Vakıflı, Samandağ

Vakıflı (Armenian: Վաքըֆ, romanized: Vak'ëf, pronounced [ˈvakʰəf], official name: Vakıfköy) is a neighbourhood of the municipality and district of Samandağ, Hatay Province, Turkey.[1] Its population is 103 (2022).[2] It is the only remaining Armenian village in Turkey.[3][4] Located on the slopes of Musa Dagh in the Samandağ district of Hatay Province, the village overlooks the Mediterranean Sea and is within eyesight of the Syrian border. It is home to a community of about 130 Turkish-Armenians.[4] The local Western Armenian dialect is highly divergent and cannot be fully understood by other Western Armenians.[5]

Vakıflı
Վաքըֆ
Vak'ëf, Vakıfköy
Neighbourhood
Village Church
Village Church
Vakıflı is located in Turkey
Vakıflı
Vakıflı
Location in Turkey
Coordinates: 36°06′53″N 35°58′31″E
CountryTurkey
ProvinceHatay
DistrictSamandağ
Population
 (2022)
103
Time zoneTRT (UTC+3)
Internal view of the church

History

The residents of Vakıflı are the descendants of those Armenians who resisted the Armenian genocide of 1915 on Musa Dagh.[3] For 53 days they repelled attacks by Turkish troops until French sailors sighted a banner that the Armenians had tied to a tree on the mountain emblazoned with the words "Christians in Distress: Rescue".[6] After being transported to Port Said by the French, the inhabitants of seven Armenian villages returned to their homes while Hatay was under French occupation starting from 1918.[7] Following an agreement between France and Turkey and a controversial referendum, the district reverted to Turkey on 29 June 1939, a move still not recognized by Syria. After this move the populations of the other six Armenian villages emigrated out of Hatay settling in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, especially Anjar, while the residents of Vakıflı chose to stay.[7]

Vakıflı suffered from a lack of jobs until the mid-2000s, prompting the younger generation to move to Istanbul.[8] An estimated 500 former residents of Vakıflı live in Istanbul, and the village population increases to around 300 during the summer as they visit.[8] However, with the help of the district governor (kaymakam) and the TEMA Foundation, which identified ten villages and developed specific projects for each village to stop urban migration, Vakıflı was selected for development of organic farming and eco-tourism, and the village obtained the only EU organic farming certification in the region.[9][10] In 2004, Vakıflı Village Cooperative exported organic oranges worth one million Euros, giving hope of economic viability to the village and prompting some villagers to move back from Istanbul.[3][11]

Between 1994 and 1997, the village church was reconstructed and expanded with assistance from the Turkish government.[6] In 2005, Vakıflı restored its old school building, turning it into a bed-and-breakfast, with two more old houses being converted to bed-and-breakfasts.[12] With the help of the local government and the Association for Development of Vakıflı, an Istanbul-based organization, a project for ecotourism is being implemented that aims to restore the traditional stone houses of the village.[3][13]

Vakıflı hosted 20 Syrian refugees of Armenian origin from Kesab during the Syrian civil war.[14]

In February 2023, Vakıflı was heavily affected by the 2023 Hatay earthquake, with thirty of the village's 40 stone houses and the village church heavily damaged. However, no one died in the earthquake.[15]

See also

References
  1. Mahalle, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  2. "Address-based population registration system (ADNKS) results dated 31 December 2022, Favorite Reports" (XLS). TÜİK. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  3. Kalkan, Ersin (31 July 2005). "Türkiye'nin tek Ermeni köyü Vakıflı". Hürriyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 22 February 2007.
  4. Campbell, Verity (2007). Turkey. Lonely Planet. ISBN 978-1-74104-556-7.
  5. "Armenian, Western". Ethnologue. Retrieved 18 March 2022. Vakıflı dialect is highly divergent and cannot be fully understood by other Western Armenians.
  6. Naegele, Jolyon (27 May 1999). "Turkey: Village Survived The Century's First Mass Ethnic Expulsion". Radio Free Europe. Retrieved 23 February 2007.
  7. Başlangıç, Celal (29 July 2002). "Musa'dan notlar". Radikal (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2007.
  8. Kaplan, Pervin (29 April 1998). "Türkiye'nin tek Ermeni köyü" (in Turkish). Radikal. Retrieved 22 February 2007.
  9. Küçük, Mustafa (21 August 2006). "Bu köyler kurtulursa göç dönecek". Hürriyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 22 February 2007.
  10. Ercan, Şerif (1 October 2005). "Vakıflı'nın kaderi organik tarıma bağlı". Sabah (in Turkish). Retrieved 22 February 2007.
  11. "TMOK'tan 25 fair play ödülü". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 5 May 2005. Retrieved 22 February 2007.
  12. Arslan, Adem Yavuz (25 July 2005). "Son Ermeni Köyü: Vakıflı". Aksiyon (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  13. "For last Armenian village in Turkey, no remembrance of things past".
  14. [http://haber.sol.org.tr/devlet-ve-siyaset/kesabli-ermeniler-sola-konustu-o-alevi-nerede-haberi-90696 Sol newspaper (9 April 2014)
  15. Toksabay, Ece (27 February 2023). "Turkey's last Armenian village fears for its future". Reuters. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
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