Armenian Heritage and Memory Beyond the Borders Armenian Heritage and Memory Beyond the Borders | Page 8

“We were all as pale as corpses, but tried in vain to smile at the
passengers. The boat started to sail away. A mother’s face was
gradually growing fainter as the boat sailed further into the distance.
Next to us, her teenage daughter struggled to smile in an attempt to
hide all the suffering in her young soul. The combination of the mother’s
face disappearing into the grey mist, the mournful melodies flowing
out of the cafes on the pier, the patter of the rain—at once cruel and
calming—falling on the city exalted my soul with a feeling that made me
lightheaded and caused my knees to go weak.
On our way back, we were all sad and absorbed in thought. In a red
nightmare, I saw the city in flames, displaced people in a faraway place,
enraged girls in mourning and gallows—gallows everywhere!
What was then only a vague nightmare would become my world in a
matter of a few hours.” -Towards Cilicia by Zabel Yesayan (an excerpt
from Amid the Ruins (1911) translated by Jennifer Manoukian
As of 2015, on the one hand people weren’t aware about Yesayan’s
literary heritage, on the other hand her some books began to be
translated. Her books were firstly translated from English translation into
Turkish but then Aras Publishing took the responsibility of translating
her books from Armenian. Amid The Ruins, My Soul in Exile, The
Last Cup (Chalice), Meliha Nuri Hanım were translated under Aras
Publishing so far. Some parts of The Gardens of Silihdar was translated
from English translation. Depending upon this text, Yesayan’s life has
been adopted to theatre and played for many years in Turkey. On the
other hand, Aras Publishing aims to publish Turkish translation of this
whole text from Armenian.
As far as i’ve observed, Yesayan is more known than other Western
Armenian Feminists but there also many people that aren’t aware of
who Zabel Yesayan is in Armenia. A documentary called Finding Zabel
Yesayan directed by Lara Aharonian and Talin Suciyan indicates how
Yesayan has been wiped out from Armenian people’s memory although
she lived in Yerevan and her name was given for a street in Yerevan.
Vartuhi Calanthar Nalbandian (1895 Bursa- 1978 Washington DC)
Since her having been closed to Dashnaktsutyun circle (The Armenian
Revolutionary Federation), she spent the whole 2 years of her life in
the 20s in the women’s section of Istanbul’s famous central prison.
Her father was also kept prison in the war times in Istanbul. She was
accused of pursuing and spreading Armenian Nationalist propaganda
and she was jailed with her father. After the war, she released