Turkey's last Armenian village stands strong with its women after earthquakes

Auto-translated English subtitles are available in the video.

Last year’s earthquakes on February 6 and 20 undoubtedly changed the routines of intra-city travel in Hatay.

Most of the city's roads are in ruins not only because of the earthquakes but also due to the heavy machinery and trucks involved in debris removal. If you are driving from Antakya to Samandağ, you need to be careful along the way. The road, usually two lanes, can suddenly narrow down to one, and construction machinery and trucks can appear any time.

Vakıflı is a small village, approximately 5 kilometers from Samandağ and 25 kilometers from Antakya districts. Nestled at the foot of Mount Musa, overlooking the Mediterranean, it is surrounded by orange, tangerine, lemon, and grapefruit trees, emanating the fragrance of citrus. It is the last Armenian village in Turkey.

Journalist and author Serdar Korucu, in his 2021 book "Sancak Düştü" (The Sanjak Falls), writes about the Armenians of Mount Musa, once part of the "İskenderun Sanjak" during the Ottoman era:

"Out of the six villages on Mount Musa – Hıdır Bek/Hıdırbey, Yoğunoluk, Kebusiye (now known as Kapısuyu), Hacıhabibli (Eriklikuyu), Bityas (Batıayaz), Vakıf (Vakıflı) – many Armenians 'preferred' leaving Hatay. The ones who stayed gathered in Vakıflı, affectionately termed by the media as Turkey's 'only Armenian village' (actually the 'last Armenian village'). These migrations were not limited to Mount Musa. In 1936, the Armenian population, constituting 11% of the Sanjak's population, dwindled to a symbolic number."

While the earthquakes on February 6 did not cause destruction in the village of about 35 households and 135 residents, the earthquakes centered around Defne and Samandağ in the Hatay-centered quake on February 20 resulted in nearly half of the church and houses being either damaged or collapsed. The heavy rainfall the day before filled small potholes on the damaged village roads with water, making our journey to Vakıflı a bit challenging.

Vakıflı is a special case for women. The women's cooperative, established long before February 6, re-engaged in regional production activities shortly after the earthquake. We visited Vakıflı to see the women's production workshops and discuss the period before and after February 6.

We call Kuhar Kartun when we arrive at the Vakıfköy Patriarch Mesrob II Cultural Center. A minute later, she greets us from a short distance: "Come, come, we are downstairs, in the production workshop."

The lower floor of the cultural center, located just behind the Surp Asdvadzadzin Church, is the Mihran Ulikyan Production and Food Workshop. The center consists of two separate three-story buildings, including a guesthouse, lodge, and museum.

Kuhar Kartun is from the Vakıfköy Women's Cooperative management and has been living in Vakıflı for about 30 years.

"Unfortunately, Vakıfköy has been the last Armenian village in Turkey since 1938. I say 'unfortunately' because we are the only village left from thousands of villages in these lands," says Kartun. 

They make a living through agriculture, with citrus being the most important product, she says. "At a time when agriculture and production were declared over, we said, 'No giving up.' We came together in 2005 under the name 'Vakıfköy Women's Club.' In December 2021, we formed a cooperative. The goal is for every woman to earn an equal share. We said this village belongs to all of us. There were about 30 women. We, the women, united, sold whatever we could produce, and supported our family budgets. We educated our children."

"We rolled up our sleeves after the earthquake”

When we ask her about the February 6 quake,. She says, "I have very, very bad memories of those days." Her mother, living in İskenderun, lost her life under the rubble. She mentions being in İstanbul at that time, with her husband and son in the village.

After the earthquake, the village tea garden became a refuge for all families. Men and women, old and young, everyone lived there for a while, all together. She says, "I couldn't see those here, but I knew what they were going through, what they felt, that they couldn't enter their homes because of their fears. I returned from Istanbul in March. After coming back, I felt relief."

During those days, they received orders upon orders for solidarity purposes, and they quickly consumed the products they could save from the earthquake. Kuhar, who tells us that they rolled up their sleeves afterward, says, "Working became therapy for us."

However, many women had to leave the village after the earthquake. "Why? For the education of their children," says Kuhar Kartun. "Some sent their children to another city, and those whose children were young had to leave themselves. Because transportation to schools from here is difficult; no vehicles, no services, nothing."

Still, hopeful Kuhar says, "I'm sure they will all come back." A short moment of silence. Then, with a confident expression on her face, she says:

"Hatay will rise again. Antakya, Samandağ will rise again. Any place touched by a woman's hand will recover, I'm sure. Just let's unite."

"Everyone has a different role"

Orange peels carefully arranged are gently placed into two large pots where the sherbet is boiling. A pleasant aroma fills the entire workshop. Elena Çapar, one of the most diligent members of the Vakıfköy Women's Cooperative, slowly stirs the orange peels with a large ladle.

Elena, who was in the village during the earthquakes on February 6 and 20, had her house destroyed, and they had to live in a tent for a long time. Nowadays, they stay as a family in a container provided by the patriarchate and installed by the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality. "My three sons, my husband, and my 92-year-old father-in-law. We're all together."

Her "workday" begins at home early in the morning, then she deals with cooperative tasks. If she's not cooking, she's at her desk, taking notes on orders with her phone in hand. At the end of the day, she returns "home," and the work cycle continues.

"As Vakıfköy women, we all participate in the production processes. Some of us use our hands, some our eyes, some our noses; everyone has a different role," says Elena.

"For example, today, the syrup for orange jam is boiling. Tomorrow is the day to fill the jars with jams. Orange jam is one of our main products. Walnut jam, orange jam, pomegranate molasses, concentrated syrups, olives, laurel soap. 

“These are our other main products. We make all of these with what we obtain from our own lands. We also have an agricultural cooperative in our village. We process the products we receive from them here."

Unable to forget

"They say, 'It's being forgotten,' but it's not forgotten," says Elena. "As long as we live, this fear, this pain will live with us."

"What the state doesn't do, civil society does"

Nilgün Aşkar, co-chair of the Health and Social Service Workers Union (SES) Hatay Branch and a psychologist, believes that the solidarity networks established and the cooperatives formed since February 6 have been positive for earthquake-affected women. However, she thinks that these efforts are not sufficient.

Meeting with Aşkar in the park area next to the Zeynelabidin Tomb in Armutlu Neighborhood, where the SES Hatay Branch container is located, Aşkar emphasizes that both women's organizations and labor-professional and democratic mass organizations sensitive to women have been trying to support women through solidarity networks and meet their needs since the beginning of the earthquake.

Psychologist Nilgün Aşkar, noting that earthquake-affected women have dealt with many problems over the past year, says, "Having to deal with so much deprivation, lack, and workload, taking care of household responsibilities such as children, disabled individuals, and the elderly in large families have greatly exhausted women."

Aşkar says that they have formed psychosocial support groups as SES, and women's organizations have carried out similar activities. "Yes, these are breath-giving activities, but they do not reduce this burden. A year has passed, but there has been no change in terms of women's workload, and perhaps paid work has been added, along with financial difficulties."

"Efforts are positive but not sufficient"

Aşkar points out that some of the civil society activities for women in Hatay have evolved into the process of cooperativization by the end of the year:

"In these cooperatives, work is being done on the production of local products and their marketing. Of course, these are positive and valuable developments. Unfortunately, they are not enough."

Aşkar, despite these supportive activities, emphasizes that a heavy labor process continues for women in tents, containers, and homes, saying:

"Yet, what is needed here is the rapid opening of care centers and nurseries, the implementation of supportive activities for people with disabilities, and making schools as serviceable as possible. And these can be done by the state. 

“Unfortunately, it is not possible to meet all these needs through palliative methods, projects, and various organizational efforts."

(VC/AD/VK)