On September 2, 1913. The train left Haydar Pasha.[1] I am wondering and I am fascinated with the idea to go to Kayseri. I wished to go there for quite a long time, however two weeks ago I could not imagine that I’ll manage to arrange the trip so soon. Kayseri is the homeland of my parents. And though I was born and grew up in Constantinople, my childhood partly passed in Kayseri, so I always remembered its dialect, people, traditions. It supressed me and I did not like it. Most probably it happens to all children[2], who are living like [people] from Constantinople outdoors and like [people] from the province[3] at home (indoors).
(Tʿēkʿēian, Vahan. Kesaria. ertʿudardzi ew bnakutʿyan ōragir mě [Kayseri. a diary of motion and stay], Istabul, typ. “Aras”, 2016, p. 47)
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…Chay,[4] two stations after from Afyonkarahisar. It was famous for its cold water, so we were waiting for it. Cold water is rare in these places. It seemed to me though there is nothing [valuable] in Anatolia[5], there must be at least many wellsprings with fresh and sweet water. It was again a stereotype, which I left on the road, when my friends told me there is nothing rarer, then sweet water in almost all of Asia Minor.
(Tʿēkʿēian, Vahan. Kesaria. ertʿudardzi ew bnakutʿyan ōragir mě [Kayseri. a diary of motion and stay], Istabul, typ. “Aras”, 2016, p. 62).
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Translation and comments by Gayane Ayvazyan.
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[1] In Turkish Haydarpaşa, which is located in the Asian part of Istanbul.
[2] In the text tghots, which has the meaning of children in general in Western Armenian.
[3] In the text gawaṛatsi, not officially Western Armenians divided themselves in two parts: people from provincial regions of the Ottoman empire (later Turkey) were called gawaṛatsi, and the others who were from Istanbul, were polsetsi.
[4] Çay is a town and district of Afyonkarahisar Province in the Aegean region of Turkey.
[5] In Turkish Anadolu, in Armenian Arevmtyan Hayastan (Western Armenia), in Kurdish Northern Kurdistan.
KEAC-BSR 