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    Did You Know

    Compiled by Jirair Tutunjian

    Keghart.com



    During the Second World War the British War Office intelligence branch
    (MI-9) hired Nubar Gulbenkian to create a secret operation to escort
    British survivors of the Dunkirk debacle from France to Spain. Gulbenkian
    was in his thirties, wealthy and an official in the neutral Iranian
    legation in London. He had sought out British agents and volunteered to
    carry out undercover assignments in foreign countries. Disguised as a
    traveling salesman, he hired, in the southern French city of Perpignan,
    garage owner Michel Pareyre who successfully escorted British escapees over
    the Pyrenees to Spain. (`Secret Tales of WWII' by William B. Breur).


    In `The Emergence of Modern Turkey' (1962), British historian Bernard Lewis
    wrote that Turkey had killed 1.5 million Armenians in 1915. However, in his
    revised (2002) version of the book, he replaced Armenian `holocaust' with
    `slaughter' and changed the 1.5 million to `according to estimates, more
    than a million,' and a concluding remark that an `unknown number of Turks
    who also died in the putative struggle for possession of a single
    homeland.' What changed between 1962 and 2002? Lewis entered politics and
    decided to take sides for economic, professional, and personal reasons. The
    historian's interests lay with the Turkish government, not historic truth.


    Traders from Armenia frequented the Indian subcontinent as early as 2000
    BC. Winding their way along tortuous mountains and following the Silk Road
    through Iran and Afghanistan they headed to India for the spices, muslin,
    and precious stones. (`The Daily Star', Dhaka, Sept. 4, 2006)


    While some people believe that the first Christian edifice is the Monastery
    of St. Anthony in the eastern desert of Egypt is the first Christian
    edifice in the world, the historical reality is claimed by the Monastery of
    St. Echmiadzin which was built in 303 A.D.


    Upon Sultan Selim the Grim's commission, Sinan undertook extensive work to
    rebuild Jerusalem. He overseered the construction and repair of the city
    walls and gates. He installed a water supply system, including many sabil
    roadside fountains and restored the Western Wall. The latter is considered
    the most complete and finest city wall built anywhere in the world in the 16
    th century (length 3,800 metres, with towers about 4,325 metres). The
    Armenian architect also designed the Damascus Gate, to this day the major
    entry point to the Old City. But Sinan's main achievement was the redesign
    of the interior and exterior of the Dome of the Rock, and replacing the
    walls of the sanctuary with glazed porcelain tiles from Iznik.
    (`Illustrated History of Jerusalem' by Meir Ben-Dov).


    Haig Manoogian taught film making to director Martin Scorsese at New York
    University. The famed Italian-American director dedicated `Raging Bull' to
    his teacher, who had just died before the release of the film.


    Because Armenians didn't have a native alphabet, they used Greek or
    Assyrian letters until St. Mesrob Mashdots created the Armenian alphabet.
    Thus on King Dikran's coin the inscription says, in Greek,
    `BASILEWS/BASILEON TIGPANOY' (King of Kings Tigranes) in Greek. The
    inscription on the coin of Levon VI, the French-Armenian king of Armenia,
    has the words `by the will of God'. On the reverse, there are two lions
    rampant, a cross with two bars. In his silver tram, the king is seated on a
    throne with lions at his feet. He is wearing a crown and royal mantle and
    holds a cross in his right hand and a fleur-de-lis in his left. In the
    copper Leon coin, the bearded king is wearing a crown with five dots. The
    inscription says `king of Armenia' and has a cross. The coin was struck in
    Sis, the last medieval capital of Cilician Armenia.


    `The Complete Joy of Homebrewing' by Charlie Papazian (1984) has dominated
    as the bible of homebrewers since its publication.


    Samuel Karapetian, owner of Tashir Holding, had the third-highest annual
    revenue ($720 million) in Russia last year. Russian-Armenian real estate
    mogul Danil Khachaturov was 25th with revenues of $80. Gagik Adibekyan (26th)
    earned $70.


    At the age of eighty-seven, William Gladstone delivered (Sept. 24, 1896)
    his last great public speech. It was in his native city of Liverpool. It
    lasted an hour and twenty minutes. It was heard by more than 6,000 people
    and it was recalled in the House of Commons a quarter century later as `one
    of the best speeches of his long career. His subject was the Hamidian
    massacres of Armenians. He said: `=85of all the nations in the world no
    history has been so blameless as the history of the Armenian people.' (`The
    Armenians' by A.E. Redgate).


    Drtad I (Tiridates), the brother of Arsacid liege of Parthia and first
    Arsacid to rule Armenia, visited Rome in 66 A.D. during the reign of
    Emperor Nero. Rome and Parthia struggled to dominate Armenia and had
    eventually reached a compromise. Armenia was to be ruled by Tiridates but
    he had to receive his crown from Nero. Tiridates was also a pagan priest
    and became a hero in Rome for his martial skills. His journey to Rome
    contributed immensely to Iranian legends. It may also lie behind the
    Christ's legend of the Three Magi. According to some legends, the prototype
    of Magi Casper/Gadaspar was Armenian.


    King of Kings Dikran (Tigranes) conquered Sophene, recovered seventy
    valleys, probably in Media Atropatene, which had been the price paid to
    Parthia for his accession. He subjugated Atropatene, Adiabene, and Gordyne.
    He raided Media, subordinated Commagne and Osrhoene (Mesopatamia), and took
    over Syria as far as Egypt. Dikran also conquered Phoenicia and Cilicia. By
    70 B.C. he was perceived in Judea as a potential threat. Judean queen,
    Alexandria, won him over with gifts and treaties. His armies included
    Armenians, Arabs, and soldiers from Gordyne, Media, Adiabene, Albania, and
    Iberia. (`The Armenians' by A.E. Redgate).


    While researching his classic book on Armenians (`The Crossing Place'),
    British journalist Philip Marsden visited Catholicos Karekin II in
    Antelias, Lebanon. Describing the catholicos, Marsden wrote: `He smokes
    cigars personalized with a silk band (reading H.H. Karekin II), for `in
    Beirut even spiritual leaders have to behave like warlords.'

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