Sevag-Saleri museum , Istanbul
2007
Hrant and
I had a beautiful dream: a family
museum in Istanbul celebrating
the magnificent contributions of Armenians
in Turkey dating back to the days of the
Ottoman Empire and beyond.
Neither the cerebro genocide of some
250 Armenian intellectuals in 1915 nor the deaths of 1.5 million
civilians including some
10,000 Armenian clergy reflected the complexities of the relationship between Armenians and the
Ottoman empire that ruled a
significant percentage of land and people
on three continents over six
centuries .
Some historians may view various Ottoman customs and laws as evidence
for the second-class status of
Armenians and other ethnic
minorities. It is true that the
powers in Istanbul, the residents of the Ottoman palaces from Topkapi to Dolmabahce enjoyed
absolute executive powers over
the fate of anyone . The empire also selectively converted to Islam the oldest boys from Armenian families to serve in
a special military unit
(yeniceri).
The obvious
shortcomings of the Ottoman
system should not minimize or distort
the big picture of Armenians under
Ottoman and Turkish rule for
Armenians have also prospered and benefited from the Ottoman system
And
made significant contributions
artistically business wise and scientifically leaving
their marks on land and in
history.
No comments:
Post a Comment