V.H. Apelian’s Blog
Sona Hakobyan, as she notes in the text, is the 11 years old daughter of journalist Tatul Hakobyan. Yesterday – August 4, 2022 – her father posted the little story she wrote on ANI Armenian Research Center site. The story Sona tells is poignant in its simplicity but it is profound in its subtility. Like any other young girl, Sona also wants to see places, but her brother is serving the Armenian Army and things are “restless on the border of Armenia and Artskah” so is Sona’s little mind. Instead, her father suggests them to do the following. Read the text…
“My brother, Ashot Hakobyan, serves in the Armenian Army. As it is restless on the border of Armenia and Artsakh, we also are restless.
My father, journalist Tatul Hakobyan, promised to take me to the Black Sea, Georgia, this summer. I love the sea, water, and swimming, but I did not want to go to another country because my brother is serving Armenia.
Instead, father suggested us to be in Gyumri, Dovegh, Tbilisi, Stepanavan, Syunik or Artsakh for one day in each.
On July 29, we drove to Gyumri with my mother and father. Dad and I have passed through that town a few times together, but I don’t remember much because I was young. Now I am 11 years old, I will go to the 6th grade on September 1.
“Gyumri is the only city in Armenia where the Armenia of the mid-19th century has been preserved,” said my father, looking at the houses in the center of the town.
Gyumri used to have different names such as Alexandrapol, Leninakan, and Kumayri. Black two-story houses have been preserved in the center of the city. There are five churches in the central area.
In the evening, my father went to a meeting with his friends in Alexandrovski where there was Armenian music. (I found out that Alexandrovski is a restaurant hall, where people eat and listen live concert. It is one of the oldest buildings in Gyumri.)
My mother and I were walking through the central streets of Gyumri when dad called and invited us to also listen to the performances of musicians from Gyumri and Yerevan.
Then we went to the Chalet Hotel for the night. The hotel was small, but very comfortable and beautiful. We had breakfast in the morning and returned to Yerevan. On the way we visited the cities of Maralik and Talin.
Dad said that he made a film about Gyumri years ago. I haven’t watched it, but I will definitely watch it during the summer holidays.
I loved Gyumri very much and I am waiting for my father to say.
– Sona, get ready, we are going to Gyumri. “
