HISTORY OF BASTURMA Armenian: ԱՊՈՒԽՏ

Nanig Jozikian had posted the attached yesterday, February 5, 2022, in the “Azad Punig” Facebook group. I took the liberty of reproducing it in my blog for archiving this wonderful presentation of:

HISTORY OF BASTURMA   Armenian: ԱՊՈՒԽՏ

Also called Bastirma or Pastirma, is an air-dried cured beef which has been strongly seasoned and is popularly consumed in the former Ottoman countries. The Bastirma is derived from Turkish word bastırma et . Bastirma et is non-finite verb of the word bastırmak , which means “to depress or restrain”. Various types of Bastirma recipes are enjoyed throughout the Eastern Europe. The Bastirma is famous throughout the region with names such as pastërma in Albania, basterma in Arabia, basturma in Armenia, basdırma in Azerbaijan, pastrma in Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia, pastărma in Bulgaria, pastourmás or pastroumás in Greece, and pastramă in Romania. Many people confuse Bastirma with pastrami which is a different type of meat preparation which has Yiddish origins. It is variously known as pastirma to (pastrómeh) in Yiddish.

History of Pastirma:-

The first recorded mention of Basturma dates back to 95-45 BC and takes us to Armenia which was ruled by powerful emperor TIGRAN MEC. Armenian merchants travelled to far off lands such as China and India for trading. During the long travels these merchants packed homemade foods which will see them through bad times. At first only traditional vegetable dishes were packed for the journey and by the time these merchants came back they badly ached for the meats and other flavors of their land. It is believed that the technology of air-drying (the meat ) was developed during this time. The air-drying increased the shelf life of the beef, that’s how air-dried meat Bastirma came into existence. Its use is also mentioned in Byzantium by Andrew Dalby.

It was originally called pastirma, derived from a Turkish word "bastirma", which means something is being pressed. It is also supposed that the primeval Turkish horseman, who belonged to Central Asia, kept dried and spiced meat sandwiched between horse and the saddle, to eat it whenever needed.

Basturma Recipe Overview:

Basturma is made by salting meat, which is then washed with water and dried for about 10-15 days. Salt and blood is pressed out of the meat and it is covered with “çemen”, a cumin paste made by combining crushed cumin, garlic, hot paprika, and fenugreek. The meat is thoroughly air-dried. The variety of paprika being used, determines the spiciness of the dish. In the Ottoman Empire, the craftsmen from Central Anatolia specialized in the art of preparing and curing Batruma. 

Basturma Recipe in World Cuisine:-

The Lebanese Armenians launched Basturma in Syria as well as Lebanon in huge quantities where it is usually dished up as a mezze in fine slices. It is generally eaten raw, but it can sometimes be slightly grilled or eaten along with eggs for breakfast at times. It is often added to different dishes, mostly a bean dish. It is added to various pies too.

In Egypt, Batrums ia eaten with fried eggs for breakfast. It may be used as a pizza topping or as a filling for several oven-made stuffed dough dishes, prepared from usual bread like dough, or a crumbly multi-layered puff pastry resembling dough.

Palestinians eat the Basturma in thinly sliced form. It is fried in olive oil. It can either be served in the mezze table or it can be eaten for breakfast along with freshly made pita bread.

Cypriots consume the Basturma whole and grilled.

It is consumed during breakfast in Turkey. It is accompanied with eggs or eaten as a mezze with raki. There are a total of over 22 kinds of Baturma available in Turkey. The most popular one is the spiced version from Central Anatolia, which is called Kayseri pastırması. "Balkan pastırma" is less famous. It is just salted and dried.

Georgian bastirma: This is the traditional Georgian marinated beef recipe where the diced beef is marinated in the spicy mixture of herbs and spices and served with spring onions, lemon wedges and cilantro.

Beed ma'li bi-l-bastirma: This is a popular snack which is prepared with eggs and cooked bastirma. This snack is usually enjoyed with fruits.

Beshbarmak: This authentic Kazak pastirma is enjoyed with boiled dough and fruits.

Hot buttered hummus with bastirma: Lots of chardonnays go in the preparation of this dish. To impart earthy and peppery flavor to this bastirma you can add chianti and Rhone-style wine.

Kuta: It is one of the most expensive bastirma recipes prepared across Europe. The meat is treated with various spice and herb mixes.

Serving:

Basturma is normally prepared using the beef but goat, lamb, camel and water buffalo meats are also used. In Syria the dish is prepared by salting and drying the meat for 15 minutes. Then the meat is cured in cumin, paprika and other spicy mix. Pastirma is enjoyed as the main dish. Palestinians love to slice their pastirma’s and fry them in olive oil and they eat it with pita bread during breakfast. In Turkey Bastirma is enjoyed as the breakfast and eaten with eggs. Bastirma is also used as a topping for pizza.

The culinary experts suggest that for best results the dish should be teamed with cognac, beer and brandy.

Health and Nutrition information of Bastirma

Basturma is considered to be good source of Phosphorus, Selenium, Niacin, and Protein. Bastirma recipes are generally preferred throughout Europe because they are good source of Vitamin B12, Zinc and Proteins. Some nutrition experts suggest that complimenting bastirma with other foods that are rich in amino acid will make it a complete protein source. But experts warn that bastirma is high in cholesterol and sodium which may induce adverse health effects.Basturma contains 120 calories per serving (10 fine slices).

Trivia:-   According to a legend Turkish horsemen of Central Asia used to take this meat with them and preserve the basturma meats in the pockets of their horse saddle, where they were pressed by the horsemen as they rode.

Some food experts believe that Armenian pastirma and pastramare are distant cousins.

About the art of slicing Basturma, from Ara Ghazarian. "A man hanged the newly made Basturma outside to dry.

A thief stole it.

The man cried for three days.

Finally his wife shouted it’s enough to cry.

The man replied .

-I am not crying for stolen Basturma but I’m curious to know if the thief knew how to slice it.

Slicing Basturma is an art passed from father to son."

 

 

 

Celebrate U.S. 20th Century in Philately: 1910s (No. 2)

1910's: America Looks Beyond Its Boarders,

 

The United States of America entered the 1910’s in a splendid isolation as  “Hailey’s comet lit up the sky to begin the decade. American workers started moving from farms to factories. The Ford Motor Company refined the automobile assembly line. Traffic lights and white lane dividers became part of the American landscape. Scientific and technological achievement changed the society. In 1911, in New York, fingerprint evidence alone was used for the first time in the United States to arrest a burglar. Jim Thorpe was an international sports star, but Tarzan was even a more popular hero.” 

 The Americans remained unconcerned about the war that broke out among the European Nations on July 28, 1914. But ոn April 2, 1917 America declared war against Germany. It was not because of “the accidental sinking of the luxury ocean liner Titanic shocked the nation, but it was the sinking of another ship the Lusitania that upset the society, leading to U.S. involvement in World War I. Two million American soldiers faught in Europe and more than 116,500 lost their lives.” 

The World War I ended on the 11^th hour, of the 11^th  day of the 11^th  month in the year 1918 as “American saw the light as the decade ended. Daylight saving time was instituted in 1918.” 

The  following new words entered the American lexicon:  camouflage, electronics, and troublemaker.

The 15 stamps depicting the decades are the following:

George Washington Carver: A botanist, improved the economy of the South by demonstrating the commercial possibilities of peanuts His “Movable School” educated impoverished farmers.

The Federal Reserve System:  was create on December 3, 1913, to regulate banks and attempts to stabilize the nation’s monetary and financial reserves. 

Charlie Chaplin: First assumed his famous costume for the little Tramp in 1914. The clothes, mustache, cane, and walk came to identify one of the most familiar icons in the history of film.

The Panama Canal: connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, saving a ship travelling between New York and the San Francisco 8,000 miles.

The First Transcontinental Telephone Line was completed in 1914. On January 25, 1915, the first call was made by Alexander Graham Bell in New York to Thomas A. Watson in San Francisco.

The 1915 Armory Show introduced avant-garde art to this country. The highly controversial exhibition included Marcel Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 that now hangs in the Philadelphia Museum of Arts. 

President Woodrow Wilson was awarded the 1919 Nobel Prize for the promotion of the League of Nations, the precursor of the United Nations.

The Boy Scouts of America was formed in 1910 and the Girls Scout  of the U.S.A. (at first known as Girl Guides) in 1912. Both groups introduce the youth to a variety of outdoor activities and promote self-reliance and resourcefulness.

World War I  Two million American soldiers fought in Europe during World War I and more than 116,500 lost their lives. Back home, more than one million women joined the work force.

Grand Canyon The National Park Service was reestablished by Congress in 1914. The Grand Canyon was officially designated a national park two and a half year  later. 

Jim Thorpe The first American sport icon Jim Thorpe was hailed as the greatest athlete in the world after he won the pentathlon and decathlon in 1912 Stockholm.

Child Labor Reform  Lewis W. Hine’s photograph of children working in mines, mills, and factories led Congress to try to regulate child labor, but the Supreme Court declared early laws unconstitutional.

Construction Toys encourage children to build, create, and think about how things work. Erector  sets were introduced in 1913, the Tinkertoy in 1914, and Lincoln Logs 1916.

Jack Damsey, known as the Manassa Mauler because he was from Manassa, Colorado. He  won the world heavyweight championship in 1919 and held it for seven years.

Crossword Puzzle  Newspaperman Arthur Wynne created the first crossword puzzle in the New York World on Sunday December 21, 1913. Clue 2-3: What bargain hunters enjoy.

The last USPS Stamping Date of the 1900s: December 31, 1999

Vahe H. Apelian 

 

 

 

Anna-the-Bride and Her Grandson

Vahe H. Apelian

In memory of Kevork George James Apelian. Updated

George James Apelian

Kevork George Apelian's paternal grandfather Kerop eloping Anna for his bride from the Titizian family of Kaladouran, undoubtedly was the sensational news of the time in greater Kessab even though young couples eloping against the patriarchal choice for a spouse was not that uncommon in Kessab. Dr. Avedis Injejikian had eloped his wife Mary Apelian, the daughter of the well known medical doctor Soghomon Apelian.

But, Kerop's and Anna elopement had been altogether different. Anna had done the unthinkable. She had crossed all by herself, in the darkness of the night and through the eerie silence of the Kaladouran gorge and walked all alone all the way from the coastal village Kaladouran to Keurkune to her lover's house to the total surprise of lover Kerop's parents and his only sister, my maternal grandmother Karoun. Something had gone terribly wrong. Trusted intermediaries had worked out a plan for them. Kerop and his friends were to meet her in the cover of the night and escort her. But the lovers missed either the rendezvous point or the timing and Anna took upon herself to finish the task and wait for her lover's return in her lover's parental house. Never in greater Kessab had a girl walked all by herself to her lover's house before. She had always been free spirited with a mind of her own and was also known for her beauty. Anna, however, was not to experience the tranquility of family life with the man she chose to love.

Their elopement resulted in a bitter feud among the families involved. Anna's father had her engaged to a promising young Kessabtsi and their wedding was imminent. The families were in the midst of preparations for the upcoming wedding that would do justice to their social status. Their escapade must have been so sensational that a folk song evolved about them that continued to be sung during wedding celebrations in Kessab long after Anna, Kerop and most of their contemporaries were not around anymore.

Few years after the birth of their first child, a son whom they named Kevork, Kerop decided to move to America to join his two brothers in New York leaving behind his pregnant wife under the care of his parents. His brother Diran was a pharmacy graduate from Istanbul. His other brother Serop had run a store in Kessab selling candies and goodies of the day. That's why he had come to be known as shakarji, a Turkish word which means someone who deals with sweets. It was a moniker that stayed with him throughout his life much like the other endearing nicknames Kessabtsis gave to each. Kerop was to bring his family after he settled in the New World and saved enough to cover the expenses for his family's journey to America. 

In due time Anna gave birth to their second son. Kerop sent word from America to his wife letting her know that he wanted to have their son named James. The infant was destined to be an American citizen, therefore it was fitting for him to have a Western name but the family's reunion was never to be.

On June 1915 the local Ottoman authorities transmitted to the Kessabtsis the order for their deportation. James was a child when he also embarked on the perilous forced march along with his mother Anna, brother Kevork, grandparents Hanno (Hovhannes) and Anna, and his aunt, my maternal grandmother, Karoun. It would not be hard to envision that all the adults shared in caring  the young deportees. The ordeals of their forced marches to their elusive final resettlement destination decimated the family. Only James and his paternal aunt survived. My maternal grandmother Karoun,   became his guardian angel even though she was still in her mid teens. 

The popular account in Kessab is that their 1915 ordeal lasted three years and three months placing the start of the return of the survivors to their ransacked villages sometimes in the fall of 1918 only to face the bitter winter ahead without having the provisions to weather it. 

The returning survivors had seen fit that the young orphaned girl Karoun, be married to the most eligible bachelor, Khatcher Chelebian (Chalabian). Their wedding took place in their makeshift camp in the outskirts of Deir Attiyeh on their way home. The town is an hour's drive from Damascus. They were married in their rag tags. Their wedding was officiated by the groom's brother Stepan who was known for his piety and knowledge of church liturgy. There was no registry to record their marriage. They were to do that after their return and when a semblance of law and order was established. They were married by the grace of God and the consent of their fellow Kessabtsis. The young family moved to Karoun's parental vacant house, that stood in the center of the village, when they reached Keurkune, Kessab. James became a bona fide an adopted son.

Once the overseas communication resumed, James' father Kerop managed to have his son join him in America. The records of Ellis Island indicate that James set sail to the U.S. on June 1923 from Havre France, on a French ocean liner called France. He had started his journey from Beirut. He was on his way to see his father whom he had not seen before. He was to live in a country that was alien to him. He had witnessed harrowing realities of the Genocide and was growing up in Keurkune where electricity or a faucet at home was not even in their wildest imagination, let alone movie theaters or ice cream parlors. However enticing the latter may seem to be, they were alien to James along with the language spoken. He spoke only Armenian and Kesbenok, the local dialect. In 1928 he applied for naturalization but his acculturation to the New World proved to be impossible. His father and his two uncles made arrangements for him to return home, to Keurkune where his grandfather's lands would secure him a livelihood. He was the only male inheritor among the three brothers. 

The French ocean line France

The departure of his only surviving son must have been heartbreaking for his father Kerop. The 1915 Genocide had already deprived him of the cherished family life he must have dreamed.  His wife Anna, his first-born son Kevork, his parents had died during the Genocide. Throughout those heart-wrenching war years, Kerop must have kept faith to preserve his sanity and energy to work to make a living while awaiting news from the home front. After the war was over the news that one of his sons and his sister had survived may have given him hope. After the return of his son James, the realization of the enormity of his loss may have weighed heavy on him anew. A sense of hopelessness may have dampened his spirits and broken his will. It was rumored that he even attempted suicide. He passed away in Bronx, New York. It is not hard to surmise that he was a broken man, a far cry from the dashingly handsome young man who stole Anna's heart. He had become another victim of the Genocide although oceans and continents away from the killing fields.

Kerop's surviving son James would start his own life in Keurkune, Kessab.

                                                    **********

James married Sirvart Chelebian, the young sister of my maternal grandfather, Kacher. Not all the children they had survived. They named their son Kevork in memory of the brother James lost during the Genocide. They named their other son Kerop in memory of James' father and named their daughter Annais in memory of James' mother Anna.  The matriarch of the family, James' aunt, my maternal grandmother Karoun, had ruled naming daughters Anna anymore because she had named her youngest daughter Anna in memory of her mother but tragedy struck her teenage daughter as well. She died in her teens while her namesakes had become victims of the Genocide. Instead of Anna,  Annie and Annais had come into the family.

Kevork and his two younger siblings were raised in Keurkune. The allure of the village life did not seem to have left him. After graduating from Haigazian University, as one of the first graduates of the College then, he embarked on his career as a teacher in Anjar where he also settled down, married and raised his family. After a teaching career that spanned some two decades, he established a trade school and then his own business supplying school needs. In the midst of his labor to make a living, he made time to write. The writing was and remained his passion and over time he emerged as a prominent writer.

George published several books, namely, "Հելէ, Հելէ, ՀելէՔեսապ" (Hele, Hele Kessab), «Աննա հարսը" (Anna-the Bride), «Ցկեանս նահատակութիւն' (Martyrdom for Life), «Պէյրութ" (Beirut), «Նետենք¬բռնենք", "Աղբարի՜կ, ափիկ մը ջուր" (Brother, A Palmful of Water)« "Մաքարոնի թիլէկ-թիլէկ» (Makarone Teleg Teleg), «Քոյրիկս մի՛ծախեր, մա՜մ»  ( Do Not Give Away My Sister, Mom).

His first book «Հելէ, Հելէ, Հելէ Քեսապ» (Hele, Hele Kessab), is a collection of stories about Kessab and Kessabtsis. 

His second book «Աննա հարսը (Anna-the Bride), is a novel whose central character is Anna, his paternal grandmother. In reading the novel Anna emerges as the independent, free-spirited, stunningly attractive girl who eloped and wanted the man she chose to love against the will of her parents but  she died during while her husband waited for her and they their two sons in America. . The book was translated into English by Annie Chelebian Hoglind, George's grandniece.

Anna-the-Bride

«Պէյրութ" (Beirut), is a short novel about Beirut where George visited as a youngster and then moved to continue his education. No other city has had the allure Beirut has had for generations of Kessabtsis. The novel is a tribute to that allure.

His «Ցկեանս նահատակութիւն" (Martyrdom for Life) became a popular reading and was translated into Arabic, Spanish and English. His second book of the same series «Աղբարի՜կ, ափիկ մը ջուր" ( Brother, A Palm-full of Water) posthumously was translated into Arabic as well. Hagop Pakradouny, a member of the Lebanese Parliament gifted a copy of the book to each member of the Parliament.  Recently the former Prime Minister of Lebanon penned an appreciative letter addressed to the Lebanese Armenian community about the book. These two books are a collection of life stories of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide many of whom were raised by local Arab Muslim families. Some of these Muslim Armenians have organized themselves into a tribe in Syria known as "The Armenian Islamic Tribe". George was the first to interview members of this tribe and wrote about them.

 His last book "Մաքարոնիթիլէկ-թիլէկ" (Makarone Teleg Teleg), is titled after a satirical one-liner – Makarone Teleg Teleg- sang during festivities in Kessab. It is reported to be a collection of folk stories about Kessab and Mussa Dagh. 

George's other two books are for a younger audience. "Նետենք¬բռնենք" is a collection of four stories from Kessab that stretched the imagination. "Քոյրիկս մի՛ծախեր, մա՜մ"  (Do Not Give Away My Sister, Mom) is reported to be a rendering of the stories that appeared in the  Martyrdom for Life series intended for young readers.

Along with the books he authored, George kept a weekly column in Aztag Daily under the pen name «Ձիւնական (Tsounagan), a named derived from the Armenian word snow. The column depicted the ongoing issues with humor and satire but with much insight. Some likened his column to snowballs that hit the intended targets but never caused an injury. As one of his commentaries noted that George was a gentle and an unassuming man with a not unassuming literary talent and output.

George wrote that his natural inclination and preference is to write humorous and satirical stories. Oddly though he may be remembered by his depiction of the lives of the Genocide survivors he presented to his readers.

His baptismal name was Kevork but he remained socially more known and continued to be addressed as George. A name he kept and often times used interchangeably with Kevork or at times as his middle name. He also adopted his father's name -James - as his middle name as his still Facebook account indicates, George James Apelian..

George was born on March 24, 1941, and passed away on December 4, 2011. He is reported to have left behind yet unpublished material comprising several more volumes. After graduating from Haigazian College he started teaching in the Armenian village Anjar where he got married, raised their family  and continued to live until the end. The people of Anjar adopted this Kessabtsi as one of them and named their library after him.

Anna (Titizian), the beautiful and strong-willed girl from Kaladouran who broke her father's heart and left his choice for her to pursue her heart's calling did not live the promise of the life she must have dreamed. She succumbed much like the rest of the 1.5 million Armenian victims of the first Genocide of the twentieth century. Much like the rest of the victims of the Genocide, she also does not have a known burial site, let alone a tombstone. Unlike most of the victims who remain nameless and anonymous, Anna became an exception thanks to an appreciative grandson Kevork George James Apelian who never had the pleasure of knowing her paternal grandmother Anna in person but cherished the legacy she left behind and kept her memory alive for perpetuity within the covers of his popular bilingual novel, "Anna-the-Bride". 

Note: Dates and the picture of the ship courtesy George Aghjayan

The Ramifications of a Resignation

Vahe H. Apelian 

Aside the political ramifications, President Armen Sarkissian’s resignation highlights a growing phenomenon, the lack of allegiance of high placed officials to the country they serve having sheltered their and their family's welfare elsewhere. We see the ramification of the trend in Lebanon where the governing, who also are the wealthier, remain indifferent to the plight of their countrymen but remain driven to safeguard their own interests. But what made Armen Sarkissian resignation stand out are the way he tendered his resignation and the reasons he gave for resighning.

Yesterday, PM Nikol Pashinyan in his televised response to reporters’ questions said that he knew of the president’s resignation a few hours before it became public because president Sarkissian had telephoned him about the matter. The PM noted that initially he was not sure whether the president wanted to discuss the matter of his resignation with him or he was letting him know that he is resigning. It turned out to be the latter.

It also turns out that President Sarkissian was out of the country when he informed the PM of his decision to resign.  Not only that, but President Armen Sarkissian had no plans to return to Armenia to thank those who advanced his candidacy and elected him as the president and  meet those with whom he toiled during the past four tumultuous years when the country went through the Velvet revolution, snap elections; faced the pandemic, endured the second Artsakh war, and is braving the  inevitable aftereffects of the war.

The President noted that the primary reason for his resignation is the Constitutional provisions that do not give him enough influence to make a difference. Quoting him: "The question may arise as to why the President failed to influence the political events that led us to the current national crisis. The reason is obvious again - the lack of appropriate tools ... - the Constitution. The roots of some of our potential problems are hidden in the current Basic Law." But, a recording is being circulated where Armen Sarkissian notes that the mandate for the president is clearly spelled out in the Constitution and he voiced no objection. He is a very intelligent man not to have known the constitutional provisions of the presidency he assumed in the parliamentarian system of governance.

it was President Serzh Sargsyan who recommended the candidacy of Armen Sarkissian for the presidency on January 19, 2018, almost three months before Sargsyan’s term as the president ended on April 9, 2018. Subsequently Sargsyan was elected as the PM of Armenia  on April 17, 2018, after having served the country as its president for the preceding 10 years, since April 9, 2008. Serzh Sargsyan thus became the first PM of the fourth republic. On December 6, 2015,  a constitutional referendum was held in Armenia and amendments were voted in the Constitution changing governance in Armenia from presidential to parliamentary system republic.

The first parliamentary National Assembly elected Armen Sarkissian as the president on March 2, 2018. His election as president was welcomed. 90 out of the 105 delegates of the National Assembly voted for him. He was inaugurated with great fanfare on 9 April 2018 in the Karen Demirchyan Complex in Yerevan.

President Armen Sarkissian exuded royalty and projected an image of being someone who gives no reason for reproach. But much like Prince Andrew claiming that he does not know how his image appears next to an underage girl with his arm around her waist in Jeffrey Epstein’s upscale townhouse in New York city; president Armen Sarkissian realizing the Constitutional constraint of his office, after having served under the same mandate for four years, does not sound convincing. 

His unexpected resignation may tarnish his image and give credence to the reports claiming that he is not or was not a citizen of Armenia, when he was elected as president, contrary to the dictate of the Constitution. Instead of the landlocked Armenia, President Sarkissian is alleged to be a citizen of a far distant dual-island nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis situated between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. His island citizenship makes him a British subject since at least 2013. 

His abrupt resignation will also muddle people’s perception of the image he projected as a person a few notches above the rest of the bare-knuckle players of politics in Armenia and as someone who can bring about order in the political chaos of Armenia and salvage it. “Can Armen Sarkissian save Armenia?” asked Kapil Komireddi in an article in  Spectator Worldon January 3, 2022, just three weeks before Sarkissian tended his resignation on January 23.

It was clear that his resignation did not concern the PM. Nikol Pashinyan avoided dwelling on it. But the political ramification of electing the next president became clear when the PM spelled what will be expected from the next president, a harmonious relationship between him as the PM, and the president of the National Assembly. The three top political leaders of Armenia, the Prime Minister, the President, and the President of the National Assembly, need to espouse a common vision for Armenia, PM Pachinyan emphatically noted.

The PM also noted that if the upcoming candidate as president is not elected the first time around, as he will need 75% of the votes of the National Assembly to be elected. The Civil Contract coalition has 2/3 votes and needs delegates from the opposition to vote for the candidate they will present. He noted that the Constitution makes a 2nd and even a 3rd tier provision, if the preceding fails and that the CC will have the votes to elect the next president of Armenia. 

Will the election of the next president render an imperial parliamentary system? Or is it the new majority exercising its will, much like previously, in the presidential system of governance? Things to ponder as  the free and independent post-Armenia shapes itself.

 

 

 

 

Celebrate the U.S. 20th Century in Philately: 1900s (No. 1)

1900's: The Dawn of the Twentieth Century

Dawn of Twentieth Century:  Sixty percent of the Americans lived on farms or in small towns. Immigrants were arriving on the average 100 every hour. Railroads dominated land travel, but 1900 saw the first U.S. auto show and 1908 the first family transcontinental car trip. In 1908 Henry Ford made automobile more affordable with Model T. The Wright brothers stunned the world with their first airplane flight in 1903, and the game baseball grew up. 

President Roosevelt protect 148 million acres as national forests. The first daily comic  strip “Mutt and Jeff” in the San Francisco Chronicle. The Ash Can School brought realism in the art world.

Muckrakers exposed corruption; Ida Tabell attacked monopoly in the oil industry, and Upton Sinclair revealed shocking conditions in the meat industry. In 1908 the newly from NAACP promoted equal rights for African Americans.

New words: cheerleader, filmmaker, phony, psychoanalysis.

The 15 stamps depicting 1900s are the following: 

1. St. Louis World Fair:  The  Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904 was also known as the St. Louis World’s Fair. American were already enjoying ice cream, but the ice cream cone was popularized in the fair.

2. The Crayola Crayon:  The first Crayola crayon was produced in 1903. It cost five cents and contained eight colors: brown, black, blue, red violet, orange, yellow, and green.

3. “The Great Train Robbery”: directed by Edwin S. Porter in 1903, was one of the first commercially successful story films. The box-office hit became part of the Western genre. 

4. Theodore Roosevelt: The 26^th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt promoted conservation, regulated business and earned the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating the end of the Russo-Japanese War.

5. Model T Ford: The low priced 4-cylinder, 20-horsepower Model T Ford made the automobile affordable for the average American. One of the nicknames was Tin Lizzie.

6. Ash Can School: The painters of the Ash Can School portrayed the life and scenes around them. One of the most famous Ash Can paintings is Stage at Sharkey’s by George Bellows, at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

7. Kitty Hawk: On December 17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk North Carolina, the Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilbur, achieved the first controlled powered flight in an airplane.

8. The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906: prohibited the interstate sale of any adulterated or misbranded food or drug.

9. John Muir: Often referred to as a father of national parks, John Muir was a naturalist who championed the wilderness and its preservation. 

10. Ellis Island: was the nation’s principal immigrant station between 1892 and 1954. During the peak decades of 1900 – 1909, immigrants arrived on an average of 100 an hour. 

11. Robe House: Frank Loyd Wright is considered one of the nation’s most innovative architects The masterpieces of his early work, constructed in the Prairie House style, is the Ruble House in Chicago.

12. The First World Series: The championship games of 1903 are considered baseball’s first world series. Boston of the American League beat Pittsburg of the National League 5 games to 3 in a best-of-nine series.

13 Gibson Girl: Created by illustrator Charles Dana Gibson , the Gibson Girl set the fashion for the ideal American woman at the turn of the century.

14. W.E.B. Dubois: an educator and author who promoted the cause of equality for all Americans. He helped found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

15. “Teddy” Bear: America’ “Teddy” bear was created in 1902. A curious depiction of President Roosevelt’s refusal to shoot a captured bear in Mississippi is said to have inspired its creation.

 Vahe H. Apelian

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Sylva Portoian: “YOUR BRAIN ‘IS NOT’ a BOX”

Vahe H. Apelian

 

I met and befriended Sylva Portoian a few years ago through Facebook. Throughout those years I conjured an image of her, as we usually do towards friends we befriended online but not met in person. I knew that she is a medical doctor who likes to “poet” and that she has authored twenty books of poetry in a relatively short span, since 2007. She has also been the winner of the Carnegie Poetry Prize, NY, U.S.A.

My curiosity got a better hold of me. Among the books, she has authored one particular book that caught my attention for two reasons: the title of the book and its cover picture. I thought that book, among the others, may likely validate or negate my mental image of her as a person who “thinks outside the box”. Anguished over the Armenian young men dying in the prime of their lives in defense of the homeland, she suggested having a sperm bank for men on the front line. She exhorted Armenian men to marry Armenians to replenish the loss of a generation.  The title of the book, for that matter, is “YOUR BRAIN ‘IS NOT’ a BOX”. As to the cover of the book, it depicts a woman against a background of gears, implying an active mind. Her book cover, Silva notes, is painted by the famous painter Vakhtang Sirunyan. 

The book is 173 pages long including the dedication, a list of her medical publications, select stanzas from her publications, a glossary of medical terms she used in her poetry, a list of her books, an index that lists “Title, first line, names & others”,  glossary of words of her creation, and other personal notes such as quotes from poets and writers. She presented her poems in eight parts, titling each part, such as “Do You Think Your Brain Is A Box?” for Part I and “Petite Poems Like Tiny Lilies, Like Childhood Rhymes” for Part VII. She noted that the income from her books will be donated to an Armenian orphanage, where her mother - Viva Partoian - was sheltered during the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

On social media, I have read Sylva passionately argue against religion. But her poetry exudes a true humanist and she comes across as a woman of faith in the goodness of people. I am reminded of the following two passages from the bible. The first being 1 Corinthian 13:13 “And now these three remain faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” The other is the following from Isaiah 41: 10 “Fear not, for I am with you.” I quoted these two passages because love and fearing not, permeate her poetry.

About love she wrote. I quote the following from her poetry titled, “The love ~ I Have, All and Whole”.

The love I have

I have it all

Deep till core.

I can give all

Never partial

Never half-half.

About fear she wrote, quoting a few lines from her poetry titled “I Feel No-One Should Have Fear”.

Why fear? If I have not committed any crime.

Why fear? If I am honest and clear of crime.

Why fear? If I am searching for justice to prevail.

Why fear? If I can make bread from grains

Why fear? If I have faith inside my cells.

I cannot say that I particularly like poetry. For example, Maya Angelo is mostly presented as an “an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist”, in that order. But I did not enjoy her poetry as much as her prose. I have enjoyed reading her two books in prose, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” and  “The Heart of Woman”. But I cannot say that I have completed reading any one of her poetry books. But I enjoyed reading Sylva Portoian’s poems. They are easy to read conveying their unmistakable message peppered at times with medical terms. 

Her poetry is uplifting. It dwells on the better nature of man but does not absolve a person from the responsibility of nurturing its better nature. She advises the reader to “Take Care of Your Glial Cells”, and to deal with “Loneliness-Loveless, Searching Soulful ~Face”, “Internal Happiness. How Can We Keep It Safe?” and to “Train Your Brain To Feel Young Like a Deer Climbing Hills”, and many and many more such captivating poems and foremost, assume responsibility and “Never Blame Anyone”.

My impression is that she is not anti-religion but argues vehemently against those whom she envisions absolving themselves of personal responsibility and placing them squarely on God. I do not want to tread a minefield I am ill-prepared to navigate, religion. But is it not that God feeds the birds because birds cheerfully and tirelessly work all day long, hopping from one tree to the next, to make their substance? Are we not to "walk through the valley of the shadow of death" and not camp there, expecting to be rescued? I believe it is the self-reliance that drives her and that is what she vehemently argues for and not for being religious or because she is anti-religion... And by the same token, she claims, should drive her homeland Armenia as well, to be self-reliant in preserving itself.

From her prodigious literary output, it is not hard to surmise that she is a born poet. In her poetry titled “If I Don’t Poet”, she wrote:

If I don’t poet, my brain cells will sigh

Why should I allow my brain cells to cry?

Thus... I must poet, I must continue poeting.

If  “Your Brain 'Is Not' a Box”, what is then? Here is what she says. Do not worry, should you happen not to understand what nuclei, glial cell astrocytes, and dendrites are. She has a whole list of medical terms she uses, explained

Your Brain is Your Tree

Full of Green Leaves

Never Leave

Its nuclei

To  Cry

Dry

Sigh

Die.

Sylva Portoian, M.D., and her husband, who is a cardiac surgeon, retired recently after 50 years of active work. They are blessed with two grown-up sons who are accomplished medical professionals married to Armenians who also are accomplished medical professionals. They have two grandsons. No wonder Sylva says, “I live on the Armenian Highlands, At Dawn~At Dusk”.

As an added note.  “Don’t Lock Your Brain in a Box”, she titled one of her poems, Instead, Sylva poets:

Give chance

For Your Brain

To Breathe

Like your Lungs.

 

To Beat

Like your Heart

 

To sing

Like your

Vocal Cords

 

To Paint

Like your

Fingers

 

To Dance Like

Your

Legs

 

Never lock your Brain

In a Box.