Nor Kyugh: Life Goes On in the Heart of Armenian Aleppo

6/9/2012

Today, residents of the New Village district of Aleppo are feeling a bit more up-beat.

They are hopeful that peace will return and that they can get back to work. Most are known as people who aren’t afraid to spend what they earn to enjoy the good life.

– Is there work?

Only a few are working. And those working have only had two or three hours of electricity for the past ten days.

– Is there work? It’s a familiar word but for the life of me, I can’t remember what it means.

The guys who had gathered round started to laugh. They were a young bunch who tried to mask their fears with laughter. And their concerns were many, especially the lack of electricity.

If Aleppo can be considered a major Armenian community, then Nor Kyugh (New Village) can be considered the heart of Armenian Aleppo. There are two Armenian Apostolic churches here – St. Kevork and St. Gregory the Illuminator. There’s also the Holy Trinity (Zvartnots) Armenian Catholic Church and the Hay Hisousyan Fathers’ Monastery. The Armenian Evangelical “Nahatagats” Church is close by.

In passing, I should note that there were no church services at St. Kevork’s the Sunday before last due to the fighting.

The Karen Jeppe Armenian National College, with over 1,000 students, and the Sahagian and Zavarian high schools, are in New Village. There’s also the Armenian Catholic Zvartnots School. Last year, the Marash National Mesrobian School shut its doors. The Arevelk Printing House of the Diocese is also located here. The only Armenian newspaper Gandzasar, the official weekly organ of the Peria Armenian Diocese, is printed at Arevelk.

The Marash Compatriotic Union and the Kermanik Vaspourakan Center are also in New Village. So is the Zeytoun Compatriotic Union center. Two Armenian theatres also operate here. The Armenian Relief Cross of Syria is also located here. This year, the National Shelter relocated to New Village.

Numerous residential buildings belonging to the community are to be found in New Village. Many needy Armenian families rent apartments in the buildings at below market rates.

These days, fierce fighting has broken out close to Nor Kyugh. You can gear the gunshots and artillery rounds in the distance.

This afternoon, you could hear the explosions of missiles fired by the Syrian military fighters.

“We’ve gotten used to it all”, said one of the Armenians in the group. “Remember that first bomb explosion? We all ran home like frightened mice looking for a hole to jump in.”

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