Kayseri was selected as a starting location to smooth the transition between the current project and Revealing and Advocating the Multicultural Heritage of Anatolia project. Kayseri with its Develi district constitute important locations to observe the Armenian cultural heritage, with Develi having survived as home for an Armenian community up until the 1960's.
Develi is chosen in this project as one of the three memory sites where the work will be conducted. Develi, or Evereg-Fenese, the twin towns that are two neighborhoods of Develi, was home to a vibrant Armenian community, with two churches, many schools, arts and crafts, trades, festivals, rituals, a heritage put in short. Project's goal is to collect what remains of the memory of the Armenians and share it with the inhabitants of Develi and work with them towards a sustainable reuse of what remains buildings, objects and memories.
As the current project differs from the previous one by its concentration on reuse of the sites of memory rather than on mapping them, the project needs local contacts and partners to achieve its goals. For this reason the project team allocated the entire first fieldwork to establishing these contacts and discussing with them the possibilities of working together.
The project team was joined by architect Mr. Zakarya Mildanoğlu, acclaimed expert of Armenian cultural heritage, restorator and longtime friend of the Hrant Dink Foundation. More than 30 meetings were conducted with civil society organizations, local governments, universities, profession groups and individuals who live and work in Kayseri center or the district of Develi. The project team received a warm welcome and had the chance to develop working relationship with the civil society organizations and the local authorities. The project team is currently working on developing the workshop contents for the next fieldwork trip.