Recently, most Armenian Cypriot homes received the first issue of the Kalaydjian Foundation annual bulletin. On page 4, a section was dedicated to announcing the sponsoring of the CHRONICLE’s translation into English and its publication. As many wanted to know more, I have decided to issue this press release regarding the matter.
The CHRONICLE on the Armenians of Cyprus, published as a slip issue and circulated together with “Politis” newspaper on Sunday, 14 September 2008, was a unique publication regarding the Armenian community, in two ways: it dealt exclusively with the community, and it was not issued by Armenians. The CHRONICLE had been the fruit of an in-depth research I conducted in spring/summer 2008, in close co-operation with the Prelature and the Representative, as well as other figures and members of the community. Much of its structure was based on the issue on the Maronites of Cyprus I wrote (circulated with “Politis” on 01/06/2008); a similar structure was followed in the issue on the Latins of Cyprus (circulated with “Politis” on 23/11/2008).
The overall result of the CHRONICLE was rather pleasing, with high-quality photographic material and a very comprehensive coverage of the topic in most respects. However, due to space restrictions, inevitably some material was left out; because the paging was done without my supervision, some Armenian names were misspelt, and the legend for a photograph was erroneous. Nevertheless, it was called “exceptional” by many, and it remains to this day a reference work for all researchers. Here, I should mention that in the past I had written two (2) short articles regarding the religious groups of Cyprus, the first published in parts on typos.com.cy between July and August 2001, and the second published in the periodical “National Guard and History” (July-September 2006).
I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank all individuals that have assisted me in this endeavour, especially Roupen and Tigran Kalaydjian for their interest, their enthusiasm and their appreciation of my work, and for kindly undertaking the design process and the sponsoring of the whole publication and distribution. With the design finishing within the next few days, the book will be published by mid-May. It will be distributed, free of charge, to all Armenian Cypriot homes, as well as to anyone interested in the subject. Individuals, clubs and organisations who wish to acquire either a single copy or a number of copies may contact Mr Hagop Kasparian on 22-429306.
Alexander-Michael Hadjilyra
katoomba [at] cytanet.com.cy
