Fact, Fiction and Folk Law

In the lead up to my trip I have been speaking too many within the Izmirian family about my trip. I have spoken to several of Hapets children who are 70 to 80 yrs old. Already I have been given much information about Garabed and his son Hapet. Most of it conflicting depending on what family you get the information from. I have been told definitely Hapet was fighting on the Mountain at Musa Dagh and taken to Port Said by the French war ships. I have also been told Hapet was definitely not on the Mountain. I have been told Garabed was killed in 1909 and in 1915. I have been told Garabed was killed on the road on the way back from Izmir and I have been told multiple times he was killed in the city of Cis. I don’t know the correct spelling of this town and have been unable to find it on the map as of yet but it is 4 hours North of Musa Dagh. This has also given me a new MUST VISIT location and I haven’t even left yet. If you know where Cis or Sis is please let me know. It may be known as something else now. I have been told that Baby Anania was found by commandos and taken to a British Hospital. I have been told he was given to his sister Monushark in Musa Dagh. She kept him for 4 years and then he was taken as an orphan by the British in Egypt. The real key to this equation re Anania is his date of birth. I don’t have that at this time. Garabets death was within a year of Ananias birth as he was a baby still on the breast. Armenians were being killed in 1909, but they were the commandos/soldiers in battle with the Turkish Army, not the general population. It is unlikely that Mary and the other children were killed in 1909 and more likely in 1915 when the Armenian Population was targeted not just the militia. I am assuming that Garabed, his wife and two sons were killed at the same time and not in seperate instances. But this is just an assumption. If it is 1915 Hapet and his sisters would not have had time to return to Musa Dagh to be on the Mountian for the last fight. If it was 1909 then obviously he did, but there is no record of him in any documents being a 15 - 17 year old male on the mountian fighting. Stay tuned as we all pool our information and search for some answers.

From photos

Above is Hapet Izmirian Circa 1919.