Another Priest attacked in Turkey

[phantom]

Phamtom your grandma was Greek ?
or did you just use word yaya because we grew up with Greeks

No, but my other grandmother was Greek, and we called both of them Yaya for some reason. Sometimes, we would call my Armenian grandma medzmama, but rarely.

[hitite]

Ah Ha, so that's where it comes from! I used to play this game with my grandma when I was a kid. What a character she was! Whenever I or my brother would mess with her, she would say "kedilere maskara olduk". Then whenever my dad would yell at her, she would say "itim soyler, gotum dinler," with a sly grin on her face. That used to crack me up, and now I use it sometimes. Then sometimes she would cut a fart, and I would say, "yaya, ne yapiyorsun gene", and she would say, "ne yapayim, delik asaya dogru". Those were the good ol' days, let me tell you.

You just lightened up this grim grey Turkish morning.

[phantom]

Yok Yok ALlah gecinden versin, seytan'dan Allah'a siginmak lazim. Sen yinede azade ol seytanlardan
yeteri kadar cinleri tepesinde Ermeni var, sen bari eksik ol.

Ne yapalim, Turklerlen urasmak icin Allah demeki yetmiyor, cinleri cebimize almakdan baska caremiz kalmadi.

Apologies to my Armenian friends here, but it's hard to translate this stuff into English, unless you're a brilliant translator like Gavur !

My grandma is also a very fun person. When I used to get in trouble when I was a kid she would say "Cok gezen tavuk ayaginda pislik getirir".

For our Armenian friends: "The chicken who goes around a lot brings back dirt on his feet."

So you and your grandma spoke Turkish with each other?"

Yes, almost exclusively. But of course she was completely fluent in Armenian too, and sometimes we spoke Armenian together. She taught me how to say my prayers (Hayr Mer)(Our Father) in Armenian. When we moved to America, I think it was the greatest catastrophe that ever happened to her. She used to complain about how life here sucked, and how much better it was in Turkey. She was too old, and could not figure out American people. They amused her, much the way cartoons amuse children. But I don't think she looked at them like real people, and she truly could not understand the American way of life. I remember that whenever the old people (the grandparents) would sit around and talk (always with their coffee), it would usually be one long xxxxx-fest about how much better life was in Turkey than in America. All except for my Greek grandma, who also spoke Turkish fluently; she appreciated American life much more than the others, and she participated in it much more than the other old folks that I grew up with. Nonetheless, she also thought Americans were a little crazy.

The IStanbul( I mean the real Istanbul) Turkish is really rich, which we really are deprived off now. I have an older friend who is a teacher in a high school. He had visited several IStanbulian Greek and Armenian families in the past. He once said to me, if I want to hear old Istanbul Turkish, the best and easiest way is to meet with an Istanbul Greek or Armenian. They mostly preserved old Istanbul culture, unfortunetly there are few pockets that's left in Istanbul that has the authentic culture.?"

When I think about my own little family, it was such a mix of Armenian, Greek and Turkish. And everyone got along famously, even though it's hard to believe. It was an awesome mix, and gave the family such a wonderful and vibrant flavor. The weekly weekend family gatherings were filled with Armenian, Turkish and Greek music and food; you could hear all three languages being spoken at the same time at different corners of the house. When I think about it, I feel the tragedy of what could have been. The countries (Turkey and Armenia) are beautiful places; the people are beautiful people; the cultures are rich and vibrant; they could have complemented each other and strengthened each other. What an absolute tragedy that they didn't. Some of the Armenians here may think it was for the better, because we may have been swallowed up sheerly because of our lower numbers and birthrates. But my family is proof that mixing does not eliminate the Armenian sense; it seems to come back as you get older for some reason, even if you weren't infused with it during your childhood, and even if you're not 100% Armenian by blood. Why else am I here, and interested in the Armenian people so much? Anyway, it is a tragedy. Humans seem to always manage to f--- things up (sorry for my language). If the Armenians, Turks and Greeks could have lived in one country together in peace and with equality, I can only imagine the kind of place Turkey/Armenia could have been today. With Armenian brains and Turkish might, who could have messed with us? Instead, Turkey has to suck American and Israeli balls, while Armenia gets double-banged by Russia and Iran. It sucks!

PS: This is kind of unrelated, you know the dessert "Revani" right? Is it kind of related with Armenians, because in Ottoman times Erivan used to be called as Revan, so Revani sounds like Erivanian?

I don't know, but maybe one of our other members knows? Gavur, do you know?

[phantom]

You just lightened up this grim grey Turkish morning.

It was my pleasure. Memories of my grandma always put a smile on my face. For those of us who grew up with their grandparents in the house, it's a gift for which we should all be very grateful to our parents. Nowadays, it's hard to find a woman who would tolerate living with her kaynana (mother-in-law), but if you find one, marry her, because your children will have better childhoods. That's my two cents on that subject.

[1.5 million]

My Grandmother (also from Istanbul) as well spoke Turkish, Greek and Armenian fluently (of course she also spoke French, English, Italian and a few others rather well - I think the claim was 9 languages...) Anyway - She and those of our family and friends of her generation would speak Turkish amongst each other when they talked together (and didn't want those of my mothers generation to know what they were talking about as they spoke only Armenian and English). In a similar veign I once brought my Grandmother to a Greek restaurant where I worked and she jabbered away in greek with everyone (after having not spoke a word of Greek for 30 years she said) - anyway all the Greeks were so very impressed as they said her Greek was perfect and that no one could ever know that she wasn't Greek.

[phantom]

My Grandmother (also from Istanbul) as well spoke Turkish, Greek and Armenian fluently (of course she also spoke French, English, Italian and a few others rather well - I think the claim was 9 languages...) Anyway - She and those of our family and friends of her generation would speak Turkish amongst each other when they talked together (and didn't want those of my mothers generation to know what they were talking about as they spoke only Armenian and English). In a similar veign I once brought my Grandmother to a Greek restaurant where I worked and she jabbered away in greek with everyone (after having not spoke a word of Greek for 30 years she said) - anyway all the Greeks were so very impressed as they said her Greek was perfect and that no one could ever know that she wasn't Greek.

Why was she fluent in Greek and all of those other languages? Why did your family leave Istanbul, and when? Are you 100% Armenian?

[1.5 million]

My Great Grandfather remained in Istanbul until 1960-61 or thereabouts and only left when my Great Grandmother died. I have a picture of myself as a baby in his arms. My Grandmother was tutored in most of those languages in a similar capacity as to why she recieved private voice lessons from Gomidas (though her beautiful voice was certainly some part of it). She left Istanbul after the war to escape an arranged marraige and left for Paris - where she lived as a Bohemian for several years before joining her brother in the States where she met my grandfather who was orphaned at age 12 and had lived in a poor village near Divrig all his life. I am only Armenian on my mother's side...helps for getting around Turkey - having a non-Armenian name eh?

[phantom]

My Great Grandfather remained in Istanbul until 1960-61 or thereabouts and only left when my Great Grandmother died. I have a picture of myself as a baby in his arms. My Grandmother was tutored in most of those languages in a similar capacity as to why she recieved private voice lessons from Gomidas (though her beautiful voice was certainly some part of it). She left Istanbul after the war to escape an arranged marraige and left for Paris - where she lived as a Bohemian for several years before joining her brother in the States where she met my grandfather who was orphaned at age 12 and had lived in a poor village near Divrig all his life. I am only Armenian on my mother's side...helps for getting around Turkey - having a non-Armenian name eh?

Wow, what an interesting life your grandma lived. Did you learn any Turkish or Armenian from her or your grandpa? Did you grow up with them in your household? Did they ever tell you those wild Turkish/Armenian golk stories about three-headed devs (monsters) and kings and poor peasant girls, etc.? My grandma used to sit us down and tell us these outrageous stories, that were so amazingly entertaining; I swear we enjoyed them more than TV. I've got to go to bed now, but I'll check out your answer tomorrow.

[1.5 million]

She never lived with us full time but spent some summers with us - and we visited very often - so yes I spent a great deal of quality time with her and we were very close - arguably I was the closest with her then any of the other extended family of my cousins and such. She did tell some stories (and I am familiar with Dev!). This is why Peter Balakian's "Black Dog of Fate" meant so much to me - it reminded me a great deal of our relationship. Anyway I don't speak Armenian (but that is a long story)...I should go back to bed...I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep...

[Gavur]

Revani sounds persian