A memorial house dedicated to the late Armenian author Mıgırdiç Margosyan opened in Diyarbakır on Apr 19.
The Margosyan Memorial House, established through a collaboration between the Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality, the Diyarbakır Armenian Surp Küçük Church Hıdır İlyas and Surp Gregos Churches Foundation, and the Diyarbakır Promotion Culture and Solidarity Foundation (DİTAV), opened its doors at the Surp Gregos Church.
Diyarbakır Co-mayors Serra Bucak and Doğan Hatun attended the opening ceremony along with DİTAV Diyarbakır Branch Chair Şeyhmus Diken, Archbishop Aram Ateşyan, Ohannes Gafur Ohanyan, the deputy chair of the Diyarbakır Armenian Surp Küçük Church Hıdır İlyas Surp Gregos Churches Foundation, civil society representatives, and citizens.
The house aims to transfer the life, memory, and connection of the author with the city to future generations.
Bucak said ted that they were welcoming Margosyan back to his own home, according to the Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality.
"This is a precious, emotional, and important moment for us," Bucak said. "Today, we are hosting the great writer Mıgırdiç Margosyan in his home. We say hello once again to Mıgırdiç Margosyan in this small space together with his loved ones, young friends who read him, and the Armenian, Kurdish, and Syriac people. The space may be small, but this church is his home."
Bucak added that it is their duty to remind young literature lovers of the multi-lingual, multi-ethnic, and multi-cultural nature of the city. She said the initiative serves as a reminder that different ancient cultures and communities can live together in a democratic and peaceful life.
DİTAV Diyarbakır Branch President Şeyhmus Diken, Archbishop Aram Ateşyan, and Foundation Deputy Chair Ohannes Gafur Ohanyan also delivered speeches during the program. Following the remarks, the co-mayors and the delegation toured the memorial house.
Mıgırdiç Margosyan was an Armenian writer, publisher, and educator from Diyarbakır. Born on Dec 23, 1938, in the Hançepek neighborhood, he graduated from the Philosophy Department of İstanbul University. In his youth, he co-founded the Armenian magazine To (1959).
Between 1966 and 1972, he served as the principal and a teacher of philosophy, psychology, and Armenian language at the Surp Haç Tıbrevank Armenian High School in Üsküdar. He later entered the commercial sector.
His Armenian stories were compiled into the book Mer Ayt Goğmerı (Our Quarters) in 1984, for which he received the Eliz Kavukçuyan Literature Award in Paris in 1988.
In 1993, he co-founded Aras Publishing with friends. He authored several books in Turkish and Armenian, including Gâvur Mahallesi (Infidel Quarter) and Tespih Taneleri (Rosary Beads). His work Gâvur Mahallesi was also published in Kurdish.
Considered the last representative of Armenian provincial literature in Turkey after Hagop Mıntzuri, Margosyan passed away at his home in Kadıköy on Apr 2, 2022. He was buried in the intellectuals section of the Şişli Armenian Cemetery following a religious ceremony at the Kumkapı Mary Mother Church on Apr 7.
(TY/VK)
