Agos, 18 February 2000 

“We often see headlines in the paper that say something along the lines of “Caught selling fake treasure maps” or “Swindled by fake treasurehunters”.

We once had one in Agos, too. It went, “People of Armenian-origin selling fake treasure maps.” We tracked down the director of the Erzurum Museum who had voiced the claim, unearthed the truth, and conveyed it to you, our readers.

It turned out that the Museum Director had not said, “It was Armenians.” What he actually said was, “People who introduce themselves as Armenians are conning people with maps that they claim show the spot where their grandfathers buried gold before migrating.”

Rather different, aren’t they, what he said, and what they understood. But never mind… In any case, today’s topic is not about who said what.

***

Those who are familiar with this kind of thing know well that treasure hunting is quite a popular vocation in Anatolia. There is a type of person known as a ‘treasure fanatic’ who has dedicated their life to this pursuit. Legend has it that there is even a special coffee-shop in Aksaray, Istanbul, where treasure-hunters like to hang out.

These types have many a time come knocking at the door of Agos clutching old pieces of paper that they can’t read or decipher.

And the way they apprehensively extend their maps, as if you might snatch it out of their hand and make off with it, you wouldn’t believe it.

But never mind, our real topic of discussion is not those maps, either.

***

How aware are those who seek Armenian treasures below the ground of the Armenian treasure that lies above the ground?

Experience suggests that they have no idea.

The source of the treasure lying above the ground was of course the people who escaped forced migration and found a way to remain on their own lands. Those who remained, and their children, continued their lives in Anatolia for as long as they could. But their value, sadly, was not recognized either. Their schools and churches were taken from them. Over time, they trickled away, first towards Istanbul, and then to all corners of the world. Today, there are so few of them left in Anatolia that they have almost disappeared.

***

The real treasure is what they produced and what they planted in the ground. Dedicated followers of Agos’s long-running page-two column ‘Bir zamanlar’ [Once upon a time] that concluded last week must have uttered many a sigh as they read about the schools, churches or hospitals left behind in villages across Anatolia. We left behind more than three thousand churches, more than two thousand schools and also countless homes, businesses, hospitals etc.

The value of the people had not been recognized but was the value of what they left behind recognized, at least?

You wish?

***

Today, Anatolian Armenians continue to experience Anatolia in an area that includes the whole world, an area known as the Diaspora.

We could easily call the Diaspora ‘Anatolia reflected across the world’. Those who really understand history shall see that Anatolia was at the centre of this dispersion. So much so that even in Armenia today there are settlements named after places in Anatolia: Nor (New) Malatya, Nor Arapgir, Nor Pütanya, Nor Sepasdiya or Nor Gesaria.[1] There, they have established a place similar to the one they left behind and they live on 251 with their Anatolian identities.

***

In the last few days, the construction of new Genocide Monuments or draft laws proposing the recognition of genocide have been accepted in the US State of Virginia, and in the Netherlands. And next week, the disingenuous French will once again debate the infamous Genocide Law at the French Senate.

Here in Turkey, the usual motions will be repeated. People will once again talk about the trickery of Armenian lobbies and the same old script will once again be enacted in precisely the same manner as it has been for years.

Yet there is a path that could be taken to escape.

And I believe that the real treasure is hidden at the end of that path.

***

The most effective way of taking the ammunition out of the hands of those who seek to exploit it and stopping them from using it whenever it suits them is to find a way to establish direct dialogue with the people whose affection we have lost.

The first thing that needs to be done to achieve this is to support relations between Turkey and Armenia.

The second is to solve the problems of the Armenians of Turkey without the need for any external imposition or warning.

The third, and most important, is to win back the Diasporan Anatolia.

***

Believe me, I am not talking about a utopia or an impossible dream.

Life itself is witness to the great results that can come from simple steps and small initiatives.

Instead of the approach that goes, “We want to make money, let’s go for Religious Tourism,” we have to try an approach that says, “We need to show the sincere desire to win back people’s affection.” To nail to that building even a tiny sign saying, “This mosque was converted from the Surp Krikor Lusarovich Church left behind by the Armenians,” would naturally be more creative, and more reconciliatory than the constant bickering of “I did this because you did that.”

That is how I would map a path that leads to treasure.

[1] Malatya, Arapgir, Pütanya [modern-day Izmit], Sepasdiya [modern-day Sivas] and Gesaria [modern-day Kayseri] are all towns and cities in Anatolia that once had a significant Armenian population