Journey to Historic Armenia

Memorial Hall Library, the Friends of MHL, and the Knights of Vartan invite you on “A Journey to Historic Armenia” on Oct. 27 at 6:30 p.m. 

In June 2009, Edward and Mary Ann Arakelian Kazanjian of Belmont, traveled with a group of Armenians from the U.S.A., Cyprus, and Austria, led by veteran tour guide Armen Aroyan of California.

The Kazanjians ventured on a 3,000-mile journey through more than 30 cities and villages in historic Armenia, including Edward’s family’s ancestral Kharpert Veri Tagh (Upper City) and Mary Ann’s ancestral Yozgat plus Kayseri, Sivas, Shabin Karahisar, Erzinga, Erzurum, Sarakamish, Kars, Ani, Ararat, Van, Aghtamar, Engil, Bitlis, Mush, Changli, Kighi, Bingol, Lice, Nikhri, Palu, Elazig, Diyarbakir, Chunkush, Malatya, Husenig, Kesarig, and Kharpert.    

The Kazanjians will present in pictures, video, and music their own account of their first-time trip to Historic Armenian lands in modern-day Turkey.

Among their memorable experiences was discovering Mary Ann’s great-great grandfather’s home in Yozgat and Edward finding the sites and remnants of the St. James and St. Stephen’s Churches in Kharpert. “Each member of our pilgrimage experienced life changing discoveries.” 

Edward Kazanjian recently retired after a 41-year career as: a General Dynamics engineer; public schools administrator in Framingham, Brookline, and Billerica and most recently as Assistant Superintendent of Schools in Westwood, MA; and 16 years as Executive Director and Senior Consultant for an Educational Cooperative. He is still consulting part time. Mary Ann Arakelian Kazanjian is a former elementary school teacher and has been the church organist for 45 years first at St. James and currently at St. Stephen’s Armenian Churches in Watertown.

This program will be held at Memorial Hall Library, 2 North Main St., Andover.  For more information, visit www.mhl.org, call 978-623-8401, x 31 or 32.  Sponsored by the Friends of Memorial Hall Library and the Knights of Vartan.