not enough) and toured the half ruined churches of the city of “one thousand and one churches”, including the church of the Redeemer (Surp Purgich), the cathedral, church of Abughamrents, church of the Apostles, St. Gregory the Illuminator of Dikran Honents (13th c.). The latter’s interior was awe inspiring with its relatively discernible frescoes. We placed lit candles on its abandoned altar, prayed and worshiped our Lord by singing several sharagans, bonding spiritually with our Armenian Christian roots and the Mother church of over seventeen centuries. The next day, we briefly toured the city of Kars, inhabited mostly by Azeris, and viewed the magnificent tenth century church of Holy Apostles, now a mosque. In Erzurum, now a ski resort, we toured the Armenian residential quarter as we had done in most cities and drove by the remaining impressive walls of the famous Sanasarian School. We flew back to Istanbul where we spent a few days touring museums and palaces, had a boat ride on the Bosphorus, and passed by Rumeli Hissar, the castle near which Bebek Seminary was established in 1840, forerunner of the famous Robert College established in 1863. Of great significance was our worship service on May 14, in the Holy Trinity Church of Pera, the first Armenian Evangelical Church established in 1846. Mother’s Day was being recognized and the lady preacher, Mrs. Sona Eozpempe gave a very meaningful sermon intermittently in Armenian and Turkish (one sermon- not two). We felt the spiritual presence of those forty pioneer Christians who had established the Armenian Evangelical Church in 1846, a rich heritage whose heirs we are. • • • The trip to Cilicia and Western Armenia was very meaningful for me. On many occasions I felt a strong and unbreakable spiritual bond and connection with my father and mother, their generation and those who preceded them- my parents’ people, my people in a homeland that seems to be lost forever. Now, everywhere, there were only Turks and Kurds. There was no Armenian presence. I was often, and still I am saddened by the knowledge of what happened to my forebears and homeland, but still have a thankful heart for what they passed on to us. It is our duty to do likewise. The Armenian people, and the Armenian Evangelical church in particular, owe a great debt of gratitude to our stalwart ancestors who, at a cost of great sacrifice, preserved their Christian faith and Armenian culture. It is our sacred duty to follow their noble example and promulgate our dual Armenian and Christian identity.