Author: Zhanna Nahapetian

Cultural: Qara Kelisa holds Badarak ceremony

Zhanna Nahapetian
Iran Daily
Sunday

Over $466,000 allocated for renovating churches
arasbaran.org

Some 14 billion rials ($466,666) has been allocated for renovating globally registered churches across Iran, said deputy head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization.

Speaking during the annual Armenian religious ceremony, known as ‘Badarak’ at Qara Kelisa Church (meaning Black Church) in Chaldoran, West Azarbaijan Province, Mohammad-Hassan Talebian further said that the identity of historical churches should be safeguarded.

He said Chaldoran has good cultural and historical potentials.

Talebian added that Qara Kelisa is the ninth Iranian monument registered on UNESCO World Heritage List.

Holding rituals in churches is indicative of the attention given by Islamic Republic of Iran to various religious and ethnic groups, he said.

Iran has an amicable and peaceful attitude toward other religious and ethnic groups, he added.

Followers of various religions and faiths co-exist peacefully in Iran, he said, adding they perform their rituals in a peaceful and secure environment.

Presence of tourists, including Armenians from countries such as Armenia, Georgia, Italy and Germany, in Chaldoran shows the security and freedom within the framework of law in Iran.

Qara Kelisa hosted annual religious ceremony of the Armenians known as ‘Badarak’ during July 27-29.

The occasion was observed to mark the martyrdom anniversary of Saint Thaddeus — one of the apostles of Jesus Christ (Peace Be Upon Him).

During the ceremony, the worshippers performed religious rites, including sacrificing sheep, lighting candles, baptism of infants, etc.

There are 400 churches across Iran such as Saint Tadeous Cathedral, Qara Kelisa, St. Stepanous Church and St. Mary Church.

Iran boasts hundreds of churches, of which 172 have been registered on the National Heritage List and one on UNESCO World Heritage List.

Qara Kelisa (Black Church) or Thaddeus Church is known among the Armenians as Saint Thaddeus. The church is the oldest in the Christian world and dates back to the 7th and 12th centuries.

Chaldoran is situated 220km north of Orumieh, the provincial capital of West Azarbaijan.

Analysis of Clashes at Sari Tagh in Armenia, One Year Later

Zhanna Nahapetian
BellingCat

By Narine Khachatryan

On July 17, Armenia marked the one-year anniversary of the armed takeover of the Erebuni police station in the capital Yerevan. Around three dozen radical anti-government gunmen, who called themselves the Daredevils of Sassoun, seized the police patrol service regiment area in Yerevan’s southern Erebuni district on July 17, 2016, demanding the resignation of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and the release of Jirayr Sefilyan, the jailed leader of the Founding Parliament opposition movement.

The gunmen occupied the police base for two weeks. In the course of the standoff, three police officers – Colonel Artur Vanoyan and officers Gagik Mkrtchyan and Yuri Tepanosyan – were killed, and a number of gunmen were shot at and wounded by security forces. The group finally surrendered to police on July 31.

The two-week standoff sparked off a protest movement involving a large number of Armenian citizens, who began to participate in daily gatherings on Yerevan’s central Freedom Square and near the police base on Khorenatsi Street to express their support for the gunmen. Despite the fact that the demonstrations were largely peaceful, police detained hundreds of protesters without justifiable reasons.

The most notable and violent demonstrations took place on July 20 and July 29, during which police used excessive force against peaceful protesters and the journalists covering the demonstrations.

On the evening of July 29, 2016, Armenian police, including plainclothes officers, used disproportionate and excessive force to disperse a group of peaceful protesters who had marched through the city to Khorenatsi Street and tried to approach the seized police station through the nearby Sari Tagh neighborhood.

Riot police, after blocking the adjacent streets to block potential protester retreat routes, attacked the protesters, using special means (stun grenades, tear gas) and physical force. As a result, a large number of demonstrators and journalists sustained first and second-degree burns and fragmentation wounds. Police also hindered journalists from filming and broadcasting the events, physically attacking them and damaging their equipment.

This article will analyze video footage of the events of July 29 and attempt to reconstruct how significant incidents took place, along with documenting excessive uses of force by riot police against protesters and journalists.

At around 9pm, protesters who had gathered at Freedom Square started moving through the city to Khorenatsi Street. As they approached the area, the protesters decided to change their route and approach the police base through the Sari Tagh neighbourhood, which is located on a nearby hill.

However, when the protesters reached Sari Tagh, police officers, along with plainclothes men coordinating with them, began blocking off adjacent streets and used weapons, including truncheons, stun and gas grenades, to disperse the demonstrators.

It is worth noting that the officers did not first attempt to urge the crowd to disperse or warn them adequately that they were going to use force, which they are obliged to do under the Armenian Law “On Police.” In a statement released the following day, Armenia’s police claimed that the use of special means had been justified and necessary because the protesters attempted to forcibly break through a police cordon around the occupied police station. Video footage of the events, however, does not support this allegation.

According to an official statement from Armenia’s Ministry of Health, a total of 60 people were hospitalized following the attack. Among them was 16-year-old Sayat Harutyunyan, who was injured after a grenade exploded near him. Sayat was taken to a Yerevan hospital for surgery and subsequently lost his left eye.

Sayat Harutyunyan, who lost his left eye during the July 29 incident ()

Protester Tamara Manukyan sustained severe burns on different parts of her body as a result of police violence.

“Grenades flew upwards in spirals with a whistling sound, then they fell down. One fell on my foot, and by the time I understood that it had hit me I was already in flames. I thought I would be able to run away from the grenade when I heard the explosion, but I was already burning and could not move,” Manukyan later told a group of monitors sent to Yerevan by the International Partnership for Human Rights to look into the events.

Graphic images showing Tamara’s injuries can be seen here.

Other interviewees told the monitors that they had witnessed police officers storming the properties of Sari Tagh residents, carrying out searches and beating some inhabitants. One Sari Tagh resident, who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons, told the monitors:

“When the police started throwing stun grenades I ran with other protesters, almost 12 people, and entered the first house we came to. The police threw a grenade on the house and the fence caught fire. Then a second grenade was thrown into the house and exploded inside. Many people were injured, everyone was panicking. After 10 or 15 minutes the owners asked everyone to move to the next house and go into the basement as police officers were entering houses and taking people. I and several other protesters stayed in a basement for around an hour.”

In a video published by CivilNet, it is clearly visible that police officers are throwing grenades in the direction of residential houses, where there were no protesters, let alone violent ones, in sight.

The same video also shows a woman treating a fragmentation wound on a young boy’s neck. “[The grenade] exploded right under my feet, just a meter away. I was standing [by our house] and the grenade fell on our stairs,” the boy says.

According to Health Ministry-approved safety standards, these types of grenades – Zarya-3, Fakel-S, Drofa, Plamya-M and 40mm ASZ-40 Svirel flash/bang bombs – should not be exploded at a distance of at least 2.5 meters from a person. Most of the video footage, however, shows police throwing these grenades directly into the crowds.

The police described which grenades were used during the protest in a response to the Union of Informed Citizens.

Police response to the Union of Concerned Citizens, describing which grenades were used during the protest ()

These weapons are all Russian or Soviet in origin, with the majority sold by the Russian firm Rosoboronexport.

Armenia & Georgia develop relations based on common interest, Nalbandian and Janelidze exchange letters

Zhanna Nahapetian 
Armenpress News Agency , Armenia
 Monday



Armenia & Georgia develop relations based on common interest,
Nalbandian and Janelidze exchange letters


YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. Armenian foreign minister Edward
Nalbandian and his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Janelidze, Vice Prime
Minister, minister of foreign affairs, exchanged messages on the
occasion of 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations
between Armenia and Georgia, the foreign ministry told ARMENPRESS.

In his message, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of
Armenia mentions that the twenty five years are just a drop in the
bucket of the centuries-old chronology of our two nations. However, in
the modern history of the two countries, that have regained their
independence, this past quarter of a century defines an important
phase of establishing and enhancing interstate friendly relations, a
period that has been filled with significant achievements and
successes.

Edward Nalbandian stresses, that Armenia is determined to exert joint
efforts in further strengthening and developing the relations based on
this traditional ties, adding that it will be possible to make full
use of the existing opportunities in a more efficient manner, once the
whole potential of our bilateral relations is explored. The Foreign
Minister of Armenia highlighted that Armenians of Georgia play a
significant role in strengthening the traditionally friendly
Armenian-Georgian relations and serves as a bridge between our two
countries.

Concluding the message Foreign Minister of Armenia expresses the
confidence that through effective cooperation the Ministries of
Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Georgia will continue to make their
important contribution to the development of relations between the two
countries.

Foreign minister of Georgia notes that over the last two decades,
since regaining the independence, Georgia and Armenia have developed
relations, based on mutual understanding and common interests.
Minister states, that two countries have already achieved a
significant progress in various directions, with many more
opportunities ahead.

Mikheil Janelidze commends the existing relations between two people
and close ties between the two countries fully comply with the
traditional friendship between two nations and are based on solid
historical foundation and the mutually shared principles of freedom
and democracy.

Foreign Minister of Georgia emphasized with satisfaction the close and
effective cooperation of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Georgia
and Armenia, and confirms the readiness to undertake all the necessary
efforts to further strengthen our cooperation in bilateral and
multilateral formats.

Culture: The 6th Mime Festival starts in Tsaghkadzor

Zhanna Nahapetian
Public Radio of Armenia

15:19, 21 Jul 2017
Armradio

The 6th Leonid Yengibaryan Mime Festival starts off tomorrow in Tsaghkadzor. The festival is organized by the Ministry of Culture of RA, Yerevan State Pantomime Theatre and Tsaghkadzor Municipality.

Besides Armenia, artists from Artsakh, Germany, Czech Republic, Bangladesh, France, Russia and South Africa are participating this year.

The Armenian participants are Yerevan State Pantomime Theatre, the theatre-studio “Us” for the deaf that works under the same theatre, students of the Pantomime department of State Institute of Theatre and Cinematography.

The financial supporter of the festival is Araratbank which is going to continue supporting Pantomime theatre in the future.

“Starting from this year the festival becomes annual. We used to organize it only once in two years before. Last year we established the Pantomime theatre in Artshakh the first workers of which will participate in the festival this year with an interesting project. It is a German-Artsakh project; one German and one Artsakh mime perform”, said Jirayr Dadasyan, the artistic director of Yerevan Pantomime Theatre.

According to statistics, not only the number of participants but also the number of the audience rose since 2008.

BAKU: Azerbaijan says UN support for substantive talks on Karabakh settlement ‘highly appreciated’

Zhanna Nahapetian 
Azeri-Press news agency (APA)
 Thursday


Azerbaijan says UN support for substantive talks on Karabakh
settlement 'highly appreciated'



UN support for substantive talks on the resolution of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is highly appreciated,
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said during his meeting
with UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Miroslav
Jenča, the Foreign Ministry told APA.

The minister outlined the role of the UN specialized agencies,
particularly the High Commissioner for Refugees in preventing the
humanitarian disaster that Azerbaijan has faced as a result of the
conflict, and addressing the social problems of refugees and
internally displaced persons.

Minister Mammadyarov talked about the current status of negotiation
process on Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, stressing
that troops of Armenia should be fully and unconditionally withdrawn
from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan in accordance with
relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council, which constitute the
basis of the conflict.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict entered its modern phase when the
Armenian SRR made territorial claims against the Azerbaijani SSR in
1988.

A fierce war broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the
Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. As a result of the war,
Armenian armed forces occupied some 20 percent of Azerbaijani
territory which includes Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent districts
(Lachin, Kalbajar, Aghdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Gubadli and Zangilan),
and over a million Azerbaijanis became refugees and internally
displaced people.

The military operations finally came to an end when Azerbaijan and
Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in Bishkek in 1994.

Dealing with the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the
OSCEMinsk Group, which was created after the meeting of the CSCE (OSCE
after the Budapest summit held in December 1994) Ministerial Council
in Helsinki on 24 March 1992. The Group's members include Azerbaijan,
Armenia, Russia, the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Turkey,
Belarus, Finland and Sweden.

Besides, the OSCE Minsk Group has a co-chairmanship institution,
comprised of Russian, the US and French co-chairs, which began
operating in 1996.

Resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884 of the UN Security Council, which
were passed in short intervals in 1993, and other resolutions adopted
by the UN General Assembly, PACE, OSCE, OIC, and other organizations
require Armenia to unconditionally withdraw its troops from
Nagorno-Karabakh.

Flow of tourists into Armenia grows 24.3% to 1.35 million in Jan-June 2017

Zhanna Nahapetian
ARKA, Armenia

YEREVAN, July 19. /ARKA/. Some 1,350,791 people have visited Armenia over the first half of this year – 24.3% more than at the same period a year before, Zarmine Zeytuntsyan, head of the economic development and investments ministry's tourism committee, told journalists on Wednesday referring to the figures received from border checkpoints.

She still refrained from mentioning how many of these visitors have traveled to Armenia as tourists, and only said that appropriate calculations are under way now.

The largest number of visitors came from Russia, Georgia and Iran. Some increase in flows from particular countries was seen in Jan-June 2017.

The number of visits to Armenia from Turkmenistan grew 132% and from Uzbekistan 200%.

High growth indicators were recorded also on visits from Canada, Iraq and Spain.  

Zeytuntsyan said that the number of tourist visits to Armenia grew 18.2% in the first quarter to 298,533.

«These figures are unprecedented, and they are quite positive to us, but we have no intention to be limited to this and we are going to double the result at least,» she said.

In her words the committee outlined target markets yet in October. They are Russia, Iran and Western Europe countries, with which Armenia has direct air communication, as well as Germany and Persian Gulf countries.  

She also said that the committee is exploring now new markets – China and Japan.

In its program, the government is planning to double the number of visits to Armenia to AMD 3 million by 2020.

According to the National Statistical Service, Armenia hosted 1 259,657 tourists in 2016 recording a 5.7% growth.

Tourists from the Commonwealth of Independent States dominated the inflow – 21.7% came from Russia, 25.8% from the European Union and 48.5% from other countries. –0—-

Iranian, Armenian Insurers to Cover Tourists

Zhanna Nahapetian
Financial Tribune, Iran



Iran’s Parsian Insurance Company and Rosgosstrakh-Armenia Insurance on Thursday signed an agreement to provide insurance coverage to Iranian and Armenian tourists.

Travelers can purchase travel and auto insurance policies before leaving their own country and receive services at destination, Risknews reported.

The move is expected to help expand insurance and reinsurance ties between the two countries by opening representative offices and organizing mutual training programs.

The private-owned Parsian Insurance Company, affiliated with Parsian Bank, is one of the “Big Four” private insurance companies in Iran in terms of earned premiums. Industrial Management Institute ranked Parsian Insurance Company the third largest insurance firm in Iran with 16 trillion rials ($415.1 million) in revenues.

Rosgosstrakh-Armenia Insurance operates as a subsidiary of OAO Rosgosstrakh.

Back in February, the Central Insurance of Iran and Central Bank of Armenia signed an agreement to boost cooperation in insurance and reinsurance services during an Iranian delegation’s visit to the country. Officials from Iran Insurance Company, Parsian Insurance and Iranian Re also held meetings with Armenian insurers.

Iran is reportedly the second largest contributor to Armenia’s tourism industry. The number of Iranian tourists visiting Armenia has been growing steadily, such that in 2016 it registered the largest growth by any country with 30%.

According to ArmInfo, Armenian insurers’ premium income amounted to $66.6 million in 2016, marking a 6.8% growth compared with 2015. Iran insurance industry’s premium income stood at $6 billion in 2016.

Artsakh Retaliates as Azerbaijan Attacks Using Civilians as ‘Human Shields’

Zhanna Nahapetian
Asbarez Armenian News
July 5 2017


            

Artsakh positions being shelled from residential areas in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani Military Post Damaged, Soldiers Killed in Response to Heavy Shelling of Armenian Positions

STEPANAKERT—Artsakh Army responded to major shelling by Azerbaijani forces on Tuesday evening causing heavy losses for Azerbaijan that included fatalities as well as damage to a military post in the Azerbaijani village of Alkhanli, in the southwestern area of the Artsakh-Azerbaijan border, according the Artsakh Ministry of Defense.

Map shows close proximity of Azerbaijani forces to residential areas

According to the Artsakh Defense Ministry the retaliation resulted from an attack by the Azerbaijani forces, which used TR-107 rocket launchers, on Artsakh positions in Varanda, formerly Fizouli. The Artsakh Defense Ministry immediately reported the attack to relevant international bodies and warned that Azerbaijan was attacking Artsakh position from posts stationed within residential areas and using civilians as “human shields.”

On Wednesday, the Artsakh Defense Ministry released a video (see below) clearly showing Azerbaijan’s use of the TR-107 rocket launchers. Also on Wednesday, the Artsakh Defense Ministry refuted Azerbaijani media reports claiming that three Artsakh soldiers were killed during the July 4 attacks.

Another video released (see below) Wednesday by Arshak Zakaryan, a videographer who works with Armenia’s Defense Ministry, shows Azerbaijani attack on Artsakh from a residential area in the Alkhani village.

“Unlike Azerbaijan, the Artsakh Defnese Ministry Artsakh is committed to transparency and regularly provides information on the incidents taking place, whereas disinformation by the enemy is directed exclusively to a domestic audience,” said the Artsakh Defense Ministry.

In an audio recording (listen below), released separately by the Artsakh Defense Ministry on Wednesday, a conversation between Azerbaijani forces proves that the retaliatory fire from Artsakh forces were aimed at neutralizing Azerbaijani attacks. The audio recording also confirms that Azerbaijani forces regularly position themselves within residential areas, turning civilians into human shields.

Artsakh’s defense and foreign ministries on Wednesday touched on the Azerbaijani practice of using its civilian population as human shields with the foreign ministry issuing a statement saying, “in violation of all the norms of international humanitarian law, Baku does not disdain to use its civilian population as a human shield for shelling the territory of Artsakh.”

Artsakh Defense Minister Levon Mnatsakanyan told Interfax Wednesday that “Hiding behind its own people Azerbaijan grossly violates norms of international law.”

Mnatsakanyan also added that Baku’s leadership has legitimized the practice of deploying its firing posts within residential areas and conducting its attacks on Artsakh posts.

“By hiding behind its own people and making them human shields the enemy grossly violates the norms of international law. If the Azerbaijanis really suffered civilian losses, then we have to express regret. But at the same time I announce with full responsibility that today and in the future the Armed Forces of Artsakh will continue to fully utilize their right to protect themselves and will give targeted and disproportionate response to the Azerbaijani attacks if necessary,” Mnatsakanyan told Interfax.

He also dismissed Azerbaijani claims that the Artsakh retaliation resulted in civilian casualties calling it another effort by Baku to mislead the international community.

“First of all I want to say that the Artsakh Army has never been the attacker; however, it is always ready to counter any provocative action launched by the enemy,” said Mnatsakanyan.

As for the Azerbaijani claims of civilian deaths after the retaliation on Alkhanlu village on July 4 Mnatsakanyan said: “this is nothing more than a cynical way to mislead the international community at the expense of the blood of its own innocent people. The Defense Army of Artsakh has never targeted civilian settlements, as it is typical to our adversary, our target has been and will always be those military positions from where the enemy opens fires toward Armenian positions.”

Mnatsakanyan urged Azerbaijan to refrain from further military attacks and find a solution at the “negotiating table.”

Also on Wednesday, Armenia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tigran Balayan said in a tweet that in order to prevent further Azerbaijani provocations and losses, Baku must agree to implement the Vienna and St. Petersburg agreements. “To continue provocations on the LoC [Line of Contact], Azerbaijan’s [President] is blocking the establishment of investigation mechanism of incidents,” Balayan also tweeted. In a separate tweet, Balayan said that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen were briefed on the situation by Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

This sentiment was echoed on Wednesday by Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan who said that Azerbaijan’s refusal to establish investigative mechanism serves its intention to put the blame for its continuous provocations on the Armenian sides.

“This is yet another crime committed by Baku’s hereditary regime, which is founded on hatred toward its neighboring nation and the blood of its own population,” Kocharyan said in the Orkarak program of Armenia’s Public Television.

“As long as Azerbaijan fails to implement its international commitments under the 1994 and 1995 trilateral agreements between Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia on a armistice and the ceasefire, and refuses to implement the Vienna and St. Petersburg agreements aimed at the consolidation of the ceasefire and continues to initiate military provocations against Artsakh and Armenia, then the same leadership of Azerbaijan bears full responsibility for all human casualties of those provocations, regardless of their nationality,” said Kocharyan.

Kocharyan also commented on the Turkish Foreign Ministry, which chimed in on Wednesday to offer its support to its “Azerbaijani brothers” and to accuse Armenians of violence.

“During the last April aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan Turkey not only failed to condemn the targeting of civilian population of Artsakh by Azerbaijan, including the killing of children, the barbaric mutilation of elderly people, as well as the ISIS-style beheading of captured Armenian soldiers, but in fact, encouraged those war crimes,” said Kocharyan.

“On the other hand, Turkey declares that it condemns the casualties among the Azerbaijani civilian population suffered as a result of the provocation initiated by the very same Azerbaijan, without even mentioning that the main reason for those casualties was the official Baku’s policy to use its civilian population as human shields. It seems that Turkey’s condemnation or sympathy is conditioned by the national identity, which is far beyond the remits of civilized commentary,” added Kocharyan.

 

 

Minsk Group co-chairman urge end to military action
The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs – Ambassador Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Ambassador Stephane Visconti of France, and Ambassador Richard Hoagland of the United States – have received information of renewed violence late in the evening on 4 July at Alkhanli village of Fizuli region that resulted in casualties, including civilians.

The Minsk Group Co-Chairs urgently call upon the sides to cease military action. Violence only begets further violence and accomplishes nothing. The only responsible and humane way to resolve this long-standing conflict is for the sides to return to the negotiation table in good faith.

The Co-Chairs extend their condolences to the families of the victims.


Sports: Hrachya Poghosyan defeats Azerbaijani wrestler in Dortmund

Zhanna Nahapetian
A1 Plus, Armenia
July 1 2017
  • 18:12 | July 1,2017 | Sports

Greco Roman style wrestlers today have started their fights at the European Junior Wrestling Championships underway in Dortmund.

At 50 kg weight category Ashot Mkhitaryan though lost ¼ final, gained victory in consolation fight and will fight for the third place.

60 kg weight category Hrachya Poghosyan gained two victories at the beginning, defeating also Azerbaijani wrestler Kamran Mirzaliyev. Unfortunately, in the semi-final he lost to Georgian wrestler. He will also fight for the third place.

The same happened with Malkhas Amoyan (74 kg), who in the semi-final lost to the Ukrainian wrestler Elmar Nuraliyev with 1:4 score and became candidate for bronze medal.

At 96 kg weight category Arthur Mkhoyan lost to Turkish wrestler in the first fight.


Music: On Her Quiet Folk Debut, Bedouine Wanders And Wonders

Zhanna Nahapetian
KWIT.org
On Her Quiet Folk Debut, Bedouine Wanders And Wonders

By Ravenna Koenig • Jun 24, 2017

  • Bedouine's self-titled debut album is out now.
    Polly Antonia Barrowman / Courtesy of the artist

Azniv Korkejian, who makes music under the moniker Bedouine, draws on '60s folk and '70s country — compelling influences, but not necessarily the music that surrounded her early on in life. Born in Aleppo, Syria, to Armenian parents, Korkejian spent her early childhood in Saudi Arabia. After her family won the green-card lottery, she moved to the U.S. at the age of 10, living in Massachusetts, Texas and Kentucky before winding up in California as an adult.

That itinerant upbringing informs the song "You Kill Me," from her eponymous debut album, where she sings, "Some nights I get into the car and drive / Nowhere really could keep me satisfied." Moving around as a young girl did prime Korkejian to be a wanderer — but it wasn't without its pains, she tells NPR's Melissa Block.

"I felt really connected to Saudi Arabia growing up," she says. "I lived in an American compound, which is essentially a gated village. And it was really devastating to leave." Moving from that "controlled environment" to an open, unwalled space in Massachusetts left her "really confused," Korkejian recalls — especially when trick-or-treating on Halloween, when she didn't know where to go and where to stop.

"There was a part of me that felt like as long as I'm not [in Saudi Arabia], it doesn't really matter where I am," she says. "And it did, I think, shape my sense of detachment that I had for most of my teens and 20s."

Elsewhere on Bedouine, Korkejian sings about the war in Syria. She still cherishes vivid memories of her early life in Aleppo, like when her extended family would converge on her grandmother's house.

"In our culture, oftentimes the grandmother is the nucleus of the family," Korkejian says. "Every time we go visit her and stay with her, it's packed tight, it's close quarters, but it's like a slumber party. Being close was the priority." Although Korkejian still has family in Syria, many of them have also left for Armenia.

Korkejian wrote the song "Summer Cold" after reading that weapons the U.S. was funneling to the Syrian opposition were landing in terrorists' hands. "It's loose, this song. It doesn't hit you over the head with the topic," she notes. "But I wrote it because every time I would read the news, it just gave me this really nauseating feeling. And I guess I started to address Syria like it was a friend of mine I couldn't recognize anymore."

Despite its somber subject matter, "Summer Cold" comes to an end with a soothing coda of natural sound — what Korkejian describes as "a foggy memory of waking up on her grandmother's street." The scene, as she recounts it, is beautifully tranquil: "It was the beginning of the day and you'd hear the porcelain accents of teacups and men playing backgammon in the alleys, and donkeys walking across selling gasoline. It's one of my favorite memories of waking up there."

Web intern Karen Gwee contributed to this story.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

Azniv Korkejian makes music under the name Bedouine. It sounds like it's been piped in from another time.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ONE OF THESE DAYS")

BEDOUINE: (Singing) Always looking for your next climb. The things I want don't take time.

BLOCK: Her songs drawn on '60s folk music and '70s country. It's not the music that surrounded her early on. Korkejian was born in Aleppo, Syria, to Armenian parents and spent her early childhood in Saudi Arabia. She moved to the U.S. when she was 10 after her family won the green card lottery. She lived in Massachusetts, Texas and Kentucky before winding up in California as an adult. She still holds onto vivid memories of spending time with her extended family in Aleppo.

AZNIV KORKEJIAN: In our culture, oftentimes, the grandmother is the nucleus of the family. And just every time we'd go visit her, we'd stay with her. And it's packed tight. You know, it's close quarters. But it's like a slumber party for adults. I mean, we were just – being close was the priority. And all of my aunts and my cousins – they'd just intermittently drop in.

BLOCK: I want to ask you about one of the songs on the album, which connects with Syria – and we'll talk about that. It's called "Summer Cold."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUMMER COLD")

BEDOUINE: (Singing) Catching a summer cold all through the evening. You say, what have they done to offend?

BLOCK: And, Azniv, I don't think I would've known if I hadn't read a bit about this song that you wrote this about the war in Syria and in particular about the U.S. arming the Syrian opposition. How did this song come about?

KORKEJIAN: Well, I wrote that song after reading that the weapons that we were funneling to the opposition were getting into the hands of terrorists. And it's loose, the song. I mean, you – it doesn't hit you over the head, the topic. But I wrote it because it gave me – every time I would read the news, it just gave me this really nauseating feeling.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUMMER COLD")

BEDOUINE: (Singing) I don't want anything ever to do with them.

KORKEJIAN: And I guess I started to address Syria like it was a friend of mine I couldn't recognize anymore.

BLOCK: At the very end of this song, you have a coda of street sounds.

(SOUNDBITE OF BEDOUINE SONG, "SUMMER COLD")

BLOCK: We're hearing horse hooves and whistles and honks and bells. What's going on here?

KORKEJIAN: That is sort of a foggy memory of waking up on my grandmother's street. And it was the beginning of the day, and you'd hear, you know, porcelain accents of tea cups and men playing backgammon in the alleys and donkeys walking across, selling gasoline. It's one of my favorite memories of waking up there.

BLOCK: Do you still have family in Syria?

KORKEJIAN: I do. A lot of them have left back for Armenia. And I still do have several family members in Syria. And I think things have settled in Aleppo, relatively speaking. So, thankfully, they're feeling safer these days.

BLOCK: Let's take a listen to another song on the album. This is "You Kill Me."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "YOU KILL ME")

KORKEJIAN: (Singing) Some nights, I get into the car and drive. Nowhere, really, could keep me satisfied.

BLOCK: It's pretty clear from these lyrics that you're talking about feeling like you need to be on the road, on the move. Do you think that all of the moving around that you did as a young girl primed you to be a wanderer – that there is no place that would really keep you satisfied, as you say in this song?

KORKEJIAN: Absolutely. I felt really connected to Saudi Arabia growing up. I lived in an American compound, which is essentially a gated village. And it was really devastating to leave. It just felt like a very controlled environment. I remember when I was in Massachusetts, I was really confused, especially on Halloween because I didn't – there were no walls anywhere, so I didn't know where to stop. I didn't know…

(LAUGHTER)

KORKEJIAN: …You know, which house to…

BLOCK: You could just keep going and going, huh?

KORKEJIAN: Yeah, exactly. And I also just – there's a part of me that felt like as long as I'm not there, it doesn't really matter where I am.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "YOU KILL ME")

BEDOUINE: (Singing) I was a girl on the country for now. One foot out and one foot out.

KORKEJIAN: And it did, I think, shape my sense of detachment that I had for most of my teens and 20s.

BLOCK: And now it's different?

KORKEJIAN: I think so. I think so. As I get older, I do appreciate the constants in my life and, you know, making a home for myself.

BLOCK: That's Azniv Korkejian, who performs as Bedouin. And that's also the name of her debut album. Azniv, thanks so much for being with us.

KORKEJIAN: Thank you. It's my pleasure.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NICE AND QUIET")

BEDOUINE: (Singing) The time that we make. And all the innocence we give and we take. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.