Harissa at Vakif’s festival for the Blessing of the Grapes. The number of pots equal the number of Armenian villages which once existed on Musa Ler.

I had the good fortune to join the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research, NAASR’s, 70th anniversary “Stones and Stories” trip to Cilicia and Western Armenia in August 2025. My traveling companions were my son Luke and my friend Rita from Montreal. About 30 other pilgrims joined the trip — a wonderful group of traveling companions.

I have been to eastern Armenia many times over the past 39 years. It has become familiar and beloved, and I have gained so much knowledge about Armenia’s rich history and culture from those trips. I often wondered, however, how the modern day Republic of Armenia differs from historic Western Armenia where my grandparents were born. My paternal grandfather Andon Papelian was from a village called Kotni in Sepastia. His wife, my grandmother Mary Hadidian, was born in Aintab. Her family moved to Smyrna when she was a young girl. She attended school there, leaving for America with my grandfather in 1921.

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