President Serzh Sargsyan’s visit to Armavir marz

President Serzh Sargsyan took part in the solemn events to mark the 100th Anniversary of the Mount Musa Heroic Battle in company of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians and the members of the jubilee committee for the celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Mount Musa Heroic Battle. The events were also joined by representatives of the Embassy of the French Republic in the RA and of the delegation from the French Ministry of Defense, as well as by the relatives of the ships’ captains who rescued the Mount Musa inhabitants, marz dwellers and numerous guests.

Together with the participants the RA president placed flowers at the Mount Musa Memorial and paid tribute to the memory of the 18 martyrs of the heroic battle, which was followed by the rite “In Memory of Holy Martyrs” led by the primate of the Armavir Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church.

As part of the solemn events to mark the jubilee of the heroic battle, the Memorial Complex to the Sardarapat Battle and Ethnographic Museum held a permanent exhibition titled “The Mount Musa Heroic Battle” in the exhibition hall of its branch “The Museum of the Mount Musa Heroic Battle and the Ethnography of Mount Musa Inhabitants” which displays new remarkable materials. The main goal of the new exhibition displaying the history of the Mount Musa heroic battle is to introduce people to the heroic struggle of Mount Musa inhabitants, honor the memory of the fallen Mount Musa inhabitants and to nurture younger generations in the spirit of the Mount Musa heroes. Armenia’s president and the participants toured the exhibition hall devoted to the self-defense battles, familiarized themselves with the exhibited materials which are displayed through new design solutions - 3D animation of Mount Musa and the coast.

The tuff memorial “Glorious Sword” to the 18 martyrs of the Mount Musa heroic battle and the tombstone “The Relic of the Martyrs of the Mount Musa Heroic Battle” have been installed under the memorial arch.

To mark the 125th birthday of Franz Werfel, the author of the epopee “The Forty Days of Musa Dagh”, and as a token of gratitude and esteem, the busts of Franz Werfel, an Austrian writer who glorified the rebellious sons of Mount Musa all over the world, and of French Admiral Louis Dartizh du Furnes who rescued more than 4 thousand Mount Musa inhabitants have been put up within the grounds of the memorial complex.

As part of the program of the solemn ceremony, a number of streets in Armavir’s Musaler and Parakar rural communities have been named after Louis Dartizh du Furnes, Charles-Tiran Tekeyian, Tigran Andreasyan and Movses Ter-Galustyan. Furthermore, the Mount Musa Memorial Complex has been fully renovated and its area has been improved.

A festive concert was also held at the memorial complex to mark the day.