Vakıflı, Samandağ

Vakıflı Köyü (Armenian: Վաքըֆ Vak'ëf, pronounced [ˈvakʰəf]) is the only remaining Armenian village in Turkey.[2][3] Located on the slopes of Musa Dagh in the Samandağ district of Hatay Province, the village overlooks the Mediterranean Sea and is within eyesight of the Syrian border. It is home to a community of about 130 Turkish-Armenians.[3] The local Western Armenian dialect is highly divergent and cannot be fully understood by other Western Armenians.

Vakıflı

Վաքըֆ
Vak'ëf
Village
Village Church
Vakıflı
Location of Vakıflı within Turkey
Coordinates: 36°06′53″N 35°58′31″E
Country Turkey
RegionMediterranean
ProvinceHatay
Population
 (2019)
 • Total135[1]
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

The residents of Vakıflı are the descendants of those Armenians who resisted the Armenian genocide of 1915 on Musa Dagh.[2] For 53 days they repelled attacks by Turkish troops until French sailors sighted a banner that the Armenians had tied to a tree on the mountain emblazoned with the words "Christians in Distress: Rescue".[4] After being transported to Port Said by the French, seven Armenian villages returned to their homes while Hatay was under French occupation starting from 1918.[5] Following an agreement between France and Turkey and a controversial Referendum, the district reverted to Turkey on June 29, 1939, a move still not recognized by Syria. After this move the other six Armenian villages immigrated out of Hatay settling in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, especially Anjar, while the residents of Vakıflı chose to stay.[5]

Vakıflı suffered from a lack of jobs until the mid-2000s, prompting the younger generation to move to Istanbul.[6] An estimated 500 former residents of Vakıflı live in Istanbul, and the village population increases to around 300 in summer as they visit.[6] However, with the help of the district governor (kaymakam) and the TEMA Foundation, which identified ten villages and developed specific projects for each village to stop the urban migration, Vakıflı was selected for development of organic farming and eco-tourism, and the village obtained the only EU organic farming certification in the region.[7][8] In 2004, Vakıflı Village Cooperative exported organic oranges worth one million Euros, giving hope of economic viability to the village and prompting some villagers to move back from Istanbul.[2][9]

Between 1994 and 1997, the village church was reconstructed and expanded with assistance from the Turkish government.[4] In 2005, Vakıflı restored its old school building, turning it into a bed-and-breakfast, with two more old houses being converted to bed-and-breakfasts.[10] With the help of the local government and the Association for Development of Vakıflı, an Istanbul based organization, a project for ecotourism is being implemented that aims to restore the traditional stone houses of the village.[2][11]

Recent development

Vakıflı hosted 20 Syrian refugees of Armenian origin from Kesab during the Syrian civil war.[12]

Education

Children in the village take school buses to schools away from the village.[13]

See also

References
  1. http://www.vakiflikoy.com/vakifli-koyu/koy-halkimiz
  2. Kalkan, Ersin (2005-07-31). "Türkiye'nin tek Ermeni köyü Vakıflı". Hürriyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 2007-02-22.
  3. Campbell, Verity (2007). Turkey. Lonely Planet. ISBN 978-1-74104-556-7.
  4. Naegele, Jolyon (1999-05-27). "Turkey: Village Survived The Century's First Mass Ethnic Expulsion". Radio Free Europe. Retrieved 2007-02-23.
  5. Başlangıç, Celal (2002-07-29). "Musa'dan notlar". Radikal (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
  6. Kaplan, Pervin (1998-04-29). "Türkiye'nin tek Ermeni köyü" (in Turkish). Radikal. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
  7. Küçük, Mustafa (2006-08-21). "Bu köyler kurtulursa göç dönecek". Hürriyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 2007-02-22.
  8. Ercan, Şerif (2005-10-01). "Vakıflı'nın kaderi organik tarıma bağlı". Sabah (in Turkish). Retrieved 2007-02-22.
  9. "TMOK'tan 25 fair play ödülü". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 2005-05-05. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
  10. Arslan, Adem Yavuz (25 July 2005). "Son Ermeni Köyü: Vakıflı". Aksiyon (in Turkish). Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  11. http://america.aljazeera.com/multimedia/2015/4/for-last-armenian-village-in-turkey-no-remembrance-of-things-past.html
  12. Sol newspaper (9. of April, 2014)
  13. Amos, Deborah (2015-04-22). "Last Armenian Village In Turkey Keeps Silent About 1915 Slaughter". National Public Radio (NPR). Retrieved 2019-06-11.
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