Sounds of Silence II, The
Diyarbakir's Armenians Speak

Within the scope of this study that traced the tracks of Armenians from Diyarbakir in Turkey, Armenia and the Diaspora, a total of 81 people were interviewed: 22 in Istanbul, 17 in Diyarbakir, 9 in Lebanon, 9 in New York, 4 in Los Angees, 3 in New Jersey, 7 in Montreal, 6 in Toronto and 4 in Yerevan. 41 of them were female and 40 were male. Among them, there are those who live with their Armenian identity, those who have reclaimed or are trying to reclaim their Armenian identity since being Islamicized, and also who define themselves as both Muslim and Armenian... Beyond these findings, this study is also an attempt to reimagine, or reconstruct the cultural presence of Armenians in Diyarbakir. For instance, the Surp Giragos Armenian Church in the city had been in use until the 1980s, but later rapidly went to ruin due to the lack of a congregation. Through the collaboration of the Diyarbakir Municipality and Armenian institutions, its recent renovation and reopening for worship bears huge significance in terms of such attempts at reimagination and reconstruction. It is in this sense that this book constitutes another drop in that sea of lost memory. Ali Bayramoglu, Foreword Reading the narratives in Diyarbakir's Armenians Speak, I could not help but think about the various twists of oral history. They include 'the call to truth' addressed by these life stories to their listener, the expression of different strata of power from an emotion-centred viewpoint, and perhaps also the cynical gaze of this ancient city aimed at us, from above everyone and everything. It is impossible not to feet, in addition to the 'sound of silence/ the emotional weight that Diyarbakir lays on our shoulders. Even amidst today's multilocal localities, we still have cities which manage to be themselves. As the Armenians of Diyarbakir speak, one cannot help but contemplate the new questions posed by ancient secrets that emerge from the city walls. Arzu Ozturkmen, Epilogue.