Turkey: An Armenian in Istanbul

Despite warnings from fellow Armenians, Lara Aha at Life in Armenia visited Istanbul in Turkey last week to attend a seminar on women in conflict zones. The Diasporan blogger now resident in Armenia says not only did she feel more at home in Istanbul than Yerevan, but that she also spent a night to remember dancing alongside Turks, Kurds, Georgians, Greeks, Azerbaijanis and others at a popular local club.

4 comments

  • Hulya

    Madam, I am not surprised to hear this. The importance of tolerance for different cultures and religions has always been very high in Turkey.

    For centuries Turkey has been a home for other religious beliefs and nations. Ottoman tolerance was unique in early modern times and continues to be valued in Turkey today.
    For example the foundation of Istanbul Armenian Patriarchate is an unique event in the history of world.
    Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror’s converting the Armenian episcopalism in Western Anatolia into Istanbul Patriarchate with a firman in 1461, eight years after he conquered Istanbul, is a clear example of his and Ottoman Empire’s future vision and tolerance they showed to all religions.
    Regards,
    Hulya

  • Rich

    Yes, religious and culture tollerance reached it’s peak durring the 1915 Ottoman Era while Armenians were in the middle of Genocide at the hands of the Turks!

    Tollerance continues today just ask any minority in Turkey, especially the oppressed Kurds.

  • Martin

    Tollerance is given to those who deserve it. Armenians started killing Turks long before 1915. Unlike the survivors of the so called Armenian Genocide, my grandparents did not have any surviving relatives when they were attacked by the Armenian Gangs in Sarikamis in 1912. My grandmother and father were the only survivors as they happened to be in Trabzon that week. Unlike the Armenians, we do not have survivors nor the lobby to tell our side of the story.

  • Ari

    WTF?! The turks are so liers! Read about the Armenian Genocide in non Armenian sites! You’ll see the Genocide happened! All the Turk intellectuals are admiting, Orhan Pamuk is the best example! 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Turks. There are all proofs. Stop the lie… You are so facists, turks! Yoyr history is a big lie, like your culture.

Join the conversation

Authors, please log in »

Guidelines

  • All comments are reviewed by a moderator. Do not submit your comment more than once or it may be identified as spam.
  • Please treat others with respect. Comments containing hate speech, obscenity, and personal attacks will not be approved.