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  • Vahe Achikian

    Zeytun Ermeni Qalesi is what was referred to this fortified mansion atop the craggy hillock overlooking Zeytun town. It was built by an Armenian priest-architect by the name of Der Emmanuel in 1815, and was the residence of the Sourenian clan of Nazareth Agha Surenyan 1870’s through 1904. The Surenoglu Qale collapsed during a Cilician…

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  • Rock hill and Surenian fortress-mansion – Zeytun 1914

    “The Zeytun Qale (Surenian Perte / fortress-mansion) photographed by a German WWI officer in 1914. It was constructed under the direction of the Armenian monk Der Emmanuel in 1815. The Zeytun Qale was the ancestral residence of the Surenian Ishkhan clans for generations until the Genocide of 1915. Note the houses of Yuqari Mahallée (Vérine…

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  • Zeytun 1914: Qarghalar quarter, Surenian fortress

    Zeytun 1914: Qarghalar quarter, Surenian fortress. A photo of Zeytun from 1914, featuring the Qarghalar Mahallé and the Surenian fortress-mansion and the Shughur (Kanli) bridge to the left. Vahé Achikian – Zeytun Collection

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