It never crossed my mind as I read, in tears, Fethiye Çetin’s “My Grandmother” (Metis Books, 2004) years ago, that one day I would be going to the village of Heranuş.
Habap (aka Ekinözü) is a village in the Kovancılar district of Elazı€, inhabited by Armenians until the beginning of the 1990’s, featuring two churches, two schools and a monastery. Fethiye’s grandmother, Heranuş is from this village. Just like many others who survived the 1915 disaster, Heranuş, as well, could not make it back to these lands where she was born and raised. Her grandchild Fethiye Çetin, together with Zeynep Taşkın, took the initiative to restore the two multi-niche fountains with the contributions of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, as well as the Hrant Dink Foundation and in collaboration with young Turkish, Kurdish and Armenian volunteers. Don’t let the word “fountain” mislead you into underestimation. These are amazing structures, each with three niches.
As I was one of the first to arrive in the village for the opening of the fountains on Sunday, May 23, 2012, I witnessed the shawm and drum band welcoming the crowds arriving for the ceremony. It was a moment worth living. Fethiye, as the happy host, welcomed everyone coming in buses and mini-buses from Istanbul, Ankara, Dersim and France at the entrance of the village. Together, the crowded group of people from all over the world went to the fountains. Following the opening remarks by Nebahat Akkoç, the District Governor of Kovancılar, the Mayor and the village head, Rakel Dink also made a brief, yet moving speech. She found it difficult to talk at times as if she had a lump in her throat. People danced the halay (a traditional dance) in tune with the feast of music played by local musicians and Kardeş Türküler. From there, we all went to the upper fountains. Of course, the halay continued. By the way, it was probably the first time a concert was held for a fountain.
After the lower and upper fountain visits, the group continued to the community house of mourning that is located by the mosque at the entrance of the village, where local food prepared by the women of the village was served. As we learned later, women had worked until 3 am the previous morning to prepare the food and then they danced the halay and sang folk songs to celebrate. After tasting the local food, we took cars up to a certain point and then we climbed up the hill on foot to see the remains of a monastery called “Vank”. From there, the view was magnificent. We looked at the village and its surroundings. Down the hill, the young lads of the village were gathering around a pond that was used to irrigate an area where two brothers had their houses and fields. The driver who took us up the hill gave a very interesting example while we were chatting: “If I left my car in a car park, why wouldn’t it be possible for me to claim my car when I get back there to pick it?” That was an example he gave to our question of “whether the villagers were concerned that the Armenians who were there for the restorations would claim their lands and houses back”. He continued by saying that the restoration of the fountains was a blast for the villagers and everyone was very happy.
Despite the difficulties faced during the initial stages of the restoration work, the villagers and local governors showed an incredible respect for Fethiye. She constantly had someone approaching her, kissing her cheeks and hugging her. Of course, kids had the most fun throughout the day. It was mainly boys though, running around and showing off with the few English words they knew, thinking that we were foreigners.
If only the women of the village would come and join the halay by the fountain instead of sitting on the hilltop and watching the events from a distance. That is unfortunately a reality of this region.
As Heranuş said, “May those days go by and never to come back again”
With the wish that the beauties that occurred that day spread across the country…