Turkish Obstacles no Barrier for Karanian

“Anticipate that Kurds in the rural eastern provinces will have a better understanding of Armenian history than will Turks living in the modern western region,” Karanian continued. “Don’t be surprised if everything reminds you of Armenia.”

No doubt, Van remains foremost on Karanian’s itinerary — the region, town and lake. His favorite cat?  Why, the Van cat of course!

He was a reluctant traveler to Adana and then to Van in 1997. Karanian had been working in Yerevan as a university professor when two of his Armenian-American friends had decided to get married in Sis, which is the Armenian capital located just north of Adana in today’s Turkey.

He knew Adana only as the site of the 1909 massacre of some 20,000 Armenians. The town was not on his radar. But he was in a wedding party, so …

“I had no choice but to go,” he recalled. “It was a good choice for many reasons. Among them, this book might not otherwise exist. This was my first-ever journey to Historic Armenia.”

Over the next 18 years and six trips, Karanian eventually traveled to all six provinces of the Ottoman Empire.

“These six provinces are on the lands of Historic Armenia,” he points out. “They were home to a plurality and sometimes a majority of Armenians as recently as a century ago.”

The book was a tribute to his grandmothers and the many others who left their homeland behind a century ago. Karanian delves into the regions of Kharpert, Sebastia, Diyabakir, Erzerum, Bitlis and Van.

Seeing the majestic church at Aghtamar turned into a museum with a Turkish flag fluttering outside might send palpitations to the heart. Karanian has mixed emotions about the landmark attraction.

“Aghtamar simultaneously elicits joy and anger for me,” he reveals. “In that regard, the church is not unique among the Armenian sites of Western Armenia.”

Karanian goes on to say that in Western Armenia, nothing disappoints — yet everything is disappointing.

“It’s a difficult trip to make,” he notes. “Once you begin, don’t be surprised if you find your journey never ends.”

Karanian is a second-generation Armenian who practices law in Pasadena. He has worked in Armenia as an associate dean of the law program at the American University of Armenia. He was director of the University’s Legal Research Center and founded the Armenian Law Review in 2003 with his students.

Since 1995, his research has taken him on journeys throughout Eastern and Western Armenia — from Artsakh to Javakhk, Ani to Cilicia.

A previous book, Edge of Time: Traveling in Armenia and Karabagh, was the world’s first commercial guide to the two republics. A year later, it was reprinted, due to popular demand.

In 1999, he collaborated with Robert Kurkjian to publish Out of Stone, an oversized, hard cover photography book featuring the sites and people of Armenia and Artsakh.

The most recent work of “Historic Armenia” has gathered a lot of media hype, including a glowing review in Agos, the Istanbul paper once edited by the late Hrant Dink. At a book sighting and lecture in Washington, DC, this past May, the response was overwhelming.

Of the pending trip, Karanian anticipates what might be conceivable — a return.

“This will not be your only journey,” he predicts. “Armen Aroyan knows the region better than any local person. Because he has a low key approach to sharing the sites with you, this will have the effect of encouraging you to return.”