I have taken this photo on September 19, 2010, on the opening day of the Holy Cross Church on Akdamar Island, Turkey. Invited by “Hrant Dink” Foundation, we attended the event with a group of journalists. Islamized Armenians also visited Akdamar to take part in the opening ceremony of the Church. They were talking in Turkish or Kurdish and our Istanbul- Armenians compatriots were translating into Armenian. For example, this old man by the name Farzanda from the village Shenik, knowing that I am from Armenia, came close to me and said that he is looking for his relative in Yerevan, who, according to him, was born in Turin, his name is Vardan Vardanyan and is lecturing at one of the universities in Yerevan. At that time, Farzanda grandfather was 70 years old. He was a secret Armenian who accepted Islam. Farzandan told that his father’s name was Ulikhan and last name – Gyulbadagh(yan). Farzanday’s Kurdish groom named Bashir left even his phone number so that his relatives in Yerevan would contact him. Later, we learned from a Turkish Armenian residing in Armenia that on reading Bashir’s phone number in “Aravot” newspaper and seeing Farzanda Gyulbudagh’s photo, the relatives in Yerevan have called him, found him and met with him.
Gohar HAKOBYAN
