Middle East Armenian Newsletter

24 October 2009
Blessing ceremony of Saint Garabed Armenian church at =he Baptism Site in Jordan
On Friday 16 Octob=r 2009, the blessing ceremony of Saint Garabed Armenian church at the Bapt=sm Site in Jordan took place, held by Archbishop Nourhan Manougian, Patria=chal Vicar of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Several religious and other personalitie= from the Armenian community in Amman and Jerusalem attended this importan= ceremony. The church will be built on land donated by the Jordanian state= Benefactor Dr. Vicken Garabedian will undertake the expenses of building =he church. The architect is Ardag Ghoulian, supported by follow-up work by=architect Dalia Khorsheed. The contractor is Mohammad Al Kurdi.


Chain of years... with two Armenian winners=/div>
The British Council is celebrating =ts 75th anniversary with a series of different cultural events that show a=rich period of cultural exchange between the United Kingdom and 110 countr=es worldwide, promoting mutual understanding and respect.

In Aleppo (Syria) and in collaboration w=th the 10th International Photography Festival and "Le Pont" photo gallery= the works of 75 Syrian photographers were on display in an exhibition / c=ntest, entitled "Chain of years". Read all
<=font>

Tony Moroyan: Armenia has an absolutely remarkable hig=-tech future
Tony Moroyan transitted via D=bai in August 2009. Azad-Hye met him in the Festival City and had the foll=wing interview.

C=n you tell us a about the concept of Armtch?

Let me start by saying that I've been involved with Armenia since 1991= I was invited there to help the government come up with a plan to r=vive the economy after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The critical ques=ion at the time was, what are the building blocks to create Armenian econo=y. High-tech industry given precedence, because it was seen as the key to =rmenia's survival and its differentiation in the region. Read=all


Tamar Der-Ohannessian: A new book on Armenian loss dur=ng the Genocide
Long tim= resident of Abu Dhabi, Mrs. Tamar Topjian Der-Ohannessian, who has served=also as principal of the one-day Armenian school in Abu Dhabi for more tha= two decades, is known for her translation work from Armenian to English. =br />

Her first has been a =ook about Armenian political and military figure Drastamat Kanayan (common=y known as Dro), written by his close associate Simon Vratsian, the last P=ime Minister of the First Republic (1918-1920). The 126-page book, titled =Tempest-born Dro", was published in 2000 by the Armenian Apostolic Church =f America. Read all


Antranig Daghlian: Our unity is a top priority
Antranig Daghlian, a graduate of Yerevan Polytechnic, an architect by =rofession, has lived in the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf states for m=re than three decades.

Four years after the publishing of his memoirs, Azad-Hye m=t Mr. Daghlian and asked him about the past, present and future of the Arm=nian diaspora in the world generally and in the UAE in particular.

Could you describe the activities=of the Armenian Cultural Association of Abu Dhabi and how it was initially=formed? Read all<=tr>



Arthur Ghukasian: From Armenia to Greece and Spain=/font>
Few decades =go there were no more than few hundred Armenians in Spain, mostly students=or businessmen. The situation however has changed now and the number of Ar=enians is more than 50 thousand. They have concentrations in certain areas= The first Armenian Church was opened in a small town near Barcelona in Au=ust 2009 (a chapel leased to the Armenian Apostolic Church for thirty year=).

Arthur Ghukasian is an intellectua= and a reporter based in Valencia. He knows the diaspora very well, as he =as lived in several countries before settling down in Spain.

We had the following interview with Arthur Ghukasian, tracing the=development of the Armenian community in Spain through his own personal st=ry. Read all


Silva Hairabedian: We need to share our values, custom= and traditions with our surrounding.

Every time in Jordan, we discover more about the Armenian Jordanian vi=rant community.

The most interesting aspect in this community =s the insistence in creating bridges of communication with the Armenian co=munities in the Middle East. At every opportunity, the youth travels to th= neighboring locations (to Damascus, Aleppo, Kessab, Anjar, Beirut, etc). = certain percentage of the community itself carries the citizenship of Syr=a, Lebanon, Egypt and most recently Iraq.

Independent Armenia is not felt as st=ong here as it should be, mainly because Armenia has not yet opened an Emb=ssy in Amman (although both Georgia and Azerbaijan have their full mission= in the country). Read all


DerHova: My ears are my guidelines
DerHova was suddenly a familiar name in Armenia especially a=ter the huge success of Sirusho's "Qele qele" that ranked Armenia in the 4=h place at 2008 Eurovision Song Contest.


Haroutyun Derhovagimian or simply DerHova (also previously=known as Mark Ryan) widely became known as one of Canada's prominent dance=music producers and remixers during the 90's. In 1997, after the huge succ=ss of the Billboard charting cover version of Alphaville's classic hit "Fo=ever Young", he established his own studio and continued supporting and pr=ducing local talents in different genres. In 2002 he moved to Armenia and =ince 2006 began to surprise the Armenian music world with massive big hits=such as "Qami pchi", winner of Hit of the Year award at the annual Ar=enian National Music Awards in 2006 and "Ore Yev Nergan" which again won t=e Hit of the Year award at the 2007 Armenian National Music Awards.


Nairy Markarian: Founder of the Jordanian Rose of Hope=Society
Nairy Vahreeg Markarian is the founder of th= Jordanian Rose of Hope Society for Arthritis Patients.

Established in 2009 the Society aims at =roviding comfortable, joyful and fruitful life for arthritis patients in a=welcoming Jordanian society. Its objective is to raise public awareness of=arthritis, organize various activities for arthritis patients, provide pat=ents with necessary equipments and physical aids, lobby the Jordanian gove=nment for the inclusion of arthritis patients in social security and medic=tion programs and conduct vocational training for the patients.

We had the following interview with Nairy Mark=rian:

What was the reason behind establishin= this society and how the idea became a reality? Read al=


Anna Manougian: My aim is to give the students the tas=e of dancing art
Shakeh Dance Group of the Armenian Relief Society=staged a very impressive performance in Kuwait on 08 May 2009.

Azad-Hye had the following interview with danc= teacher Anna Manougian:

Could you please give us information a=out your background?

I was born in Yerevan and had my high school e=ucation in French inclination school there. I am a graduate of choreograph= school too, which I used to follow in the afternoons, without affecting m= ordinary curriculum.

After the graduation, I wished to continue in choreography= but due to some injuries that I had, I was not allowed to do so. I am a g=aduate of polytechnic school and engineer by profession. I was married to =r. Manoog Manoogian, who is currently the Principal of the Kuwait Armenian=School. He is originally from Aleppo. We lived together in Aleppo for 12 y=ars before coming to Kuwait. Read all


Mihran Minassian receives the first prize of the Syria= Translation Award
Syrian Armenian researcher and translato= Mihran Minassian, received the biggest prize of the newly established Syr=an state translation contest named after "Sami Al Droubi", a translator fr=m the city of Homs.


49 translators from Syria submitted their works in poetry,=novel, short story, theatre, humanities, etc, covering 11 languages, all t=anslated from their original sources.

Dr. Nabil Haffar, head of the jury appointed by the Minist=y of Culture, announced the results in Al Asad Library in Damascus on 22 J=ly 2009, in the presence of large number of writers, translators, official= and the public. Read all
=/div>

Azad-Hye receives Certificate of Honor on the occasion=of the Armenian Press Day
Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan hande= certificates of honor to Armenian presses and chairwoman of the Journalis=s Union of Armenia
On the occasion of Armenian Press Day,

Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakob=an handed certificates of honor to "Azg" and "Aravot" dailies (editors-in-=hief Hakob Avetikyan, Aram Abrahamyan), "Aztag" daily (editor-in-chief Sha=an Gantaharyan), the US "Armenian Observer" weekly (editor-in-chief Oshin =eshishian), the "Azad-Hye" news portal of the United Arab Emirates (foundi=g editor Hrach Kalsahakian), the "Analitika" center for news and analyses =director Marat Hakobyan) and chairwoman of the Journalists Union of Armeni= Astghik Gevorgyan.

The=presses were handed the awards for development of the Armenia-Diaspora par=nership and preservation of the Armenian identity, while Astghik Gevorgyan=was awarded for her long-running career in news and social-political journ=lism. Read all
<=div>




Quick Links
News
Articles
Forums
Directory
Links
Downloads
Photos
Services
Events Calendar
UAE Diary
Pan-Armenian Diary
<=trong>Radio
Arabic
Russian
Business

About us

Forward email

This email was sent to zatik@zatik.com by mailto:hrach@emirates.net.ae.
Up=ate Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ |=Privacy Policy.
Email M=rketing by


Azad-Hye | P. O. Bo= 94670 | Dubai | United Arab Emirates

Azad Hay