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Arapgir

Turkey / Malatya / Arapkir /
Arap'kir (Armenian: Արաբկիր or Առափկիր) also Arabgir (Turkish: Arapgir) or Arabrakes (Greek: Αραβράκης) is a town that during the history layed in Armenia Minor, Kingdom of Armenia, Byzantine Armenia, different conqueror rules, Western (Ottoman) Armenia and now is a district center in Malatya Province, of Turkey.
Arapgir was founded by the Armenian King Senek'erim-Hovhannes in 1021, who had exchanged his kingdom for estates in the central lands of the Byzantine Empire. In Ottoman period the Armenian population is reported to have suffered severely during the Hamidian massacres of 1895, although, in this regard, Donald Quataert notes, with textile exports back to normal levels a year after the turmoil, in 1896, either all weavers were Muslims after all, or few Armenian weavers were killed, displaced or disrupted during the troubles. According to data of Armenian Apostolic Church in 1800-1830 period 12.000 of 15.000 population of Arapkir were Armenians. According to a METU study citing Nejat Göyünç, the city population was about 20,000 in 1911, of which more than half of the population was Armenian Christians and the rest were Muslim. Today's Turkish sources understate number of Armenians as part of state sponsored program aimed to avoid responsibility for Armenian genocide. On the eve of World War I, there were about 9,523 Armenians (1,300 houses) and 6,774 Turks living in Arapgir.[8] After the 1915 Armenian Genocide, most of the Armenian population of Arapgir was killed or deported. In 1922 the remaining 800 Armenians of Arapgir found refuge in Soviet Armenia. Those who settled in Yerevan lived in a quarter that is now called Arabkir District. Before the Armenian Genocide Arapgir had seven Armenian Apostolic churches: Surp Astvadzadzin (Holy Mother of God) Church, not to be confused with the cathedral, Grigor Lusavorich (Gregory the Illuminator) Church, Surp Kevork Church, Surp Hagob Church, Surp Nshan Church, Surp Pilibos Arakel (St. Philip the Apostle) Church, Surp Sarkis Church, There were, also, one Catholic Surp Prgich (Holy Saviors) Church and one Protestant Cuğran Church. There were also more than 10 Armenian schools in the town. Little is left of pre-war Arapgir, but there are still some old houses that have survived, which are Armenian origin. The town also contains the ruins of a castle, several Seljuk mosques, old cemetery and silver mines.
Prominent people from Arabkir:
Aram Achekbashian (1867-1915), Armenian Hnchak politician.
Vahagn Davtyan, (1922-1996), an Armenian writer.
Khajag Barsamian, born 1951, the primate of Diocese of Armenian Church of Eastern America
Zehra Bilir (1913-2007), famous singer of Turkish folk songs known as "Turku Ana" (Mother of Folk Songs). After her death it was revealed she was born Armenian by the name of Eliz Surhantakyan.
Cemal Azmi (1868-1922), Ottoman politician.
Abdullah Cevdet, Kurdish intellectual and medical doctor .
Mutlu Balman.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arapgir
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   39°2'35"N   38°29'24"E

Comments

  • The King (guest)
    The history of the city goes to BC 852. The old town of Arapgir was founded by Seneqerim in 1021, who was the last king of the Armenian Vaspurakan kingdom. It remained under Armenian control and was a vassal of the Byzantine Empire until 1070, Arapgir was the site of a fascinating story of rising textile imports and industrial growth as of the 1830s. In 1836, some 1,000 looms in Arapgir were weaving cotton goods from British yarn and by 1907, some 1,200. Durability and color fastness of locally made manusa textile also retained its competitive position. The city grew larger than the province (vilayet) center of Harput and a municipal administration was established in 1883. In 1895 the town of Arabgir was destroyed in the massacres against the Armenians under Abdul Hamid II. According to a METU study citing Nejat Göyünç,[3] the city population was about 20,000 in 1911, of which more than half of the population was Armenian Christians and the rest were Muslim. The Armenian population is reported to have suffered severely during the Hamidian massacres of 1895 although, in this regard, Donald Quataert notes, with textile exports back to normal levels a year after the turmoil, in 1896, either all weavers were Muslims after all, or few Armenian weavers were killed, displaced or disrupted during the troubles. In 1915 there were about 33,000 Armenians living in Arapgir[citation needed]. After 1915 Armenian Genocide, most of the Armenian population of Arapgir was killed or escaped to Armenia. In 1922 the remaining 800 Armenians of Arapgir settled in Soviet Armenia. Most people that escaped the alleged genocide settled in Yerevan a district called Arabkir District.
  • THE KING (guest)
    Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God (Armenian: Սուրբ Աստվածածին վանք, Surp Asdvadzadzin or Արաբկիրի մայր եկեղեցի, Arabkiri mayr yekeghetsi; Turkish: Arapkir Ana Kilisesi) was an 13th century Armenian Apostolic cathedral in Arapgir, Turkey. The Cathedral of Arapgir named Holy Mother of God was built in the 13th century. It was one of the biggest churches in Western Armenia (today Eastern Anatolia). It was able to house 3,000 people. The cathedral was attacked and looted and burnt in 1915 during the Armenian Genocide. After the Armenian Genocide the cathedral was repaired and was used as a school. In 1950 the Municipality of Arapgir decided to demolish the cathedral. On September 18, 1957 the cathedral was blown up with dynamite. And later, the land where the cathedral stood was sold to a peasant named Hüseyin for 28,005 lira.Today, in place of the cathedral are ruins.
This article was last modified 7 years ago