A Cultural Week Dedicated to Hamshen Armenians

A cultural week dedicated to the heritage of Hamshen Armenians (Hamshentsi) will be held in Yerevan in the period from 21 to 28 July, 2008.
The week will include a photo exhibition dedicated to Hamsheni Architecture at the Narekatsi Art Institute and a seminar entitled: “Hamshen and Hamshen Armenians. History and Culture” at Congress Hotel. “Vova” ethnographic ensemble will take part in the cultural week.
Founded in the 8th Century by the Armenian princes Hamam and Shapuh Amatuni, Hamshen (first called Tambut then Hamamashen) was captured by the Ottoman Empire in 1489. By the 17th Century part of the Hamshen Armenians had been forcibly converted to Islam, while the majority escaped to preserve their Christian faith.
Some historians call the Hamshentsi a unique Armenian group since it contains both Christians and Muslims. While some Christian Hamshentsi do not know Armenian, some among the Islamized speak a dialect of Armenian as their native language.
Both Muslim and Christian Hamshentsi live in Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Armenia and Central Asia. Some historians estimate there are several hundred thousands of Hamshen Armenians in the world, while others speak of several thousands.
According to some research works, at least some 20-30,000 Hamshentsi Muslims who speak Armenian live in Turkey as well as some 100-200,000 Hamshentsi Turkish speakers. In Armenia, there are some 10,000 Hamshentsi.
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