Visiting Kazan Scholar Ümit Kurt at Fresno State

Michael Rettig

Staff Writer

Ümit Kurt, a doctoral candidate at Clark University (Worcester, MA) studying under Dr. Taner Akçam, will be spending the Fall semester at Fresno State as a Kazan Visiting Scholar. Armenian Studies Program Coordinator Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian invited Kurt to complete his dissertation on “The Emergence of the New Wealthy Class between 1915-1923: The Seizure of Armenian Property by the Local Elites in Aintab” and to continue his research.

Kurt was inspired to learn more about the Armenian Genocide after a chance visit to a café in his native Aintab. “I didn’t have any knowledge regarding the presence of Armenians in my hometown until I was 24 years old. My friend wanted to get together and suggested that we meet at the Papirüs Café in Aintab. I had never been to this neighborhood and I was amazed to see such beautiful houses and architecture. I saw unfamiliar letters on the wall which made me curious and I wanted to get more information. I went to the owner of the café and said ‘you are very lucky to have this great place.’ He said that it was his grandfather’s, who had passed it down in the family.”

After pressing him further, Kurt said that the man eventually admitted where his family had gotten the house. “He said ‘there were Armenians here!’ So I asked him where they were and he said ‘they are all gone.’ Just like that, so simple.” The experience inspired Kurt to read more about the Armenians. He explained that he felt ashamed that he was born, raised, and educated in Aintab and yet didn’t know its real history. “It was an embarrassment and after that I read whatever I could find.”

According to Kurt, there is an awareness of the past presence of Armenians in Aintab. “Everybody knows. By that I mean that by the time someone reaches a certain age, their 50s or 60s, they know that the Armenians used to live here and they used to be rich. They know which house belonged to whom and they know how they were deported and exiled. There is an awareness of the whole story, but they don’t want to express this in public,” said Kurt.

Kurt has been able to spend considerable time researching in the Turkish archives. For the most part Kurt has had an easy time studying in Turkey, but he has had some difficulties in accessing particular segments of the archive.

“While I haven’t had any kind of problem in terms of studying, I wasn’t able to reach essential documents which I was looking for. Those documents, which were about the liquidation of Armenian properties, were not accessible to me because they were closed to researchers.”

Kurt also studied in France, the United Kingdom, and Armenia. His first visit to Yerevan was in 2008. “It was as if I was at home; I was quite comfortable doing my research there. I also met many Aintabsis in Yerevan who shared their ancestors’ experiences with me.” When asked about his future research goals, Kurt expressed an interest in studying the Aintab War, which took place between the French and Kemalist forces in 1920-1921.

Kurt will be giving a lecture on “A Kurdish Schindler: Story of a ‘Savior,’” the account of Turkish Military officer Cemil Kunneh. The lecture will take place at 7:30PM on Friday, November 6, in the University Business Center at Fresno State. The lecture is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact the Armenian Studies Program at 559-278-2669 or visit the ASP website at fresnostate.edu/armenianstudies.