I remembered this as I read about the centenary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, which has featured more in the news in this region, than other centenaries this year such as ANZAC day.
Since my childhood I've been intrigued by the notion of Armenia. I have a fuzzy memory of a book I read at primary school about two Armenian orphans escaping the aftermath of an earthquake in their country, and trying to reach the safety of Greece by boat. The mountains they think they see in the distance turn out to be clouds. And this is all I can remember.
Since arriving in this region we've not only made Armenian friends, but noticed how much they form the fabric of civilised, cultural and creative life. From Chris the Armenian hairdresser on our local high street where the Lozenge sweeps up the hair on our regular visits, to the Elias photography shop in the Old City, Balian ceramics, and the Armenian Patriarchate priests resplendent in their tall black hats and long grey beards.
As a result of the persecution of Armenians by Turkey during World War 1, the Armenian population of Jerusalem reached 25,000 that year, and most Armenians in the Old City still live in and around the Patriarchate at the St James Monastery.
Turkey has yet to formally recognise the events of 1915 as a 'genocide' and President Obama has been criticised for not recognising it by avoiding mention of the 'g-word' since he's been President, in order to preserve good relations with Turkey as they collaborate with the US in fighting ISIS.
A good friend of ours who's a Syrian-Armenian says he still feels extremely ill at ease in Turkey, and wouldn't travel there out of choice. 100 years is not long when it comes to the smouldering memories of genocide. One of his recent photographic projects involved portraits of Armenians whose families converted to Islam at the time, to avoid massacre. Many of these descendants are clandestine Christians at heart, while going through the motions of being Muslim.
It's notable how genocides, notably the Holocaust and the Armenian one, have involved populations renowned for their talents and strengths. Globally, the Armenians have been responsible for the invention of MRI scanners, the auto gearbox in cars, colour televisions and the ATM machine. Many maestros in the music and visual arts are Armenian, including Arshile Gorky, Aram Khatchatourian and the collector Larry Gagosian. Armenian surnames often end in -ian. Though it's interesting that Israel is another country in the long list who still don't recognise the Armenian genocide, and Archbishop Nourhan Manougian, the Armenian patriarch of Jerusalem, expressed his disappointment with Israeli policy towards the genocide in Haaretz newspaper this month, reminding people that Christian clergy are constantly subject to abuse and spitting attacks by extremist Jews in the streets of Jerusalem.
LA-based Kim Kardashian, reported to be the highest paid reality TV personality with estimated yearly earnings of $6million is probably the most famous Armenian today. A glimpse of her naked bottom on the Time Magazine website last year won the company 15.9 million views in one day, compared with 25,000 views on an average day.
However you might despise the notion of reality TV and social media, anyone who can make that amount of money from selfies and self-promotion and their naked bum cheeks has got to be admired.
Last week the dwarfs and I were having a trim with Chris the Armenian hairdresser who was delighted to announce that Ms Kardashian had just been in Jerusalem for the baptism of her daughter, North, at the Armenian Orthodox church. It must have given the Old City an audience less interested in the sacred, for that day, at least. And as far as I know she kept her billion dollar bottom covered for the visit.
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