Exile, Trauma and Death: On the road to Chankiri with Komitas Vartabed

Aram Andonian was arrested on 24 April 1915 along with over 200 other Armenian intellectuals in the Ottoman capital. While most of the others were killed, he was able to escape death. This work is a translation of his account of the first three days of exile. He gives great detail of the circumstances under which they were sent to Ayash and Chankiri in the interior of Turkey, with a particular reference to Komitas Vartabed, the ethnomusicologist, who was traumatised by his experiences. (Thi...