With Gratitude
I am indebted to the support I have received from people all over the world since I started this site in June, 2001. This includes not only Armenians from Europe, the Americas, and Armenia, but also from Turkish citizens. To my fellow Armenians, shnorhagalem! To my new Turkish friends, who have offered assistance with this site, Tesekkur Ederim! Many people have sent in photographs, and information, and yet have wished to remain anonymous. I am grateful to you all. I am particularly indebted to Seyda Güngör Açikgöz for the architectural studies of Surp Stepanos church.
Any input is greatly appreciated. A few things would be particularly useful:
Any photos, old or new, of Efkere. Also, any older photographs of the villagers taken in Efkere.
Any historic documents relating to the village.
A translation of the cornerstone of St. Stepanos, if possible. It is worn, and perhaps is now illegible, but maybe somebody can make sense out of it. Click here for some photographs of this cornerstone.
Any knowledge of where particular families lived in town. At one point, the diaspora Efkeretzis are said to have created a map of the village. Does anybody have any knowledge of its whereabouts?
Any first hand accounts of the village.
Any scrap of information, no matter how trivial. I am also hoping to eventually list all known villagers, so please send along any information you might have.
I am also looking for relatives from the Kojaian, Kotsaian, Gogaian, Devedjian, and Devejian families from Efkere.
In 1912, a cholera epidemic struck Efkere, resulting in the death of over 20 Armenians, and approximately 8 Turks. If anybody has any suggestions as to how I might be able to track down a list of these names, I would appreciate it. In particular, I am trying to find the names of an Armenian couple who both perished, leaving a 7 year old son as an orphan. I am also trying to find out any information on a couple with the first names of Ohannes and Dikranu (possibly Hovanness and Dikranuhi), who had a son named Karapet (Garabed). All of the above is for readers of the web site who want to find out more about their family background. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Finally, does anybody know the names of the people shown on the index page photograph?
Please feel free to E-mail .
Finally, if anybody has any artifacts from the village that they are interested in selling, let me know.