Armenians, the Hidden Page of Ergani History

This historical town, built at the foot of Zülküf/Makam Mountain, quickly disappeared with the destruction of the Armenians after 1915.

The book tries to understand the bloody process and to search for the hidden pages of history in pursuit of the lost time in the shadow of the old town, which was built on the slope of an old mountain that grew old with the pain of history but is now in ruins. Müslüm Üzülmez benefited from written sources, past accounts of family elders, and notes he took during face-to-face meetings with some people knowledgeable about the subject in Ergani. It is aimed to refresh, renew and bring back the social memory on a micro scale and to remember yesterday by revealing a very small part of the hidden pages of history; Even though it was on a local scale, he wanted to make a small contribution to social confrontation by clearing history of some of its dirt.

In Ergani, the colorful garden of peoples and beliefs, flowers of different colors were uprooted, scythed and destroyed. Afterwards, the perception that Armenians were very rich was consciously created. Over a long period of time after the massacre, the cultural traces remaining from the Armenians (churches, monasteries, graves, historical buildings, stone houses, etc.) were plundered by treasure and gold seekers as a result of the perception and silence created by the state.

The dream of the Committee of Union and Progress to establish the Ottoman Empire as an Empire based on the principle of "Sunni Muslim Turks" was the reason for all this evil, all this brutality, all this trouble that befell us. A century has passed, but I can't say that much has changed: Kemalists, nationalists, Islamists are still in the same old bath atmosphere. However, as a society, we need to regain our mental health. We need to face the truth, the reality. Let us not forget that a real confrontation will “set us all free”; In Nazım Hikmet's words, it will save us from "this black stain on our minds". We do not have to experience the shame committed by the Committee of Union and Progress and continued by the Republic!