This photo was taken in September 2010 at the «Hotel Garden Van» in the city of Van. The man in the photo is a Muslim Armenian Sinan Demirbash, at that time he was 38 years old. He was happy knowing that there are Armenians in the hotel. He came close and got acquainted with the group of journalists. He told that his ancestors were blacksmiths, and he was engaged in knitting industry.
Years ago, before his death, his grandfather Jafer had called Sinan’s mother and said that they are Armenians showing his family photos. Sinan told that the last name of his grandfather’s uncles was Sargsyan and after the massacre they fled to Yerevan. And the grandfather, who was a child in the cradle, was brought up by a Kurdish family. Sinan was shocked at first learning about his Armenian origin. Sinan also said that there are around 1000 converted Armenians in the city of Van, and many of them keep their origins secret. His Turkish acquaintance by the name Isa Yavuz was also present at our conversation. The latter was constantly curious if Sinan finds his Christian relatives living in Armenia, whether they will make him to be converted.
Gohar HAKOBYAN
