Author: Kanayan Tamar

Located in the Kahta district of Türkiye’s southeastern Adıyaman province, the Kahta Castle has been reopened to visitors following a 17-year comprehensive restoration.

The history of the Kahta district dates back to prehistoric times due to its proximity to Mesopotamia, the birthplace of numerous civilizations. Thanks to its geographical location, the settlement has hosted countless civilizations from ancient times to date. Hittites, Mitanni Kingdom, Assyrians, Late Hittites, Persians, and Alexander the Great of Macedonia, the Kingdom of Commagene and the Eastern Roman Empire are among the civilizations that ruled over Kahta.

Founded by Mithridates I Callinicus, the Kingdom of Commagene dominated Mesopotamia and the great Euphrates between 109 B.C. and 72 A.D. Mithridates I Callinicus is claimed to share ancestry with Alexander the Great and Darius the Great, King of Persia. Commagene became a personification of the marriage of East and West, which can be seen in its culture. Although its people have traditions of the Greek and Persian cultures blended into one, the rulers of this kingdom did not hide their admiration for the Persian, Assyrian and Armenian cultures.

Gigantic statues of gods on Mount Nemrut have been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1987 and are one of the well-known archaeological pieces left by the Kingdom of Commagene in Adıyaman. The colossal sculptures are part of the temple-tomb commissioned around 49 B.C. by King Antiochos I of Commagene (69-34 B.C.) as a shrine to himself. Another important architectural wonder from the Kingdom of Commagene in the city is the Kahta Castle. Built by the Commagene people as an important headquarter together with Arsameia, which was a royal seat for the civilization, the castle bears the traces of three important civilizations. During the Roman period, the castle maintained its importance and was much developed. With the Mamluks dominating the region in the 1260s, the castle was restored and given its current shape.

Kahta Castle fascinates visitors with its bazaar, mosque, dungeon, and waterways. The castle, on the route to Mount Nemrut, was closed to visitors in 2005 for security reasons, and a comprehensive restoration process began. After intense work completed in three stages, the castle welcomes visitors with its former grandeur again.

Providing information about the long restoration period at the castle, Mahmut Çuhadar, governor of Adıyaman, told the Anadolu Agency (AA) that a glass terrace was built inside the castle as part of the "Revitalization of the Tourism Sector in Adıyaman" project. "Security strips of the walkways were also completed. The castle is now waiting for visitors," the governor added.

Noting that Kahta Castle is one of the best preserved historical castles in Türkiye, Çuhadar continued: "The castle is worth seeing. Our visitors will not regret it, we welcome domestic and foreign tourists here."

He also reminded that Adıyaman is a hidden paradise for tourists with great potential as it has various underground and surface resources.

Museum Director Mehmet Alkan said the castle has a magnificent appearance with its bastions, inner palace structure, a prayer room, and a dungeon.

"We have taken all security measures. We are waiting for our local and foreign visitors here,” Alkan said.

Susanne Kalla, a visitor from Austria to the Kahta Castle, said she could not visit the castle three years ago because it was closed to visitors.

"I am one of the luckiest people in the world to see this magnificent castle … I have seen many castles, but this place is very well preserved, I was very impressed,” she said.

A French visitor, Emmanuel Juste, said he is a travel guide in his hometown and would add his impressions of the castle to his travel book and update it.

Vahan Chamlian with Chamlian students during a visit in 2016

Vahan Chamlian, who along with his wife Anoush, were the benefactors of an Armenian school in Glendale that bears their name, passed away on Thursday in Fresno. He was 96.

Vahan Chamlian, who rose from poverty to become one of the most successful businessmen in America, dedicated his life to advancing the Armenian community and the Armenian Nation. However, his most important legacy will remain the Vahan and Anoush Chamlian Armenian School, which since 1975 has educated thousands of Armenian students, who have grown to become successful community leaders and stalwarts in business, medicine, law and other fields.

Vahan Chamlian was born in Lebanon in 1926 and emigrated to the United States in 1957. Legend has it that he arrived in America with only $20 in his pocket, but would work hard to become the world’s largest dealer in second hand clothing via his company Chamlian Enterprises.

“My philosophy has been to build my personal life such that I can help my nation and humanity,” Vahan Chamlian told Asbarez in an interview in 2018. He said his national spirit was instilled in him by his family and was developed through attending Armenian school.

“When I was six years old, the boys in our neighborhood were cub scouts. They took me in their ranks and I late became a boy scout and thus my ties with my Nation were strengthened,” recounted Chamlian to Asbarez.

Vahan and Anoush Chamlian at the groundbreaking of the school with then Catholicos Karekin II and then Prelate Archbishop Yeprem Tabakian

“You can never forget your national identity, because then you will have no identity to speak of,” Chamlian added with conviction. “The best thing in life is to be able to help, especially your nation.”

It was this commitment to education and the advancement of the Armenian Cause that promoted Vahan and Anoush Chamlian in a school that carries their name, and since 1975, serve the community by offering stellar education to children from kindergarten through eighth grade.

He recounted to Asbarez in 2018 that one day he visited his friend Garo Haddad who had also invited the then Western Prelate Archbishop Yeprem Tabakian and long-time community leader Stepan Kabadayan, who proposed that Chamlian sponsor a classroom in the school, which was operating in a rented facility at the time. There, Haddad told him that he should sponsor not just one classroom but the entire school. Chamlian liked that proposal and went about purchasing the land and building what is now one of the preeminent Armenian schools in Southern California.

Vahan and Anoush Chamlian have been long-time benefactors in the Armenian community, generously contributing to organizations such as the Armenian Cultural Foundation, the Armenian Relief Society, of which Anoush Chamlian has been a life-long member, the Western Prelacy and the Armenia Fund.

He was awarded the “Prince of Cilicia” medal in 1983 by then Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, Karekin II.

For decades, Vahan and Anoush Chamlian have also been staunch supporters of Asbarez and its mission to inform and provide an arena for the Armenian community since 1908.

The Board of Directors of the Armenian Media Network, the editors, staff and management of Asbarez newspaper offer their condolences to Vahan Chamlian’s wife, Anoush, their two daughters and grandchildren.