Musa Dagh

A view of Musa Dagh in the summer of 2008.

Map of the Musa Dagh Armenian Self-Defense.

Musa Dagh (Turkish: Musa Dağı, Ottoman Turkish: موسى داغ, Arabic: جبل موسى‎ Jebel Musa, Armenian: Մուսա Լեռ, Musa Leṛ, meaning "Moses Mountain") was the site of resistance by the Armenians during the Armenian Genocide. The denizens of that region were violently expelled from their six villages (Kabusia (Kaboussieh), Yoghunoluk, Bitias, Vakef, Kheter Bey (Khodr Bey), Haji Habibli) by the Ottomans in 1915.^{[citation needed]} As Ottoman Turkish forces converged upon the town, the populace aware of the impending danger fell back upon Musa mountain and repeatedly thwarted assaults for fifty-three days.^{[citation needed]} Allied warships, most notably French, in the Mediterranean responded to distress signals and rescued the remaining survivors just as ammunition and food provisions were being exhausted.^{[citation needed]} The warships then transported them to Port Said, Egypt.^{[citation needed]} A tomb exists in the city of Port Said of some martyrs of Musa Dagh.^{[citation needed]}

Genocide survivors

The French warship Guichen, pictured above, participated along with several cruisers in the rescue of some 4,000 Armenians who had taken shelter on Musa Dagh.

Starting in 1918, when Hatay province became under French control, seven Armenian villages returned to their homes. On June 29, 1939, following an agreement between France and Turkey the province was given to Turkey. Afterwards Armenians in those six villages emigrated from Hatay, while the residents of Vakıflı village chose to stay.^[1] Vakıflı is the only remaining ethnic Armenian village in Turkey,^[2][3] with a population only 140 Turkish-Armenians. Those who left the Hatay in 1939 immigrated to Lebanon where they founded the town of Anjar. Today, the town of Anjar is divided into six districts, each commemorating one of the villages of Musa Dagh.

The Forty Days of Musa Dagh

These historical events later inspired Franz Werfel to write his novel The Forty Days of Musa Dagh (1933), a fictionalized account based on Werfel's detailed research of historical sources. There is now a movie based on the novel.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Franco-Armenian relations
• The Forty Days of Musa Dagh
• Vakıflı

References

1. ^ Başlangıç, Celal (2002-07-29). "Musa'dan notlar". Radikal. http://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=44839. Retrieved 2007-02-22.  (Turkish)
2. ^ Kalkan, Ersin (2005-07-31). "Türkiye'nin tek Ermeni köyü Vakıflı". Hürriyet. http://hurarsiv.hurriyet.com.tr/goster/haber.aspx?id=338656. Retrieved 2007-02-22.  (Turkish)
3. ^ Campbell, Verity (2007). Turkey. Lonely Planet. ISBN 1741045568. http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN1741045568&id=jstw7Sxkp4gC&pg=PA438&lpg=PA438&ots=h2MnJY-Y7o&dq=Vakifli&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=16sl9nbp31DXLM94aGshObqiPX0. 

• Armenia: The Survival of a Nation By Christopher J. Walker ISBN 0-312-04230-2

External links

• Official Website
• Home of All Musa Daghians & Anjarians
• Armenian National Institute entry on Musa Dagh

Coordinates: 36°15′30″N 35°54′13″E / 36.25833°N 35.90361°E / 36.25833; 35.90361