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SYDNEY, Oct 20, 2013
The creators of the website originally aimed at
preserving the history, culture and traditions of a selected segment
of the Armenians of Jerusalem, the "kaghakatsis", are revamping the
site.
Registered under the URL www.kaghakatsi.org when first
launched a few years ago, the site has now been renamed
www.armenianjerusalem.altervista.org
The change of name reflects the decision of the project
administrators to expand its scope and enhance its content, a move
designed to encompass the whole of the Armenians of Jerusalem, and
not just the "kaghakatsi" Armenians.
The "kaghakatsis" ("native" or "city dwellers") are the
descendants of the first Armenians to settle in the Holy Land, some
2,000 years ago. They had come with the conquering armies of the
Armenian king of kings, Tigranes the Great.
Some were legionnaires, part of the garrisons Tigranes
left behind, others adventurers, colonists, who had learned about
the strange land overflowing with milk and honey from some of the
10,000 Jewish captives Tigranes was to take back to Armenia with
him, and were eager to explore it.
Created more than five years ago, the raison d'etre of
this unique website initially focused primarily on the preservation
of the multifaceted history, culture and traditions of a vital
component of the Jerusalem fabric, one that gave the city its first
printing press and photographic studio.
The site is now being revamped to chronicle the story
of the whole Armenian presence in Jerusalem.
The "kaghakatsi" (a derivative of the Armenian word "Kaghak"
for "city") have acquired this nickname (Armenians are notorious for
creating and attaching colorful nicknames) due to the fact that they
are the original Armenian residents of Jerusalem. Their "Vanketzi"
(from "Vank", "convent") cousins, who live mainly within the
perimeters of the Convent of St James, arrived much later, in their
flight from the Turkish genocide.
The organizers realize this is a mammoth project.
"It's more a labor of love," one of the organizers
says. "We are practically restarting from scratch, streamlining the
website, redesigning pages to facilitate indexing by the major
search engines, introducing new content, sometimes 'rewiring' whole
pages."
The project relies heavily on contributions from
current and former Armenians of Jerusalem.
"Since this is a non-profit, cultural enterprise, we do
not seek any financial support from Armenian community members. It's
a matter of principle," the organizers say.
The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, under the
leadership of the late Patriarch Torkom Manoogian, has been a
staunch supporter, allowing one of Jerusalem's leading
photographers, Garo Nalbandian, to capture over 250 pages of
detailed records of births, deaths and marriages of Armenians in
Jerusalem.
However, those records go back only to about 1840.
"No doubt we'll need to delve into the Patriarchate's
older archives to learn more about the saga of the Armenians of
Jerusalem. But finding and research the relevant material could take
years," the organizers concede.
"That's all right. We've got the ball rolling now.
Others will have to pick it up and go with it. The website is up and
running, that's the main thing."
The organizers are confident the new Armenian
patriarch, Archbishop Nourhan Manoogian, will be as supportive of
the project as his predecessor.
One of the new features that is being posted in the
revamped website is the profiling of prominent Jerusalem Armenians,
past and present, who have contributed significantly to the
enhancement of the Armenian presence in the city.
Among these is the late composer and conductor, Ohan
Dourian, who was born in the Armenian Quarter, in a home abutting
the Sts Tarkmachantz parochial school.
The grand piano upon which his fingers ran riot in
celestial celebration occupied pride of place in a single room long
after he had left Jerusalem to further his studies, and gain
worldwide recognition, in Armenia and France.
Haig Khatchadourian, world renowned philosopher and man
of letters, who is a very close relative of Ohan and used to live in
a "high-rise" a stone's throw away from Ohan, is another prominent
face that will be featured on the Jerusalem Armenian website.
The story of the inception of the incomparable Armenian
ceramics industry, inspired and spearheaded by the Balian and
Karakashian dynasties, is also being told here, complete with full
color graphic reproductions of some of their best creations.
Manoug Manougian, who has the unequivocal reputation of
being the first man in the whole of the Middle East to launch a
rocket successfully (albeit an experimental one), will also have a
story to tell.
"That is what we need to make this website rock, people
who will tell us their stories, lend us their records, archives,
pictures, recollections," the organizers say.
"We are getting some, but it's still a trickle," they
aver. "There's so much more out there the Armenians of Jerusalem can
regale and amaze the world with."
Like the tale of the unsung hero who picked up a huge
unexploded bomb that had landed in a kitchen and that towered over
his diminutive size, and carried it bodily down a long flight of
stairs, to dispose of it far away from the huddle of refugees who
had sought sanctuary in the Convent of St James, during the 1948
Arab-Israeli war
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