Bourj Hamoud Lebanon

[joseph parikian]

http://www.bourjhamoud.com/shops/lmunicipalitycategorylogo.jpg

 

Name:

Municipality of Bourj Hamoud

 

General Description:

The name Bourj hamoud was known 200 years ago. Located 1km away from the capital Beirut. Area: 2.4km square. Bourj Hamoud is known as a one of the most important shopping centers in Lebanon. Is a center of Crafts & hand made industry as Jewelry, Leather made industry & Garments. Bourj Hamoud is divided into seven major regions: 1. Dora 2. Sader 3. River Beirut 4. Anbari (Shell region today) 5. Mar Doumet 6. Nabaa 7. Gheilan. Municipality Of Bourj hamoud is serving the locals since 1952. The Mayor is Mr. Antranik Meserlian

 

http://www.bourjhamoud.com/shops/openning.jpghttp://www.bourjhamoud.com/shops/municipalitysquare.jpg

http://www.bourjhamoud.com/shops/dorasquare.jpghttp://www.bourjhamoud.com/shops/Thepublicpark.jpg

 

Address:

Bourj hamoud

 

Telephone:

+961-1-262806

 

Fax:

+961-1-262806

[joseph parikian]

http://www.bourjhamoud.com/events/dyarentarach.jpg

 

The traditional “Dyarentaratch” of Armenian Apostolic Church.

Residents of Bourj Hamoud area gathered at KARASOUN MANOUG armenian apostolic church of Bourj Hamoud to celebrate the traditional Dyarentaratch by lighting up a fire which signifies divine illumination.

[MartyRoss]

Yeah...Bourj Hammoud is the "Armenian China-town" of Lebanon

[joseph parikian]

http://www.bourjhamoud.com/gallery/bourjhamoudstadiumenlarged.jpg

Any memories??? go to

http://www.bourjhamoud.com

Edited February 27, 2004 by joseph parikian

[joseph parikian]

http://www.bourjhamoud.com/gallery/Municipalitysquare2enlarged.jpg

 

I lived in this area

This use to be the bus station ( jahsh aldowle )

Edited February 27, 2004 by joseph parikian

[Maral]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh the Old Country

[DominO123]

http://www.bourjhamoud.com/gallery/Municipalitysquare2enlarged.jpg

 

I lived in this area

This use to be the bus station ( jahsh aldowle )

No comment.

[joseph parikian]

Ok Domino you got me on this one

I did recognise my BLOOPPER

I should have said near this area

Domino do you speake Arabic

Edited February 28, 2004 by joseph parikian

[joseph parikian]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh the Old Country

Where did you live in Lebanon

[DominO123]

Ok Domino you got me on this one

I did recognise my BLOOPPER

I should have said near this area

Domino do you speake Arabic

Little bit, a broken one. Why?

[joseph parikian]

This use to be the bus station ( jahsh aldowle )

 

Did you understood what ( jahsh aldowle ) means

Edited February 28, 2004 by joseph parikian

[aliendj]

Bourj Hammoud is the capital of worldwide armenians

I live near Bourj Hammoud

[-=VAHE=-]

Obviously you have not been to LA area (Glendale,Burbank, Hollywood, North Hollywood,Foothill,) and it keeps going.

[Vigil]

Thank goodness, their is somone to welcome you in ever part of the globe! Edited May 31, 2004 by Vigil

[MartyRoss]

Is BH still tourists' preferred district ? Edited March 9, 2004 by MartyRoss

[aliendj]

hmm for Armenian tourists, for sure!

[mx5]

Bourj Hammoud is a great shoping area rather then touristic,both Armenians and locals go there for their shopping .It is hidden from most foriegn and Arab tourists because of its lack of advertisment ,and also after long hours of shopping its difficult to find a proper Caffe' or Caffe' Tretoire to rest your butt on a chair!!.

I've never been to the USA but cant imagine to find a similar place in the entire

diaspora.

[Yervant1]

Well done!

SOLAR PROJECT IN THE ARMENIAN SUBURB OF BOURJ HAMMOUD PROMISES MORE ELECTRICITY FOR LEBANON

March 16, 2015

The beneficiaries of the energy produced will primarily be the people
of Bourj Hammoud, who will experience a sense that they own exceptional
clean energy produced by the river that passes through their area.

Bourj Hammoud is a suburb in North-East Beirut, Lebanon. The suburb is
heavily populated by Armenians. Bourj Hammoud is an industrious area
and is one of the most densely populated districts in the Middle East.

Bourj Hammoud was founded by survivors of the Armenian Genocide
of 1915.

Al Monitor (Beirut) - A field stretches by a river, but it does not
produce fruits and vegetables. It features, however, devices that
produce electricity from the sun. A blue expanse of solar panels
covers the Beirut River between the Armenia bridge and Yerevan bridge
in Bourj Hammoud. This solar field now has 1 megawatt of capacity,
and is estimated to guarantee 1.6 million kilowatt-hours (kwh) per
year, fulfilling the needs of around 1,000 homes.

The field is estimated to prevent the emission of around 1,000 tons
of carbon dioxide annually. Implementation is nearing completion:
3,600 solar panels have been built on a structure of concrete girders
extending across the river with steel supports -- 325 meters (about
1,066 feet) long and 32 meters (about 104 feet) wide -- that form a
"suspension bridge" without any obstruction to the flow of the river.

The solar field is expected to connect to the public network in May
2015 through a transformer and without storage. The beneficiaries of
the energy produced will primarily be the people of Bourj Hammoud,
who will experience a sense that they own exceptional clean energy
produced by the river that passes through their area.

This is the first stage of the project -- called the "Beirut River
Solar Snake" -- which is part of the national project for energy
self-sufficiency being pursued by the Lebanese Center for Energy
Conservation (LCEC), which was approved by the parliament in November
2011. The project's ultimate goal is to produce 10 megawatts from solar
fields extending 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) over the river in around 5
years, to meet the needs of 10,000 homes. The Ministry of Energy and
Water has guaranteed $3 million of funding for the first stage. It
is hoped that with the beginning of the second stage, between 1 and 2
megawatts will be produced in 2015. According to the budgeting plan,
each stage will be funded by the value of electricity produced in
the previous stage.

Is Lebanon, the country with 300 sunny days a year, really proud of
1 megawatt of solar energy, though?

Pierre El Khoury, the director of the LCEC, said that the importance
of the Beirut River Solar Snake is not in its material value alone,
but also in its encouragement of the solar market. Since the project's
implementation began in late 2013, photovoltaic systems have been
assembled in Lebanon that amount to a capacity of 30 megawatts in
the private sector, in factories, schools, hospitals and elsewhere.

Phoenix-ASACO was contracted to execute the project as it was the one
to bid the lowest price. The 12 companies that participated in the bid
are presently working on installing the photovoltaic cells to produce
electricity with solar energy. Khoury expects that between 200 and 300
additional megawatts will be produced by 2020, if the private sector
opens the gate to the production of solar electricity, and if that
production is connected to the Lebanese electrical company's network
(Electricite du Liban). In April 2014, parliament approved a law,
which the government is now creating mechanisms to implement, to allow
the government to give licenses to produce electricity based on the
recommendation of the Ministry of Energy and Water and the Ministry of
Finance. This suggestion has been made, and it is now being discussed.

As for maintenance, the most important thing is cleaning dust off the
solar panels, which will be done with hoses. Panels that break for
whatever reason will also be replaced. A 3-meter (9.8-foot) fence
will be installed on the banks of the river to prevent anyone from
reaching the panels, with permanent guards and cameras monitoring
the whole solar field.

The "solar river" will not only be for electricity production. Those
involved in the project hope it will become an "oasis of civil
organization" through a future plan to create a public park
that focuses on the spread of ideas about renewable energy and
self-sufficiency, and the construction of a path to cross the "solar
bridge" that divides Beirut and Mount Lebanon in Bourj Hammoud, the
widest river bridge in Lebanon. A sign will be erected that shows
the amount of electricity produced at different times, the amount of
carbon emissions that are avoided and the environmental benefits of
the project.

Khoury added excitedly, "The value of the project is also that it
is the first solar field in the world located above a river." Such
a project could be implemented on a canal in Aqabah, and India is
aiming to implement a plan to install solar fields over its canals. He
indicated that a project for a solar field is coming in the Zahrani
area, where the tapline refinery has been defunct for many years. The
facilities there are used to hold fuel, and there is a wide area of
land that belongs to the Ministry of Energy on which a solar field can
be built with funding from oil facilities. The goal is the production
of 1 megawatt in the first stage, with 2 megawatts to be added after
connection to the network of the Lebanese electrical company. Nine
suggestions were made, and a company will be chosen to implement this
project soon and work is expected to begin in May 2015. The price will
be lower and the implementation quicker than the Beirut River Solar
Snake project, since the solar field will be located on the ground
without the need for the extension of bridges above water. The first
stage can be completed before the end of 2015. A problem in Lebanon
could be the lack of land, but there is public property upon which
solar fields can be created. The country must not be treated as if it
is real estate only for sale that cannot be used for public interest.

The commons must be used for the benefit of people, and not for sects
and those with influence.

http://www.horizonweekly.ca/news/details/63881

 

 

[Yervant1]

BEIRUT'S LITTLE ARMENIA KEEPS TRADITION ALIVE

13:52, 08 May 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Bourj Hammoud, also known as "Little Armenia," is a suburb in the Metn
district of northern Beirut. The city was created by survivors of
the Armenian genocide of 1915, most of whom settled there after the
death marches in Deir ez-Zor, Syria. Today, the second generation
of Armenians after the genocide are trying to find ways to save
their heritage, mainly through the promotion of traditional crafts,
Florence Massena writes in an article published by Al-Monitor.

In the streets of Bourj Hammoud, you can find plenty of different
goods: spices, soaps, candied and dried fruits, wooden molds and many
others. And nestled together, jewelry, leather goods and tailors'
shops keep open for those interested in handicrafts, with storefronts
in Armenian, Arabic and sometimes English.

These shops do not look fancy, yet are a very important trace of
Armenian cultural heritage, after 100 years of exile in Lebanon. One of
the patrons helping to sustain this culture on a daily basis is Arpi
Mangassarian, an architect working in the Bourj Hammoud municipality
planning office. In 2009, she helped the French-speaking cultural
magazine Agenda Culturel contact local craftsmen for a book.

"I always had a passion for crafts. My father was an artist and
a handyman," she told Al-Monitor. "This book made me realize that
these people need promotion. So I restored a traditional pink villa
and in 2011 opened the Badguer Cultural Center to organize visits,
tours and exhibitions about traditional Armenian crafts. Our role is
to put the spotlight on the artisans by bringing visitors to their
stores to discover their work, like actors that we bring on stage. We
have mainly goldsmiths, especially for Italy, leather shoes and bags,
clothes, fabrics for fashion designers, turners and smelters' shops."

Badguer's aim is to help the craftsmen keep their traditions alive and
help them face the harsh realities of economics and modernity. "After
the Lebanese civil war, there was like an embargo over goods produced
in Lebanon for exportation, and cheap-standard goods arrived on the
market from China and Syria, for example," Mangassarian said.

"Many children of the local artisans started to think about taking
jobs in big companies so they could provide for their family, so we
lost around 40% of the traditional shops in Bourj Hammoud. And it
is still going on. ... The leather sector is declining because of
international competition and deterioration of purchasing power."

Badguer was founded as a way to enhance and promote the artisans'
activities, putting them in touch with designers, stylists and
architects that might be interested in quality traditional goods,
but also to show the young generations that they can make money in
their parents' jobs.

"Usually, the fathers teach their children how to work, and they
take over their business later on," Mangassarian said. "I want to
make them realize that good work brings good money. All they need
now is promotion."

Ago Karakolmikilian and his brother took over their father's shoe
shop. "It's a family business, and my father was tired after all these
years," he told Al-Monitor. "I have learned everything from him. For
us, it's a cultural resistance. It's a hard business, but we need to
keep going. Plus, we produce popular and high-quality styles to fit
any budget." For him, Armenian culture has to be perpetuated through
"Armenian schools, language and manufacturing, forever."

Other artisans' sons decide to add more specialties to their fathers'
activities, and are learning other crafts in schools. That is the case
of Roger Astourian, a diamond setter for over 20 years. "I work with my
father now, but not like him," he said. "My father has been a goldsmith
for over 50 years, so I work in his store to diversify his business."

This year, which marks the centenary of the Armenian genocide, the
Badguer Center prepared a special cultural program by the name of "The
Armenian Rebirth After the Genocide." For Mangassarian, not focusing
on 1915 was very important: "Everyone talks about the genocide,
but what happened after? We are people; we have a living culture,
artisans that survived and perpetuated through all this time."

She organized a four-pronged program: an exhibition of 100 Armenian
calendars provided by associations and institutions that publish them
every year, with poems and images from Armenia and Lebanon; lessons
about two Kilim, the flat, tapestry-woven carpets traditionally from
the Balkans to Pakistan made on weaving machines that will lead
to future carpets and rug exhibitions; an exhibition of Armenian
embroidery; and storytelling by people who remember their family
histories.

"Usually, the stories are told in private, at home, so it will be new
and maybe helpful to keep the memory alive," she said. "The Armenians
transmitted such powerful stories about the past. It is not only about
deportation and genocide; it is also about life in the villages before
1915, and also about life in the host countries."

Arpi herself was raised on these stories, told by her grandparents.

She reminisced, "My father used to ask them a lot of questions, so
they wouldn't stop talking. My brother and I unconsciously kept this
memory alive through our school compositions, but also through singing
and dancing. My mother was part of an Armenian choir interpreting
pieces from the traditional composer Komitas, an Armenian priest who
is known as the founder of the Armenian national school of music at
the beginning of the 20th century, and my grandmother used to dance
and sing songs from her village in Armenia."

This is why she asked people she knew, of her age and younger, to come
and tell her their own family stories, which she now wants to record
and diffuse. "You know, on these calendars we are going to exhibit,
there is a sentence on every page," she added. "It says, 'Be proud
of your past, be proud and keep your cultural heritage.' That is what
I am trying to do in Bourj Hammoud."

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/04/lebanon-armenians-bourj-hammoud-genocide-arts-culture-crafts.html

http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/05/08/beiruts-little-armenia-keeps-tradition-alive/

[Yervant1]

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Chris Zakian
Tel: (212) 686-0710; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: chrisz@armeniandiocese.org
Web: http://www.armenianchurch-ed.net

July 6, 2015
___________________


Armenian Survival and Creativity in Bourj Hammoud

By Florence Avakian

Bourj Hammoud-the region in northeast Beirut, Lebanon, which Armenian
survivors from the Armenian Genocide built into a dynamic center for
shopkeepers, craftsmen and artists-came alive on Tuesday evening, June 9,
during a talk by photographer Ariane Ateshian Delacampagne.

Close to a hundred attended the event at the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern) which was sponsored by the Krikor and Clara Zohrab
Information Center, the Department of Armenian Studies of the Armenian
Diocese, and AGBU Ararat magazine.

In her introduction of the speaker, Gilda Buchakjian-Kupelian, of the
Diocesan Armenian Studies Department, related that Ariane Delacampagne
studied photography at New York City's International Center of Photography
(ICP), and has worked as an anchorwoman on Lebanese TV. Her recently
published book, Portraits of Survival: The Armenians of Bourj Hammoud, has
received wide coverage in Beirut and Paris.

Born and raised in Lebanon, the speaker complemented her talk with extensive
photographs she had taken since 2006 of this vibrant community which rose
from the ashes of the 1915 Genocide. Following a brief history of Armenians
living in the Ottoman Empire, the Armenian Genocide, and the competition by
France and England for a presence in the Middle East following World War I,
she explained that starting in 1921, thousands of Armenians poured into
Syria and Lebanon, mostly by boat.

These survivors "were looking for ports that were not under Turkish control,
and Beirut, in particular, remained the only port that was unconditionally
open to the refugees." Thousands more went to the Lebanese cities of
Tripoli, Zghorta, Chekka, Tyre, Saida, Anjar and Zahle. Meanwhile, with the
establishment of the State of Greater Lebanon by France in 1920, and with
territories taken from Syria, the size of the country more than doubled in
size. Through French help, the Armenians were able to obtain Lebanese
nationality starting in 1926, when the Lebanese constitution was drafted.


Bourj Hammoud Created


Completely destitute, the Armenians had to start from scratch, and several
international organizations assisted, including the League of Nations' High
Commissioner for Refugees, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the
Near East Relief, as well as the Lebanese government. The AGBU and other
Armenian organizations were active in gathering funds to finance the
building of residential areas, and the transfer of the refugees to more
permanent structures. They also assisted in the construction of schools, and
churches, and gave the refugees food, clothes, and medical care in the
camps.

>From 1922 to 1924, four Armenian refugee camps existed in Beirut, after
which all the residents were transferred to the Greater Beirut camp. Here
the Armenians regrouped in quarters "according to their geographical
origin"-Adanatzis in the Adana quarter, Marashtzis in the Marash quarter,
etc.

In 1930, a special Office for the League of Nations Office for Refugees (the
Nansen Office) focused its efforts in a swampy and marshy area northeast of
Beirut called Bourj Hammoud. The aim was to build an Armenian city of 20,000
with its own municipality, and transfer the Armenians from the Beirut camps.
A new electoral district next to Beirut would be created where the Armenians
would be the majority. The Armenians were allowed to build wooden shacks
which were followed by concrete buildings that exist until today. Still in
their geographical quarters, they created compatriotic associations.

"These associations played a remarkable role in organizing activities in the
refugee camps," the speaker continued. "The refugees would gather a certain
sum that the Nansen Office would provide in advance, and the refugees would
build hundreds of houses and then reimburse the sum within a few years."
Most of these homes were built from the 1930s to the 1970s.

Because there were few industries in Lebanon in the 1930s, "the only option
left for the Armenians was to acquire a craft which did not require a large
financial investment, and allowed them to work as independents," she noted.
These first workshops were in the fields of shoemaking, ironwork, and
clothing manufacturing-dirty work that was not highly regarded. "The labor
division was vertical with shoemakers getting leather from tanners, and
shoeboxes to pack the goods, and traders selling the products, etc."

These trades passed from father to son, from master to apprentice, or within
orphanages. "Through the hard work of the refugees, what was first just a
tent camp gradually became an urban center, and also one of the most densely
populated districts in the Middle East. It was also one of the main centers
of economic activity," she related.


Strong Sense of Armenian Identity


The speaker revealed that she discovered Bourj Hammoud "long after" she had
left Lebanon for America. Visiting the area in 2000, she said she found in
Bourj Hammoud "a human scale and authenticity that was lacking elsewhere. I
was struck by the strong sense of identity, the persistence of everything
that was authentically Armenian, from the food and spices to the very warmth
of the residents."

She reported that she started by visiting the Cahl organization, initially
an institute for the blind which became a home for the elderly. There she
met Rosa Tcholakian born in Dyarbekir in 1914, Zvart Zournadjian born in
Kharpert in the1920s, and Ossana Soulian born in Kessab, Syria in 1922, "all
of whom spoke very little." The speaker related that she also accompanied
Armenian Red Cross Lokh social workers who helped young students with
learning disabilities, and went with church ladies to visit destitute
Armenians.

Because she was chastised during her Beirut exhibition for showing such sad
pictures, and not focusing instead on successful Armenians whom she was told
"rode BMW's and wore Rolex watches," the speaker reported that she decided
to concentrate on presenting subjects that she "felt had a personal
connection" to her.

Among the 21 successful individuals she profiled was Boghos Svadjian with
the nickname of Boghos Kalashnikov for using the Russian-made rifle to
defend his neighborhood during the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war. An actor,
and a fisherman, he sells his catch and prepares sushi for clients and
restaurants. Sculptor Ashod Terzian teaches art, plays the accordion, and
has a shop "like a museum" where he has made sculptures of Lebanese
politicians.

Then there is 84-year-old Abraham Baklayan who had a men's clothing shop
that was plundered and burnt down during the 1975 civil war. He now sells
lace napkins and tablecloths out of a makeshift sheet metal shop. And
40-year-old Jacques Ghazarian whose family hailed from Marash, Turkey, is
following the family tradition of baking Armenian specialties. He has turned
his family bakery into a flourishing business.

Jeanne Kitsinian, an 80-year-old woman, along with Krikor Kabakian in the
U.S., makes religious vestments, capes, and mitres, and sells them on the
internet to Armenian congregations worldwide. Hagop "Jackson" Keshesian,
almost 70, follows in his father's shoe business, making orthopedic, and
dancing shoes, as well as horseback riding boots to customers who live as
far away as Los Angeles. And 29-year-old Krikor Jabotian is a fashion
designer who employs 20 people. His award-winning designs are worn by
celebrities and brides. A fan of legendary filmmaker Parajanov, he also
designs stage costumes and jewelry.

During the Q-and-A session, the speaker revealed that though Bourj Hammoud
today is still an area of thriving businesses, many of the Armenian youth
are leaving, and the area is now mainly inhabited by elderly Armenians.
Also, Armenians from Aleppo, Syria, are coming in due to the devastating
civil war. But, she declared, as in decades past, with their lives disrupted
several times, Armenians, as shown by these portraits "are always able to
bounce back, and revitalize."

The director of the Zohrab Center, the Very Rev. Fr. Daniel Findikyan,
expressed appreciation to Ms. Ateshian Delacampagne for her intriguing
presentation. Fr. Findikyan, who planned and organized this season's
successful Zohrab Center programs, announced that starting in the fall, the
Zohrab Center will present a new series of interesting lectures, poetry, and
films.

[Yervant1]

StepFeed

Nov 19 2017

7 things Armenians in Lebanon are really tired of hearing Not all of us are called Sako and live in Burj Hammoud ... 2017-11-19 05:00

By Dana Hourany

Walking through the streets of Lebanon, you can easily see the diversity and influence of different cultures, one of which is the Armenian.

Despite their rich history and many contributions, Armenians, like other minority groups, are faced with a lot of questions/statements they are tired of hearing.

Here are just some of them based on the accounts of several Lebanese Armenians we spoke to.

1. “Oh wow, I didn’t know you could speak Arabic!”

“I really hate it when people assume we don’t know Arabic. I’ve lived in Syria, Egypt, Iraq and now Lebanon. I probably know the language better than half the Lebanese people!" Caroline Bakjejian, a resident of Gemmayze, said.

"We have more than 100 years of experience in the Middle Eastern region."

2. “Do you prefer Armenia or Lebanon?”

“How about both? We love Lebanon because it’s the country we grew up in and we love Armenia because it’s our homeland! Why do we have to choose? Please don’t assume that we all share the same opinion as Lebanon’s Minister of Tourism

Avadis Kadanian

, who said he prefers Armenia. No, just no,” 18-year-old Garod Kambourian said.

3. “You must love basterma!”

“My husband and I really don’t like basterma and we’re both Armenian. Not all Armenians love basterma, just like not all Lebanese people love tabbouleh. Oh, and believe it or not we don’t eat at

Basterma Mano

everyday,” Bourj Hammoud resident, Anahid Sislian, told StepFeed.

4. “I know how to cuss in Armenian”

"Oh wow, what an achievement! You must think you deserve a medal for your multilingual cussing.

It’s funny, because you can’t even spell half of our words right. But hey, nice try," 29-year-old Raffi Kalajian said.

5. “Shou btehko bel bet?” ( what language do you use at home?)

“I really don’t think it’s a big deal which language we use at home but Armenian is usually the easiest option for us. I personally don’t care about the language I use as long as my kids remember to wash the dishes and not leave food on the floor,“ Jal El Dib resident, Sasso Hasholian, said.

6. “Oh you must know Sako from Burj Hammoud, who has a motorcycle!”

"You mean my brother Sako? Or my cousin Sako? Or maybe my grandmother’s son-in-law’s nephew Sako?

Asking an Armenian about 'Sako' is the equivalent of asking a Muslim about 'Mohammad' or a Christian about 'Michel,' we just know too many," psychology student Alik Vahe Kambourian said.

7. “You live in Burj Hammoud, right?”

“While it’s true that a large number of Armenians reside in Burj Hammoud, that doesn’t mean we refuse to live elsewhere. We have the freedom to move and live wherever we want, you know, it’s not like we’re held hostage in one place,” Zqaq el blat resident Aram Percudrum Papazian, said.

https://stepfeed.com/7-things-armenians-in-lebanon-are-really-tired-of-hearing-5658

[Yervant1]

Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA)

Dec 2018

A Refuge in Lebanon

Refugees find hope rekindled at the Karagheusian Center

by Doreen Abi Raad

http://www.cnewa.org/Mag-Images/magimages-44-4/44-4-leb1_i.jpgClick for more images

A maze of tangled electrical wires crisscrosses above the narrow streets. Motor scooters zip by as two boys unload produce from a van, making a delivery to a tiny convenience store. An elderly woman chats with a shopkeeper standing below her second-floor balcony, adorned with birdcages and a faded Armenian flag.

This is Bourj Hammoud, a suburb of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. Settled by Armenians fleeing extermination in the Ottoman Empire in the beginning of the 20th century, the densely populated area remains home to their descendants, as well as thousands of Syrian refugees.

Talar, a young Syrian Armenian mother, fled her home in Aleppo in 2013 when terrorists seized the neighborhood where she had lived with her husband and their son Krikor, now 9 years old. The three rushed to a relative’s home about 15 minutes away.

After a month away, her husband went to check on their apartment.

“Everything was completely destroyed,” Talar says, still outraged. “There was nothing at all that my husband could retrieve.” The loss of their family photos and mementos was especially painful.

As the violence continued to spread, the young family believed they had no alternative but to flee to Lebanon. They settled in a one-room dwelling in Bourj Hammoud. Her husband, who had a thriving livelihood in Aleppo as a carpenter, found work in Beirut in his trade, but after a month of labor he was never paid by his employer.

He then took a job as a taxi driver. Again, after a month of work, his boss

refused to pay him. With no money for the rent, the family was evicted from their apartment.

“The landlord changed the locks and we couldn’t go back in. For the second time, we lost our home and everything we had.”

Yet Talar and her family have not fallen into despair; through the services and hospitality of the Karagheusian Socio-Medical Center, they have found a lifeline.

A splash of sunlight amid the gray concrete of this urban neighborhood, the yellow Karagheusian Socio-Medical Center is a Bourj Hammoud landmark, welcoming all in need.

Thanks to the center, the family now has a steady income and

a place to live. The organization found Talar’s husband a position as a custodian at an Armenian school that includes accommodation on the premises — and offered class enrollment for young Krikor. And through the center’s women’s group, Talar has found an outlet for much-needed social contact and services.

In these and many other ways, the center is helping those who have been uprooted to set their feet once more on firm ground — enabling them to find opportunities, rediscover community and rekindle hope.

The story of the Karagheusian Center begins after the death of 14-year-old Howard Karagheusian from pneumonia in New York City in 1918.

His Armenian American parents resolved to establish a humanitarian mission — the Howard Karagheusian Foundation — in their son’s memory, focusing at first on sheltering, feeding and educating orphaned children who had survived the Armenian Genocide. The organization has operated in Lebanon, Syria and Armenia ever since — now for more than 95 years.

A team of 40 doctors, plus a staff of 40, serves about 4,000 patients a month at the Bourj Hammoud clinic. Of those, 3,000 are Syrian refugees and 1,000 from the Lebanese host community. About two-thirds of the clinic’s current beneficiaries are Muslim. “The health center is available to everyone, because health is for all,” stresses Lebanon Field Director Serop Ohanian.

In Bourj Hammoud, the Syrian refugee population is still growing, notes Mr. Ohanian. They live in overcrowded conditions, typically with two or three families squeezed together in small, dismal apartments that rarely see the light of day. During Lebanon’s humid, cold and rainy winters, moisture hangs on concrete walls, frequently turning into mold, sparking respiratory conditions among residents.

“Their situation is catastrophic, and getting worse. We’re seeing more Syrian refugees entering into poverty,” Mr. Ohanian says.

Lebanon is an expensive country, a marked contrast for the refugees who were once accustomed to a low cost of living and a range of government-provided services in their native Syria. A recent survey released by EuroCost International found that Beirut ranked seventh globally, surpassing London and New York City, in terms of the cost of living. Lebanon’s economic stagnation is compounded by the refugee crisis, with more Lebanese also slipping into poverty.

Aside from the bustling medical clinic, the Karagheusian Center includes a social unit with the aim of providing support and encouragement to Christians living in Lebanon — Syrian refugees, Iraqi refugees and the local vulnerable host community — so they may have a dignified life. The team includes eight social workers.

The center’s social services include home visits in which care, food and clothing are provided, as well as health support at the clinic. It provides an after-school program, where children do their homework in an encouraging environment, complete with tutoring. Schoolbooks have been provided to 750 Syrian Armenian and Lebanese Armenian children.

In the summer, the center hosts a day camp that includes activities, outings and remedial classes so children can enjoy their summer. In 2018, there were 390 camp participants. Additionally, psychological support is provided to Armenian Syrian and marginalized host community children with special needs as a way of reducing their ordeals.

The Karagheusian Center also offers vocational training for women in specialties such as hairdressing, cooking and urban agriculture so they may have the opportunity to help their families materially. Language classes in English and French ease their adaptation to Lebanon’s trilingual environment — Arabic, English and French.

As part of the women’s empowerment program, each week the center hosts three groups, with respective sessions on specific days for Syrian Armenian refugees, Lebanese Christians and elderly women in general.

In the auditorium of the neighboring Armenian Evangelical Shamilian Tatigian School, some 150 Syrian Armenian women begin arriving for their weekly gathering, chatting with each other, as if catching up with old friends. Announcements for upcoming activities include a day trip to Harissa, the shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon.

Some 80 percent of the women are from Aleppo; others had fled from Kessab and Latakia near the shores of the Mediterranean. Most have been in Lebanon for as many as six years.

Mr. Ohanian personally introduces that day’s special guest speaker: Camille Salame, M.D., a neurosurgeon visiting Lebanon, his homeland, from Norwich, Connecticut.

Women listen with rapt attention to Dr. Salame’s presentation on back and neck pain. Some mothers pace, carrying fussy babies. A blonde, curly-haired toddler romps with her arms outstretched, her tiny feet pitter-pattering the floor, relishing the open space.

Concluding his talk with open questions from the group, Dr. Salame invites women with special back and neck concerns to accompany him to the Karagheusian clinic for a consultation.

“This is CNEWA in action,” he says, strolling with them to the sunny yellow building. Dr. Salame has been a longstanding donor to CNEWA.

“This is an oasis of hope,” he says of the center and its mission. “This is what keeps people attached to life: They know they have a place to go to that’s working for them all the time, working for them on their behalf. That keeps their spirit going. It takes a big heart to create big things. We need more of this in Lebanon.”

Of the 25 women he met with individually for consultations immediately after his lecture, Dr. Salame says, “I enjoyed talking to each one.” Although all had back- or neck-related issues, he says only one case was serious enough to possibly require a need for surgery. Center staff made notes on her chart, to begin pursuing this treatment.

In the clinic’s courtyard, Talar sways her younger son, Christ, nearly 2 years old, in his stroller as she waits to meet with Dr. Salame. She wants to ask him about the neck and arm pain she has been experiencing.

Being part of the women’s group at Karagheusian “has changed my life,” the young mother says. “We’re living in a small room, and I see only the four walls. But when I come here each week, it lifts me up.” She credits the center for her renewed strength and cheer.

Elizabeth, 58, also waits to meet with the visiting doctor about her back pain. She and her husband came to the safety of Lebanon in 2012 from Aleppo after their house became unlivable, with no water or electricity.

Before the war, life had been comfortable. Elizabeth’s husband was a jeweler, and they owned their spacious four-bedroom apartment.

Now they are living in a small, one-room dwelling. At 65 years old, Elizabeth’s husband now works at an auto repair garage. The hours are long; the labor, grimy and physically intensive.

“At a time when he should be thinking of retiring, he’s working so hard and comes home exhausted,” she says, love and concern written across her eyes. He also suffers from back pain, she says.

“And we’re barely able to cover our rent,” she adds.

“This group really helps us to overcome our difficulties,” she says of the women’s meetings and group therapy sessions. “So many of us were psychologically disturbed because of what we’ve gone through. When we came here, I felt so alone. But through the center, I’ve made many friends.”

Although Karagheusian is a secular organization, the Christian message is evident.

“We encourage them to give glory to God for everything,” social worker Janine Tanilian says of the organization’s women’s groups. “Even though they are in a really bad situation, they can thank God because they are alive, their children love them and these days will pass and the sun will shine.”

Lebanon’s refugee crisis has posed a tremendous challenge for the many churches present there. Efforts to care for the refugees abound, but resources are scarce and fatigue impacts even the most generous. To serve the Syrian Armenian population who fled to Lebanon, a committee comprised of members from the Armenian Apostolic, Armenian Catholic and Armenian Evangelical churches was formed to better reach the displaced families. The three churches entrusted the Karagheusian Medico-Social Center to be the coordinator of aid and to provide the needed support; after all, their congregations — for generations — have been receiving medical and social services from the Karagheusian Foundation.

“We have seen lives changed for the better with the direct support of CNEWA and through the collaboration and coordination between the church, our organization and CNEWA. The hopeless have received hope,” says Field Director Mr. Ohanian.

Bishop George Assadourian, who serves with the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate, praised the Karagheusian Center, noting that its “presence and continuity is of great importance to the poor population who are being served,” whether members of the host community or refugees.

“We would encourage their work and recommend all support to the organization to keep doing its good work toward the disadvantaged population,” Bishop George added.

“I want to thank God for the work Howard Karagheusian did and will continue to do,” says the Rev. Raffi Messerlian, pastor of the Armenian Evangelical Church of Nor Marash in Bourj Hammoud.

“I believe that what they did and what they provided was very important and very essential,” he adds, “and I see that the heart of their outreach is keeping the dignity of human beings by trying to provide some of the basic needs necessary for individuals.”

The Rev. Sarkis Sarkissian, chair of the religious committee of the Armenian Apostolic Prelacy in Lebanon, commended the organization. “In the midst of social and economic hardship, this organization was a refuge to all who sought help,” he says. With its medical and social services, the center “has improved the lives of the community members and has brought considerable changes in the lives of so many.”

During the influx of Syrian refugees to Lebanon, “they were the only social organization to lend their helping hand and receive all the refugees equally,” Father Sarkissian added.

“We, as the Armenian prelacy, highly appreciate what the center did for more than seven years for the refugees and also for the host community members. We also thank [CNEWA] for funding most of the projects the center offered to the refugees and host community members.”

Back at the center, the women’s group members also express gratitude; they have found a stable foothold from which to look to the future.

“I can’t stop thinking of my memories,” Talar says wistfully. “But I thank God we are alive. We have to open a new page every day and not look back.”

While she hopes her family may one day resettle in the West, she is happy that they have found some stability in the present — especially for their children.

“Everything from the past is gone, but for the sake of our kids we have to be strong. My dream is for my sons to have a good future, doing something that they love.”

Elizabeth, too, expresses quiet resolve. “I don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow,” she says.

“The future looks dark. But because I have faith in God, I know that he will help me to cross through these times.”

Doreen Abi Raad is a freelance writer in Beirut. She has written for Catholic News Service and the National Catholic Register.

http://www.cnewa.org/default.aspx?ID=3975&pagetypeID=4&sitecode=HQ&pageno=1&fbclid=IwAR2wZu7Xx1Z8c96Q8oHcIX6_paqvy8FHWIR4CSox8l1e7HmFP38OINJP6nU

[Yervant1]

The Daily Star (Lebanon)

February 9, 2019 Saturday

Where are Burj Hammoud's artisans?

by Victoria Yan

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/dailystar/Pictures/2019/02/09/760268_img650x420_img650x420_crop.jpg

On the western edge of Burj Hammoud lies the Marash neighborhood - named after the former Ottoman city where Turkish forces massacred Armenian refugees in 1920, amid Turkey's war of independence near the end of the Armenian genocide.

BURJ HAMMOUD, Lebanon: On the western edge of Burj Hammoud lies the Marash neighborhood - named after the former Ottoman city where Turkish forces massacred Armenian refugees in 1920, amid Turkey's war of independence near the end of the Armenian genocide. The small neighborhood was one of the first to be established in Burj Hammoud, which became Lebanon's aptly named "Little Armenia."

Those who settled in Marash were largely craftsmen originating from the eponymous Ottoman city.

"When the buildings were first constructed, most houses and apartments incorporated ateliers where people would work," said Farah Makki, the lead researcher at Nahnoo, a youth-led NGO advocating for cultural preservation.

"Much of the architecture today reflects the old architecture [from the Ottoman Marash]," she said.

But the culture of craftsmanship in Burj Hammoud is not what it used to be. Artisans who have been working for generations in a range of sectors, including textiles, jewelry and woodworking, have started turning to other trades, Makki said, due to a lack of state support for small business.

The Abroyan factory - just a short walk from the Marash neighborhood - is something of a symbol of the changes that are underway in Burj Hammoud.

Once a flourishing Armenian-owned textile factory, it has since been shut down and repurposed into an event space, commonly rented out for parties and art exhibitions, mainly by people from outside the community.

To preserve Burj Hammoud's heritage, particularly that of craftspeople, Nahnoo has embarked on an initiative with aid from the United States Embassy, working for over a year with local artisans and gathering data on obstacles they face in keeping their traditions alive.

"We've identified challenges in Burj Hammoud regarding craftsmanship, to try and understand how to intervene and change policy to save this culture and promote its innovation," Makki said.

"This could be in the form of economic measures to protect local businesses from foreign imported items, educational initiatives or increased targeted tourism."

The main outcome of the project, expected to near completion in the next few months, will be a map detailing the locations of the area's artisans and their trade.

A series of reports will also be issued, elaborating on the challenges in the community and including policy recommendations.

To come up with the recommendations, Nahnoo will consult a variety of stakeholders, including the municipality, the Economy Ministry and the Labor Ministry.

To conduct some of the research, Nahnoo assembled a group of young volunteers at the end of January from a range backgrounds to attend a three-day workshop, to help interview local craftspeople, like Peter Keshian.

The Burj Hammoud resident works part-time creating artisanal briar wood and vulcanite tobacco pipes. However, most of the materials and tools he needs are either low quality in the local market or not available in Lebanon at all.

"The materials I use are from countries around the Mediterranean such as Greece, Algeria, Italy and Corsica. I can get them abroad, but shipments take too much time, as Customs in Lebanon is not fast. Other things I work with, including stains, shellac and bamboo root, are also not good quality here," he told The Daily Star.

The workshop also provided an opportunity for cultural exchange between locals and the volunteers from other areas in Lebanon.

"There are a lot of perceptions about Burj Hammoud," said Pia Chaib, one of the volunteers.

The densely populated area has a reputation for being a low-income neighborhood where many of Beirut's migrant workers and refugees reside. Residents also have to cope with the stench emanating from the notorious Burj Hammoud landfill on the coastal edge of the town.

"As much as you learn about [the area's] history in a classroom, actually meeting people who have been here for generations is much different," Chaib said.

Nahnoo's executive director, Jessica Chemali, underscored that the success of such projects depends on the participation of a diverse cross section of society.

"We should be encouraging everyone to participate in their way, creating spaces for people whether they be craftsmen or in other trades.

"By supporting one another, we're also fostering toward a greater goal of an inclusive society," Chemali said. "Part of being in an inclusive society is to allow a diverse group of people to function and contribute to the economy."

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Life/Lubnan/2019/Feb-09/476247-where-are-burj-hammouds-artisans.ashx

[Yervant1]

Middle East Eye

April 23 2021

The Armenian musicians who established Lebanon’s diverse diaspora scene

Following the 1915 Armenian genocide, Beirut became the hub of a vibrant music scene that would eventually spread to the rest of the Armenian diaspora

Les Lunettes Noires, perform in 1965, Beirut, left to right Boghos, Ara, Hrair and Garo (Credit: Hrach Kalsahakian)

By

Natalie Shooter

, Ernesto Chahoud

23 April 2021

Bourj Hammoud, a northern suburb of Beirut, is the cultural heart of Lebanon’s Armenian community and it’s from there that a vibrant music scene emerged in the 1960s and 1970s.

Following the Armenian genocide of 1915, tens of thousands of Armenian refugees from Cilicia and Western Armenia, arrived by land and by sea to Beirut Port in the early 1920s. They were housed in refugee camps in the Quarantina district, and later, in the early 1930s, relocated to nearby agricultural marshlands on the eastern banks of the river, which was purchased and donated to the community by Armenian organisations.

Turkey still denies that the mass killings and deportations of Armenians was genocide; but some 30 countries around the world, including France, Germany, Russia, Poland and the Netherlands, recognise the Armenian genocide.

A panorama of Bourj Hammoud in the 1950s, featuring Nor Sis neighbourhood and sections of Nor Adana and Nor Marash, named after the Armenian community's original villages (Credit: Garo Derounian)

What started out as a camp, with temporary wooden shacks, developed into the dynamic neighbourhood of Bourj Hammoud, with its narrow winding streets taking the names of its resident’s former villages like Marash and Sis.

The district became a cultural hub full of Armenian schools, churches, and social clubs, radio stations, theatre associations, tens of cinemas, and Lebanon’s first record store. It was also home to the majority of the country’s Armenian musicians.

The music scene of Lebanon’s Armenian community was diverse, varying from Armenian folklore to belly dance and the latest international trends.

Armenian band Les Soupirants perform in 1965, Beirut, from left to right - Richard, Hrair, Boghos and Levon (Credit: Hrach Kalsahakian)

These Armenian musicians, composers, record label owners, and producers were the children and grandchildren of genocide survivors and they played a pivotal role in forming the country's rich and multi-layered 1960s and 1970s music scene.

One of the first Armenian diaspora musicians to sing pop music was Mathild Boudakian, who was born in Istanbul in 1917 and emigrated with her family to Lebanon in the mid-1920s, where she became a singer with a weekly music show on Radio Lebanon for over 20 years.

Later, in the mid-1960s, numerous Armenian guitar bands emerged in Beirut. They took Western names like Eddy Kev and The Kings, The Dark Eyes, The Helliums, The Magic Fingers, and the Tears.

The bands sang in French and English and performed the latest styles: twist, beat, pop, and rock and roll. They performed in social clubs, at school dances, and in the theatres, nightclubs, and restaurants of Bourj Hammoud and across Lebanon.

Out of this scene a new, modern style of Armenian-language pop music emerged. It was played with modern instruments and found overnight success in Bourj Hammoud.

Known as "estraydin", the genre was pushed forward by Armenian-Lebanese singer Adiss Harmandian and contributed to the formation of a new cultural identity for the Armenian diaspora, distinct from both Ottoman influences and Soviet Armenia.

Armenian language pop music or 'estraydin' became popular in the 1970s (Credit: Natalie Shooter)

Suddenly, scores of Armenian artists started singing in their own language, dropping the westernised aliases of their names and reviving folklore melodies to create innovative pop music, which was released on small independent Armenian labels such as Rival, Voice of Stars, and Adisc.

Their music later found its way onto established Lebanese label Voix De L’Orient, local branches of international labels such as Philips, as well as Soviet label Melodisc and record labels in the US.

Beirut became the hub of this scene, from where the music spread outside to the Armenian diaspora around the world, fast-tracked with the migration of much of Lebanon’s Armenian artistic community following the start of the civil war in 1974.

MEE has compiled a list of 11 Armenian-Lebanese bands, composers, and musicians who all played a pivotal role in establishing the scene.

1. Ara Kekedjian

A composer, arranger, guitarist, and singer, Kekedjian, who sometimes released music under the name Ara, was active in Beirut throughout the 1970s and was one of the innovators of Armenian-language pop music.

In 1962, he formed the short-lived band Les Vampires, before putting together Les Lunettes Noires (The Black Sunglasses) in the mid-1960s, who had a monthly gig at Armenian social club, the Haig Club. The four-piece band performed the first Armenian-language song Ayo Ayo (Yes Yes) on Lebanese National TV in 1965 as part of the popular battle of the bands talent show Pêle Pêle. They won first place.

In his book, Dawn of Armenian Pop Music, the late Boghos Shahmelikian, a member of Les Lunettes Noires and bassist of the band The Five Fingers, credits Kekedjian as “the first diaspora Armenian pop singer” and notes that his song Meghk Em Yes (Pity Me) for Les Lunettes Noires, was the first-ever record release of Armenian pop music in Lebanon.

Kekedjian released four solo albums, a series of 45rpm singles, and three albums of children’s songs. His debut album Chante Ses Success, released in 1970, reflects popular contemporary styles: 1960s pop, rock and roll, ye-ye, and beat, but with Armenian-language lyrics.

The album cover features photos of Kekedjian and his band performing live in Beirut, dressed in the latest fashions of the day: suits in the style of The Shadows, bowties, and dark sunglasses. A few songs on the album were also released as 45rpm singles like Seta Seta and Sossi Sossi. These are still remembered amongst Lebanon’s Armenian community today.

Kekedjian went on to compose and arrange for a number of other Armenian-Lebanese artists, including legendary singer Adiss Harmamdyan, as well as singers Steve Minassian, Dikran Grigorian, and Garo Terzian.

He found some fame later in his career for his Armenian-language songs for children.

2. Adiss Harmandian

Known as “Adiss, the King” or “Adiss, the First”, Adiss Harmandian is the most celebrated singer from the Lebanese-Armenian community. He transformed the landscape of Armenian music and became hugely famous in Lebanon, Armenia, and among the global Armenian diaspora.

Harmandian was born in 1945 in Beirut and came from humble beginnings. He started his working life in a patisserie and began performing as a singer in the early 1960s, where he found almost immediate success.

In The Dawn of Armenian Pop Music Boghos Shahmelikian wrote: “Adiss was a 20, to 21-year-old young man when he burst on the Armenian pop music scene. His overnight rise from obscurity to national fame arguably remains unprecedented in Armenian music. Adiss emerged as the undisputed pioneer and idol of Armenian pop music.”

Harmandian started his career singing in French, fronting the Armenian band The Helliums and releasing his debut single under the name Adiss Harmand, likely influenced by the famous French-Armenian singer Charles Aznavour (full name: Aznavourian).

He was recommended to Voice of Stars record label owner Daniel Der Sahakian by Antranig Mardirossian, owner of the first record store in Lebanon. The label released Adiss' first Armenian-language song Dzaghigner (Flowers) in the mid-1960s and it became an instant hit.

Adiss Harmandian's Voice of Stars album featuring his hit 'Nouné' Photo (Credit: Natalie Shooter)

The singer dropped the shortened version of his name, recording for the first time under Harmandian, emphasizing his Armenian identity.

He had a prolific career spanning five decades over which he released around 40 albums, set up his own label Adisc Records, and toured continuously.The song was followed by a series of hugely successful Armenian-language singles such as Nouné , Karoun Karoun and Yes Tchekidem, which made him an idol within his community and set him on the path to international stardom as one of the leading singers of the estryadin genre.

It’s not always possible to define what makes a superstar, but Harmandian’s good looks, incredible, powerful voice, and modern style of Armenian pop music certainly all helped him get there. His career flourished from Bourj Hammoud, a deprived suburb of Beirut, to the United States where he toured for decades.

In 2005, his enormous contribution to Armenian music and culture was acknowledged by the Armenian Orthodox Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, Aram I with the Order of Saint Mesrob Mashtots, an award for significant achievements in the development of Armenia.

He was the first Armenian pop music star to receive such recognition.

Though he moved to Los Angeles, he remained connected to Lebanon, where he continued to perform at least annually until a few years before his death in 2019.

His style has been imitated by scores of Armenian singers who followed, and his songs remain adored by the Armenian diaspora in Lebanon and around the world.

3. Levon Katerjian

In the same period, Syrian-born singer and poet Levon Katerjian also had a successful career in Lebanon, finding popularity amongst an older generation of Armenians for his more traditional style, a genre known as "ashoughayin". Along with Harmandian, Katerjian helped to strengthen the identity of Armenian popular music with a folkloric style that aimed to remove any Turkish influence.

The two were competing figures within the Lebanese-Armenian community and their different styles helped to create the framework of a distinctive and diverse Armenian music culture, which reinforced the identity of the diaspora.

Katerjian released 14 albums, many on his own independent label, LK Records, as well as on Arka Records in Los Angeles.

Some of his famous songs include Hay Herosneri Yerk and his interpretation of the traditional song Dle Yaman.

Like Harmandian, Katerjian’s music also travelled beyond Lebanon’s borders. But, as a Syrian national, he had more difficulty getting a visa to tour internationally.

In 2005, following Harmandian, Katerjian also received the Order of Saint Mesrob Mashtots from Catholicos Aram I, showing just how equally influential the two singers were.

4. Manuel Manankichian

The singer Manuel Manankichian had a short but noticeable career in Lebanon in the 1960s and 1970s with his collaboration with Lebanese composer Elias Rahbani, who wrote and arranged a number of singles for him including the national hit Tammy and Quand passent les Cigognes, which won him first place in the International Music Competition in Athens in 1969.

Manankichian sang and released songs in three languages: French, English, and Armenian. He also found some fame in the Soviet Union where he released three records on the state-owned label Melodia, selling around two million copies, and toured extensively.

In the late 1970s, he worked with Armenian-Lebanese pianist Jacques Kodijian who arranged his 1979 album Yerevan-Lebanon.

He also starred and sung in several Armenian films in America, including Promise of Love (1977) and Sons of Sasun (1976), which were both released as soundtrack albums.

His sudden departure from the music scene in the 1980s led to rumours that he had died in a car crash while shooting a film in the United States. But then in the late 1990s, he re-emerged and performed his renowned song Tears of Happiness at the annual Armenian Music Awards in Los Angeles.

5. The News

Alongside The Sea-ders, one of Lebanon’s most famous rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s was Armenian-Lebanese four-piece outfit The News. Forming out of two earlier rock bands The Moncks and The Lawyers, The News was fronted by lead singer and guitarist John Taslakian, with Ara Hadjian on drums, Mike Postian on keyboards, and Jack Tamoukian on bass guitar.

Lebanese-Armenian band The News who toured across Europe in the 1970s and had a contract with EMI (Credit: Hrach Kalsahakian)

The band released seven hit singles, which range from the melodic pop of Baby You’re Only Mine and I Miss You to psych and garage rock songs such as Today Today, Take Me, and their biggest hit Teardrops.

Mostly composed by frontman Taslakian and arranged by Lebanese composer Elias Rahbani, their songs made it into Lebanon’s top 20 charts and were later gathered for the 1975 album, Old Wine New Bottles. Seeking international fame and wanting to be a part of the global garage rock and psych scene of the period, the band members all took Western alias and sang strictly in English.

The News toured the world, playing concerts across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, where they shared the stage with iconic prog rock bands such as Hawkwind, Genesis, Spooky Tooth, and Warhorse.

They also met the legendary Cream drummer Ginger Baker, who offered his studio to them after he attended one of their concerts in Nigeria.

With the civil war at its peak, the News split up in 1979 and the band members went their separate ways, emigrating to the four corners of the world: America, France, the UK, and Australia.

6. The Dark Eyes

The Dark Eyes were the first local band to have a residency in Beirut’s most renowned and exclusive nightlife spot, Les Caves du Roy, where notable characters like Frank Sinatra and Jacques Brel rubbed shoulders with Lebanon’s high society and political elite.

The four-member band included Vahe Palasian on drums, vocalist Zareh Kabakian, Gaby Khoury – the only non-Armenian musician – on bass, and Megerdich Karaguezian on keyboard. The Dark Eyes backed up the Italian singer Joe Diverio, who performed at the nightclub daily from the mid-1960s to 1975.

The band released an album of Italian and English language pop songs with him in 1975 and also put out three singles, a cover of Rain 2000, a 1972 song by Norwegian rock band Titanic, the mod beat song Mary Don’t Forget and the single You Go Your Way, I’ll Go Mine. The Dark Eyes did a farewell concert for UNESCO before they disbanded and fled the country with the onset of the civil war.

7. The Five Fingers

Throughout the 1960s, a number of young guitar bands emerged in Beirut, inspired by the international wave of rock and roll. Bands such as Les Soupriants (The Suitors), Los Amores, and Les Lunettes Noires wore matching suits, slicked their hair back, and sung English and French songs in the school halls and social clubs of Beirut.

One of the most famous and long-lasting to emerge from this wave was The Five Fingers who were active from the mid-1960s until 1977 and played a continental repertoire of Armenian English, French, Italian, and Spanish pop songs.

The Five Fingers posing at the famous Raouche in Beirut on the cover of their only album (Credit: KOHAR Library, Beirut)

The band members were Dikran Mekhsian on drums, lead singer Mihran Kruzian, aka Mimo, Boghos Shahmelikian on bass, Hagop Andezian on solo guitar, and Nazo Momjian on rhythm guitar. Rehearsing in the basement of the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate, the band started out performing in annual student dances and opened for famous international Armenian musicians who were performing in Lebanon, such as Mark Aryan and Charles Aznavour, and later got regular gigs in popular summer resorts in the Lebanese mountains as well as the nightclubs and restaurants of Beirut.

They produced a series of 45rpm singles including their biggest hit Armenia, a protest song about the Armenian genocide and independence from the Soviet Union.

In 1974, the band released their debut self-titled album, featuring 12 Armenian-language covers of pop songs, arranged by Jacques Kodjian and a couple of their own compositions, but it was a flop.

Their second album, which was in the process of being recording when the civil war broke out and was composed entirely by the band, was never released.

8. Jacques Kodjian

Jacques Kodjian was the backbone of the Lebanese-Armenian music scene. His name appears on the vast majority of Armenian releases from the 1960s and 1970s as composer, arranger, bandleader, and pianist.

Born to a musical family in Beirut, Kodjian’s father, Haig, was a clarinet player, his elder brother, Varoujan, was a conductor, his younger brother, Mihran, a violinist, and his sister, Sossi, was a singer.

Kodjian’s contribution to the music of the Armenian diaspora was immense, he was a virtuoso pianist with a distinctive sound that can be clearly heard on the records of Adiss Harmandian, The Five Fingers, Ara Kekedjian, Haro Pourian, Ara Guiragossian, and Paul Baghdadlian, alongside many others.

On his solo instrumental albums of the 1970s, he effortlessly moved between classical and oriental, easy listening and pop.

His 1972 album Oriental Mood reflects his contemporary approach where he immersed himself into oriental music with rearrangements of hits by Fairouz that took in bossa nova, jazz, and funk on songs such as Bint El Shalabiya.

The same year, he released a self-titled album that featured his own compositions alongside traditional Armenian songs played in a classical style, moving between 1970s cinematic soundtracks and fast-paced rhythm and blues instrumentals such as Yes Tchekidem.

Both as a solo pianist and accompanying other artists, Kodjian performed extensively in Beirut and toured the world, playing throughout the Middle East, Armenia, Europe, Australia, and the States, where he emigrated due to the civil war in the mid-1970s and lived until his death in 2019.

9. Setrak Sarkissian

The most present Armenian-Lebanese musician in the oriental music scene, Setrak Sarkissian, nicknamed Seto, was a tabla player who performed alongside all of the greats of Arabic music such as Fairouz, Mohammed Abdel Wahed, Sabah Fakri, Farid Al Atrache, Warda, and Sabah.

His career started in the late 1950s when he toured with the Italian-Egyptian bellydancer Nadia Gamal and he went on to perform with the most famous bellydancers in the region: Fifi Abdou, Tahiya Carioka, and Samia Gamal.

For three decades he played and recorded extensively with singer Samira Toufik, who was famous for her Bedouin style.

In the 1970s and 1980s, he was one of Beirut’s busiest tabla players with residencies in restaurants such as Bourj El Hammam, where he recorded two records with buzuq player Tony Frangieh.

He had an inimitable style on the tabla, providing the distinctive percussion for dozens of pioneering records, including Ziad Rahbani’s Abu Ali, Ihsan Al Mounzer’s Orientalissimo and Belly Dance Disco, and Rabih Abou-Khalil’s 1988 Oriental jazz-folk album Nafas that was released on the iconic jazz label ECM.

He also released numerous percussion-led solo bellydance albums on Voice of Stars and Philips. Sarkissian stayed loyal to Bourj Hammoud, the neighbourhood where he was born, setting up a sports bar there towards the end of his life.

10. Boghos Jilalian

Boghos Jilalian was from the 1950s and 1960s generation of Lebanese classical composers such as Tawfiq Sukkar and Tawfiq Al Basha. Born in Syria and emigrating to Beirut during the Second World War, Jilalian was an Armenian composer, arranger, and pianist who became a prominent figure in modern Lebanese music, working on both classical and folklore.

He worked as a music consultant for the famous musical duo the Rahbani Brothers in their early days and was a music instructor to the iconic Lebanese musician Ziad Rahbani.

Later in his career, in the 1970s, he arranged music for plays such as Romeo Lahoud’s Bint El Jabal starring Salwa and he arranged records by both Lebanese and Lebanese-Armenian musicians such as Ara Guiragossian and Sabah.

11. Paul Baghdadlian

Armenian-Syrian singer Paul (real name Krikor) Baghdadlian was born in Aleppo, where, along with Beirut, many Armenians settled following the genocide.

His career started in the early ‘70s when he moved to Lebanon and performed crooner-style songs in English under the alias ‘Paul the Prince’.

Yerevan-born singer Paul Baghdadlian spent a few years living and performing in Lebanon in the 1970s (Credit: KOHAR Library, Beirut)

But he found real fame amongst the Armenian-diaspora community when, like Yerevan-born singer Harout Pamboukjian, who lived for a brief period in Lebanon in the mid-1970s, he started singing in Armenian and performing under his family name.

Baghdadlian formed the Akhtamar band, which was led by kanoon-player Kevork Essayan and composed of musicians who played with the singer Maxim Panossian, including drummer Sam Balekjian and The Five Fingers bassist Boghos Shahemelikian.

Remaining in Lebanon at a time when popular singers Adiss Harmandian, Levon Katerjian, and Maxim Panossian had already emigrated to The United States because of the civil war, Baghdadlian became one of the busiest performers of the Armenian music scene in the mid-1970s, holding back-to-back concerts, which he recorded live and sold on cassette.

In 1977, like many Armenian-Lebanese singers, he emigrated to Los Angeles where his popularity continued, and he released several records with Kodjian and later Armen Aharonian.

Baghdadlian toured the world for years giving concerts for the Armenian diaspora until his death in 2011.

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