Month: February 2015

ZULAL FOLK TRIO BRINGS ARMENIAN MUSIC TO WILDEY

The Telegraph (Alton, Illinios)
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency
February 11, 2015 Wednesday

Feb. 11–EDWARDSVILLE — In Armenian, Zulal means “clear water.”

Zulal, the a cappella trio, takes Armenia’s village folk melodies and
weaves intricate arrangements that pay tribute to the rural roots of
the music while introducing a sophisticated lyricism and energy. The
folk trio performs at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15, at the Wildey Theatre
in Edwardsville.

Zulal’s singers — Teni Apelian, Yeraz Markarian and Anaïs Tekerian —
have been singing together since 2002. The trio has performed in such
esteemed venues as the Getty Museum, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital
Hall, The Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage and New York’s Symphony
Space, along with performances for Cirque du Soleil and the Silk
Road Project.

Zulal has scored the film “Stone Touch Time” and has two critically
acclaimed albums to its credit. The trio celebrates the trials and
joys of old Armenian village life, which include: budding romances
in elevated gardens, the disappointments of hapless suitors, secret
messages placed upon the western winds, the moonlit faces of shepherd
boys and their brides. These are the searing impressions of the past
that come to life in Zulal’s arrangements, reminders of a simpler past,
tokens of comfort in the complex, modern world.

The concert is sponsored by the Granite City Reubena chapter of the
Armenian Relief Society, in conjunction with the local Armenian Youth
Federation and Armenian Relief Society chapters.

Adult admission cost $30 and children age 16 and younger admission
cost $20.

Visit for show times, ticket purcheses and
more information.

The Granite City Reubena chapter of the Armenian Relief Society
provided information for this article.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, STILL A POLITICAL HOT POTATO, IS ABOUT TO LAND AT THE EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

Quartz
Feb 12 2015

Written by Annalisa Merelli@missanabeem

Do not be fooled by the song and dance; the Eurovision Song Contest
really is about international politics.

This year’s edition of Europe’s top kitsch-fest, which will be held
in Vienna May 19-23, had already promised plenty of intrigue, with
Ukraine withdrawing from the contest, Russia organizing a competing
event (while still going for a Eurovision win), and the decidedly
non-European nation of Australia planning to make its contest debut.

Now comes word that Armenia will present a song evoking the aftermath
of the Armenian genocide.

This year’s Eurovision contest roughly coincides with the 100th
anniversary of the Ottoman empire’s decimation of its Armenian
minority. More than 1 million people who were living in what’s now
Turkey were killed. Others scattered, seeding the modern Armenian
diaspora.

The genocide, which began in April 1915, is still denied by the
Turkish government; a trial underway in the European Court of Human
Rights Court will test whether outlawing its denial is a violation
of free speech.

Armenia will take part in Eurovision with a song evocatively titled
Don’t deny, by Genealogy. The group will be comprised of artists from
the Armenian diaspora–one each from Africa, America, Asia, Australia,
and Europe–who will be joined on stage by an Armenian performer.

Armenian news agency Armenpress reports that the meaning behind the
choice to have performers from five different parts of the world is
to symbolize unity and peace.

The number goes along with the five petals of the Forget Me Not
flower, and another participant will join the group and bring the
“petals” together.

According to the Eurovision official website:

The idea is to unite a new generation of Armenians on stage whose
families once spread all over the world in the year 1915.

The performers reportedly will include French-Armenian Essaï,
who recently released Je n’oublie pas (I don’t forget), a song he
dedicates, in the video, to “the 1.5 million Armenians, victims of
the 1915 genocide.”

This is not the first time Eurovision has been tied to Armenian
politics. In 2012, Armenia withdrew from the contest after the
organizers selected Baku, Azerbaijan, as the host city of the event.

Armenia and Azerbaijan had gone to war over the disputed South Caucasus
territory of Nagorno-Karabakh in the 1990s, without ever getting to
a resolution.

DICK HARMON: LIVES OF JERRY TARKANIAN AND FORMER UTAH AND BYU COACH LYNN ARCHIBALD INTERSECTED IN LIFE AND DEATH

Deseret News
Feb 12 2015

By Dick Harmon, Deseret News

Two weeks ago in Jerry Tarkanian’s giant master bedroom, the
larger-than-life basketball coach was enjoying one of his more lucid
moments as his life entered its final days.

In the room was his wife Lois, his daughter Pam, and Anne Archibald,
the wife of former University of Utah head coach and BYU director of
basketball operations Lynn Archibald. There was laughter in the air,
valuable fragments of joy that will long be cherished as Jerry used
the short respite as a rallying point in his fading mortality.

“There was a lot of stimulation in that room for him that day,”
said Anne.

“We got him outside and he liked it. He was eating and getting stronger
and then that all went downhill. I talked to his son Danny Tuesday
night and he said Jerry was just minutes away from passing but he was
fighting hard. I told Danny some people have a hard time leaving this
world and your father has put up a great fight. You know it’s time.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” said Danny.

Tarkanian, 84, died Wednesday after a long battle with health issues.

The Hall of Famer won 729 games in a career earmarked by teams that
featured lightning-fast offense and smothering, relentless press
defense. He was known as a recruiter, a collector of remarkable
talent. His coaching career at UNLV and Fresno State also included
controversy and legal battles with the NCAA, which ultimately came
to overshadow his winning record.

But for Anne, Jerry Tarkanian will always be remembered as a man with
the gift of levity and humor, a man with a sparkling personality,
a warm friend and a coach who gave her late husband, Lynn, and son
Damon their first jobs as college coaches.

Lynn went on to be the head coach at Utah and Idaho State before going
to BYU with head coach Roger Reid in the mid-’90s. He died May 1997
at age 52. His son Damon has coached at New Mexico State, Iowa State,
USC, Pepperdine and Fresno State.

Lynn was an assistant to Tarkanian at Long Beach State. When Lynn got
a job at nearby San Luis Obispo, Tarkanian received an offer to coach
at UNLV. Tarkanian called Lynn and asked the assistant if he would
join him there if he accepted the offer. When Lynn asked his boss,
Ernie Wheeler, Wheeler moved Archibald’s desk out of his office and
into the hallway, citing disloyalty, and told him he would not have
a job at the end of the year.

Tarkanian moved to Las Vegas after the season and Archibald followed.

“He was always so charming and funny,” said Anne. Most times when
he saw her, he’d greet her with the question, “Who are you giving
hell now?”

She remembers Tarkanian saying he flew on the same flight as a UNLV
recruit who was returning home to Long Beach, California, after a
campus visit. “I knew we were in trouble when he never turned the
page of the comic book he was reading.”

One time an ex-UNLV player was giving Damon a bad time and it got
ugly. Said Tarkanian of that player: “He’s going to be the sorriest
person in the world because now he’s got the Catholics and the Mormons
praying against him.”

One day UNLV players were concerned about going to play at Wyoming,
which boasts an elevation of over 7,000 feet above sea level.

Remembers Anne, “Jerry said, ‘What are you guys worrying about? We
aren’t playing outside.'”

Affectionately nicknamed Tark the Shark, Tarkanian was the son of
Armenian immigrants, born in Euclid, Ohio. His mother, Rose, was
a refugee of the Armenian genocide that happened during World War
I. His father died when he was 13.

In the winter of 1997 after a game at Fresno State, Fresno City
College coach Steve Cleveland — soon to be BYU’s next coach — was
talking to Tarkanian and asked if he’d heard that Lynn Archibald was
dying of prostate cancer. He did not know.

A somber blanket engulfed Tarkanian and he began to sob like a little
child. He joined his players on the team bus and continued to grieve.

Things grew silent and you could hear a pin drop.

Two days out from knee replacement surgery, Anne, who now lives in St.

George, said when I spoke to her Wednesday that she absolutely will
be at Tarkanian’s funeral services in Las Vegas this week alongside
Lois, who has served as a Las Vegas councilwoman and is a pillar in
the desert community.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” she said.

The lives of two women once known as Lois Huter and Anne Machock
intersected because of basketball and they will mourn not a legend
of the game, but a husband, father, grandfather and friend.

They will relate to one another more deeply than ever before in a
way they never thought they would.

JERRY TARKANIAN, SUCCESSFUL AND EMBATTLED BASKETBALL COACH, DIES AT 84

Washington Post
Feb 12 2015

By Matt Schudel February 11 at 7:32 PM

Jerry Tarkanian, a Hall of Fame college basketball coach who won a
national championship and shaped one of the country’s most successful
teams at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, but who was trailed
by scandal and legal wrangles with the NCAA throughout his career,
died Feb. 11 at a hospital in Las Vegas. He was 84.

His son, Danny Tarkanian, a former point guard for his father’s UNLV
Runnin’ Rebels, confirmed the death to the Associated Press. Mr.

Tarkanian had heart ailments and other health problems in recent
years and was hospitalized with an infection.

One of the most colorful and outspoken coaches in the college ranks,
Mr. Tarkanian cultivated an image as a blue-collar outlaw, and his
teams often reflected his scrappy, renegade personality.

With dark circles under his eyes, “Tark the Shark” had a hangdog
appearance, and he often chewed on a water-soaked towel while guiding
his players from the bench.

He arrived at UNLV in 1973, when the university was only 16 years old
and built his team into a national force in men’s basketball. The
school’s nickname of Rebels was even changed by a publicist to
“Runnin’ Rebels,” to reflect the uptempo, high-scoring style of play
that Mr. Tarkanian taught.

During his 19 years at UNLV, Mr. Tarkanian compiled a record of
509-105 and was named national coach of the year four times. His
teams made four appearances in the NCAA’s Final Four, and in 1990
the Runnin’ Rebels won the national title, defeating Duke, 103-73,
in the most lopsided championship game in history. UNLV is the only
team to score more than 100 points in a title game.

Heavily favored to win the title again in 1991, the Runnin’ Rebels
had a perfect 34-0 when they lost, 79-77, to eventual champion Duke
in the Final Four.

But for more than 30 years, Mr. Tarkanian fell under the constant
scrutiny of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the governing
body of college sports.

It began in 1972, when Mr. Tarkanian — then the head coach at Long
Beach State in California — wrote a newspaper column in which he
suggested that some well-known schools broke the NCAA’s rules without
suffering any consequences.

The NCAA soon charged Long Beach State with a variety of rules
violations and put the school on probation for three years.

By then, Mr. Tarkanian had moved on to UNLV, where he was later accused
by the NCAA of irregularities in recruiting and academic standards. The
NCAA recommended that he be suspended from coaching for two years.

Mr. Tarkanian responded by filing suit against the NCAA — not for the
last time — and was able to retain his job when the Nevada Supreme
Court ruled in his favor.

Meanwhile, the Runnin’ Rebels kept on winning and became one of the
prime attractions in Las Vegas. Celebrities sat in front-row seats
dubbed Gucci Row.

“UNLV was Outlaw U.,” Washington Post sportswriter John Feinstein
wrote in 1987. “The Runnin’ Rebels won lots of games, graduated almost
nobody and had cheerleaders who looked and dressed as if they had
just stepped off the stage of a Las Vegas show. Often, they had.”

Mr. Tarkanian’s late-1970s lawsuit against the NCAA, charging that
he had been denied due process, ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme
Court in 1988. The court ruled against him, 5-to-4.

Not long after UNLV’s 1990 national championship, new allegations
against Mr. Tarkanian’s basketball program surfaced, including charges
of academic fraud and illegal payments from boosters. Some of his
players were photographed in a hot tub with a gambler who had been
convicted of fixing games.

Even after an NCAA investigator was quoted in court documents calling
Mr. Tarkanian “rug merchant,” in a derogatory reference to his
Armenian heritage, the NCAA maintained that the idea of a vendetta
against the coach was “an absolute myth.”

As part of an agreement with the NCAA, Mr. Tarkanian left UNLV
in 1992. He briefly coached the San Antonio Spurs in the National
Basketball Association but was fired after 20 games.

In 1995, he returned to college coaching at his alma mater of
Fresno State University in California, but his battles with the NCAA
continued, and he filed suit for continued harassment.

The lawsuit was settled in 1998, when the NCAA agreed to pay Mr.

Tarkanian $2.5 million, but it did not admit any liability.

“They can never, ever, make up for all the pain and agony they caused
me,” Mr. Tarkanian said at the time.

Jerry Tarkanian was born Aug. 8, 1930, in Euclid, Ohio. Both of his
parents were Armenian natives who had fled persecution in Turkey.

His father, a store owner, died when Mr. Tarkanian was 11. The family
then moved to Pasadena, Calif., and lived in poverty.

After attending junior college, Mr. Tarkanian went to Fresno State,
where he played football and basketball before graduating in 1955. He
received a master’s degree in educational administration in 1956 from
the University of Redlands in California.

Mr. Tarkanian coached at three high schools before beginning his
college coaching career in 1961 at Riverside Junior College in
California. He turned a losing team into a champion in one year,
then did the same at Pasadena City College, beginning in 1966. He
moved on to Long Beach State in 1968.

Throughout his career, Mr. Tarkanian’s teams were high-scoring,
but opposing coaches agreed that the secret to his success was his
emphasis on outstanding defensive play. He often recruited players from
junior colleges, from tough backgrounds and often with questionable
academic qualifications.

He developed close bonds with his players, and many said they thought
of Mr. Tarkanian as a father figure. More than 40 of his players went
on to the National Basketball Association, including Reggie Theus,
Armon Gilliam, Greg Anthony and Larry Johnson.

During Mr. Tarkanian’s final coaching stop at Fresno State, he turned
the team into a winner, but he was dogged by a familiar pattern of
problems. He retired for good in 2002.

“Fresno State’s record under Tarkanian resembled a police blotter,”
a 2003 Washington Post story noted, with several players arrested
for grand theft, sexual assault and assault with a deadly weapon,
among other crimes.

When a Post reporter asked Mr. Tarkanian about accusations that
players weren’t writing papers for class, he exploded: “What a stupid
.â~@~I.â~@~I. question that is. How would I know if some idiot that
we don’t even know writes a paper for some guy. We’re supposed to
know all about that?”

Mr. Tarkanian’s official coaching record was 729-201, but more than 50
wins were wiped out as punishment by the NCAA. Counting his earlier
career as a junior college coach, he had as many as 988 victories
and one of the highest winning percentages in history.

He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
in 2013.

Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Lois Huter Tarkanian,
a Las Vegas councilwoman; four children; a sister; a brother; and
11 grandchildren.

For all his troubles with the NCAA and all the controversy he stirred
with his provocative style, one thing about Mr. Tarkanian that no
one questioned was his ability to inspire and lead a basketball team.

“If I didn’t coach basketball, I don’t know what I would do,” he told
The Post in 1987. “I live for the game, and these kids are what I
put my heart and soul into. Ask them.”

SPORTS: GREECE HAND REINS FOR THEIR UEFA EURO 2016 OVER TO SERGIO MARKARIAN

UEFA.com
Feb 12 2015

Greece hand reins over to Markarian

Published: Thursday 12 February 2015, 15.12CET

Sergio Markarian will coach Greece for the rest of their UEFA EURO
2016 campaign, with UEFA EURO 2004 talisman Giorgos Karagounis having
pushed for his appointment.

The Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) has named Sergio Markarian as
the new coach of Greece on the recommendation of Giorgos Karagounis –
the current director of Greek national teams, who played under the
Uruguayan at Panathinaikos FC.

The 70-year-old Markarian will fill the void created by the departure
of Claudio Ranieri, who left in mid-November after just four months
in charge. Markarian will sign a deal until the end of Greece’s UEFA
EURO 2016 qualifying campaign, with the contract to be automatically
extended until July 2016 if he succeeds in steering Greece to the
finals in France. His contract requires him to take up permanent
residence in the country.

“Being given the responsibility of coaching the Greece national team
is a great honour for me,” said Markarian. “I would like to thank the
federation for choosing me. We have a tough task ahead, but I believe
in my ability and in the potential of Greek football. We will all do
our best to achieve our aims, starting with our upcoming encounter
in Hungary.”

Twice coach of Paraguay (from 1992-93 and 1999-2002), Markarian –
who is of Armenian extraction – occupied the Peru helm from 2010-14,
with both of those national sides enjoying their highest ever FIFA
rankings (eighth and 19th respectively) under his tutelage.

Markarian also understands Greece, having worked at three different
Super League clubs. He first crossed the Atlantic in 1998 to manage
Ionikos FC for a season, before returning in December 2001 to coach
Panathinaikos. He guided the Greens to the quarter-finals of the
UEFA Champions League in 2001/02, where they were eliminated by FC
Barcelona, 3-2 on aggregate.

He departed in May that year, but was reinstated in the autumn after
Fernando Santos stepped down as Panathinaikos boss. His team challenged
Olympiacos FC for the league title but just missed out, also making
it to the 2002/03 UEFA Cup quarter-finals where they lost to Jose
Mourinho’s FC Porto. Between 2004 and 2005 he coached Iraklis FC.

Markarian impressed in Greek football, learning the language and
winning over his players, and showing great tactical awareness. His
sides showed plenty of spirit and a never-say-die mentality – something
which will be useful as UEFA EURO 2004 winners Greece attempt to
make up for a poor start to Group F, culminating in a 1-0 home loss
to the Faroe Islands. Markarian will lead Greece for the first time
in their qualifier against Hungary in Budapest on 29 March.

From: A. Papazian

IS NANTES COACH MICHEL DER ZAKARIAN RIGHT TO CLAIM PSG ‘KNOW HOW TO CHEAT?’

Bleacher Report
Feb 12 2015

By Andrew Gibney

Fortune favours the brave, or so the old saying goes. For teams
chasing glory in Ligue 1, they may suggest that fortune favours Paris
Saint-Germain this season.

Over the last few weeks, a number of figures within the league have
spoken out regarding certain tactics undertaken by the Parisian side
in order to get one over on their rivals.

Before Wednesday’s Coupe de France fixture against Nantes, Armenian
coach Michel Der Zakarian told a news conference, via Ian Holyman of
ESPN FC, that as well as playing well on the pitch, his team would
have to show a certain level of mental toughness to overcome the
Ligue 1 champions.

They are stronger than us. They know how to cheat, and they have all
the tools of a great team.

But you have to get in among them. If we’re nice, they’ll walk all
over us. If we don’t believe we can do it, we should stay here.

In the end, Wednesday’s game turned out to be a comfortable win for
PSG. Nantes put up little in the way of a fight once Edinson Cavani
turned in David Luiz’s free-kick. The game was over as a contest when
Yohan Cabaye stroked the ball into the empty net after Maxime Dupe
could only punch the ball as far as the edge of the box.

Der Zakarian will be disappointed in his side for their performance.

He may have believed they could beat the Parisians, but his players
didn’t seem to buy into his team talk.

In the build-up to last Sunday’s key match between Olympique Lyonnais
and PSG, Lyon coach Hubert Fournier also tried to exert the mind games
before the sides faced off. Fournier suggested, via the Guardian,
that Zlatan Ibrahimovic was making comments to referees in either
Italian or English so they wouldn’t understand.

The person who is going to be most provoked is rather Mr [Clement]
Turpin, like all the referees in this league who get insulted by this
person. Apparently, the referees are not bilingual or trilingual,
so they don’t understand. In a way, it’s better to speak Italian or
English to insult referees.

I don’t want [our team] to provoke. I don’t want us to insult the
officials. I hope we remember not to fall for Zlatan’s provocations.

During the 1-1 draw at the Stade de Gerland, it wasn’t Ibrahimovic
who intimidated the referee, but there were a few key decisions that
helped shape the final score.

With Lyon 1-0 up, a loose touch from defender Lindsay Rose saw the
ball fall to Marco Verratti. The little Italian took a touch, Rose
went to make a tackle and the midfielder went down.

Turpin pointed to the spot and Twitter was split down the middle with
regard to the referee’s decision. At first glance it looked like a
penalty, and Rose’s lunge certainly gave Turpin a decision to make.

>From the reverse angle, in slow motion, it looked as though there
was minimal, if any contact.

Ibrahimovic stepped up, and his initial penalty was saved by the
phenomenal Anthony Lopes. However, Turpin ordered a retake. The
Swede wasn’t going to miss a second time and went high into the
opposite corner.

At first, it looked like Lopes had moved off his line, but it later
turned out that the penalty had to be retaken due to encroachment
from the home side. Always playing mind games, Ibrahimovic, via Joe
Wright of Goal.com, backed up Turpin’s decision after the game.

“The penalty retake? If you follow the rules, it makes sense. It was
a good game but we should have won. Lopes made some saves, but we
had some chances where we should have scored.”

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas was less than convinced by some
of the decisions made by Turpin and took to Twitter to declare the
injustice he felt.

Aulas congratulated his players before suggesting that the series of
referring errors or interpretations was appalling. He also went on
to declare that the penalty against Rose was unfair and that PSG’s
players were also in the box.

When talking to Canal Plus after the game, via Joe Wright of Goal.com,
there was a hint of a suggestion that he felt decisions going in
PSG’s favour is par for the course.

We had our chances and an outstanding goalkeeper, but it’s more to do
with meeting regulations. [The Matuidi incident] was an indisputable
penalty. I’m very annoyed.

When you tell me that it wasn’t a deserved penalty, I think you’re
taking me for an idiot.

Aulas was alluding to an incident in the first half when it clearly
looked as though Blaise Matuidi handled the ball inside the penalty
area. It certainly looked clearer than Verratti’s fall.

There was also an incident in the first half when David Luiz charged
into Yoann Gourcuff in midair, which saw the midfielder go flying
but nothing was given in favour of the home side. It is easy to see
why Aulas would be annoyed and suggest that there was some level of
favouritism toward the Parisians.

This is probably the one subject you may find Lyon and Saint-Etienne
agreeing on.

Back in Week 22, Saint-Etienne were beaten 1-0 by PSG at the Stade
Geoffroy-Guichard. The game wasn’t lacking controversy, with Jeremy
Clement adjudged to have handled the ball inside the area. It looked
more like shoulder than arm, but regardless, FIFA rules class your
shoulder as your arm, something Clement himself wasn’t sure about at
the time.

The other big moment came at the end, when Ibrahimovic went studs
first into Romain Hamouma but only received a yellow card. It should
have been a red, and next week, the forward will stand before the
disciplinary committee to make his case. However, the suspension
of the decision has meant the Swede has continued to play a role in
Laurent Blanc’s lineup.

Veteran Marseille defender Rod Fanni is not surprised by Zlatan’s role,
and he plays the role as agitator brilliantly.

“I have had the desire to throw a punch at Ibrahimovic more than once,”
Fanni told Le Parisien (h/t the Guardian). “We have said things to
each other in English that I cannot repeat in public.”

He is playing a role with his arrogant behaviour and he is doing
it very well. They should give him an Oscar for it. He can be very
annoying out there on the pitch but that is a role he is playing. I
know some PSG players and they all tell me that he is not really
like that.

This is a role that continues off the pitch in front of the media. His
claim of being “the Boss” last week after PSG beat Lille, 1-0, in
the semi-final of the Coupe de la Ligue shows he wants to project
his role as leader for everyone to see.

Perhaps the recent suggestions from both Der Zakarian and Fournier
is the Ligue 1 coaches trying to hit back at the feeling that PSG
are being favoured ahead of their own teams. However, it could be a
well-played ploy to try and highlight an issue that doesn’t exist,
but if enough people tell the same story, it can quickly become fact
rather than fiction.

Over the course of the season, many believe what goes around goes
around.

It is hard to believe that the LFP would have any bias toward the
Parisian giants, but it will be very interesting to see how future
decisions are made, especially if more Ligue 1 coaches are brave
enough to suggest that PSG are using intimidation or underhand tactics.

VATINYAN DESIGNS RECEIVES MOSBUILD ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN AWARD FOR HOTEL IN DILIJAN, ARMENIA

Marketers Media
Feb 11 2015

Vatinyan Designs celebrates a recent MADA award for eco- friendliness
and accessible environments, won by their Diana Vatinyan for her
recent work on an Armenian hotel.

New York, NY, United States of America – February 11, 2015
/MarketersMedia/ — Architecture is an alchemical blend of art,
science, engineering and design, and is responsible for conceptualising
all the living spaces we find in the modern world. In the 21st
century, aesthetic has continued to evolve and be influenced by
environmental awareness, efficiency and harmony with the surrounding
environment. Vatinyan Designs has been at the cutting edge of modern
architecture for over twenty years, and has done so while maintaining a
family ethos. Diana Vatinyan founded a new firm, taking on the mantle
of her father’s company in 2010, and has been awarded a MosBuild
Architecture and Design Award for her latest hotel in Armenia.

Vatinyan Designs’ hotel was designed to mimic a natural split of
rock within the landscape, with turf roofing and seven floors fitting
the natural contours of the landscape, the hotel includes all hotel
rooms and amenities together with a fitness centre, restaurants
and spa. The hotel will undoubtedly contribute to Dilijan’s growing
eco-tourism market.

The award was given by MosBuild for “Best Sustainable Architecture
Project” among young architects. The news of the award was first
broken on the Vatinyan Designs Twitter page, but has since been
covered extensively in the MosBuild magazine, including images of
the site and a detailed breakdown of the panel’s reasons for the award.

A spokesperson for Vatinyan Designs explained, “We are thrilled
that MosBuild has seen fit to award Diana with the award for best
sustainable architecture project. Sustainable architecture is something
that Diana is passionate about, and its principles are those that guide
her design work across contexts, so recognition in this category has
been especially welcome. We would like to thank the panel at MosBuild
for this recognition and our Dilijani clients for their support and
assistance in bringing this project to life. We hope the design will
help attract more people to Armenia so they can experience its natural
wonders without sacrificing comfort and amenities.”

About Vatinyan Designs: Vatinyan Designs is an architectural and
interior design firm located in New York City. The firm has multiple
international award winning team members and award winning designs.

Vatinyan Designs strives for design excellence by using cutting edge
design processes to create innovative and breath taking spaces.

For more information about us, please visit

Contact Info: Name: Garland McAlexander Organization: Vatinyan Designs
Phone: 3477547595

XAVIER MORET BUSCA LAS RAICES DE ARMENIA EN “LA MEMORIA DEL ARARAT”

Culturamas
11 feb 2015

.

Actualidad editorial:

El periodista y escritor Xavier Moret lleva años viajando por los
cinco continentes para relatar todo lo que ve. America, Australia o
Islandia ya han sido descritas en algunos de sus libros. Ahora vuelve
al panorama narrativo con La memoria del Ararat (Editorial Península,
2015), un emocionante viaje por las raíces de Armenia, país milenario
que aún hoy vive con una herida abierta: el genocidio de 1915, del
que se cumplen cien años, y en el que murieron un millon y medio de
armenios. Esta es la historia de una larga travesía que empieza, de
hecho, mucho antes del viaje en sí, en el ambito de la cultura armenia
que, quiza sin saberlo, todos conocemos: la de Arshile Gorky, Charles
Aznavour, Atom Egoyan, William Saroyan, los integrantes de la banda
System of a Down… Es la Armenia que difunden e internacionalizan
los armenios de la diaspora, que son muchos mas que los tres millones
que viven en la actualidad en ese antiguo país.

El Ararat y el Arca de Noe: .

Partiendo de la capital, Erevan, y pasando por los fascinantes
monasterios de Geghard, Khor Virap, Tatev y Haghpat, así como por
Echmiadzin (el Vaticano armenio), el lago Sevan y el no-país de Nagorno
Karabaj –escenario hace veinte años de una guerra que se cobro 20.000
muertos–, Xavier Moret explora a fondo una tierra obsesionada con el
Ararat, la montaña en la que, según la leyenda, se poso el Arca de Noe
tras el diluvio universal, principio y fin de todo lo armenio pese
a hallarse –caprichos de la historia– en Turquía. A lo largo del
siglo XIX, veintiocho expediciones trataron de conquistar el Ararat.

Luego la region se convirtio en conflictiva, debido a las guerras y
a las tensiones fronterizas, y la montaña quedo rodeada de un halo de
misterio, hasta que despues de la Segunda Guerra Mundial volvio a haber
expediciones. Entre el monasterio y la montaña sagrada se levantan
las alambradas de la frontera, barrera infranqueable. La tradicion
bíblica y la historia antigua avalan a los armenios, pero la historia
reciente ha dispuesto que el Ararat este al otro lado de la frontera.

El genocidio armenio: .

Este viaje es tambien un recorrido por la dolorosa cicatriz, todavía
muy presente, del genocidio que en 1915 acabo con la vida de un millon
y medio de armenios que habitaban en territorio turco. Dos terceras
partes de los ciudadanos de Armenia son hoy descendientes de víctimas
de aquella masacre, que sigue muy viva en la memoria de todos los
que, de un modo u otro, sienten como suya esa mezcla de nostalgia,
orgullo y dolor que es la armenidad.

La Armenia de ayer: .

La Armenia de hoy: … Historias familiares
como la del superviviente de 103 años Movses Haneshanyan, las imagenes
de horror del Museo del Genocidio, el paisaje montañoso de Armenia,
los manuscritos del Matenadaran, los bellos monasterios visitado,
la hipnotizadora música armenia, los collages del cineasta Paradjanov.

Xavier Moret (Barcelona, 1952) es periodista y escritor. Ha trabajado
en varios diarios y en television, y desde 2006 es reportero de viajes
de El Periodico, lo que le permite viajar por los cinco continentes
escribiendo sobre lo que ve. En 1998 publico su primer libro de
viajes, America, America. Viaje por California y el Far West, dos
años despues el segundo, Boomerang. Viaje al corazon de Australia,
y en 2002 gano el premio Grandes Viajeros con La isla secreta, en
el que relata un recorrido por Islandia que completaría en 2011 con
Islandia, revolucion bajo el volcan. En Días de Hong Kong (2013)
relato su estancia de dos meses en la metropolis asiatica.

.

La memoria del Ararat. Xavier Moret. Editorial Península, 2015. 272
paginas. 17,90 EURO

EL MUNDO SEGUN ARMENIA, A EUROVISION.

Perdona si te digo
12 feb 2015

11/02/2015 · de sergiolm216 · en Eurovision, Eurovision Viena 2015,
Television. ·

El país caucasico ira a Viena con un sexteto intercontinental llamado
Genealogy

Armenia participara en la semifinal 1.

Si ayer en Perdona si te digo hablabamos de la inclusion en el festival
de Australia, predicando con el ejemplo del eslogan de Eurovision
2015 (Building Bridges). Hoy es Armenia la que aplica el eslogan con
su candidatura para Eurovision 2015 en Viena, ya que un sexteto de
músicos de Europa, Oceanía, Asia, África y America representara al
país sureño del Caucaso.

Genealogy es el nombre del grupo intercontinental que la television
armenia llevara a Eurovision en Viena. Por segunda vez, Armenia llevara
a un grupo al festival en el que, a pesar de la intercontinentalidad
del grupo, todos tienen raíces de Armenia. La idea es unir a una
nueva generacion de armenios en el escenario, cuyas familias se han
repartido por el mundo desde 1915.

Hasta el día de hoy, Armenia había llevado solo solistas, excepto en
2009, cuando llevaron al dúo femenino Inga & Anush con el tema Jan Jan,
y en 2013, con el grupo Dorian con Lonely Planet.

Ademas de estos cinco miembros intercontinentales, el sexto miembro
del grupo sera armenio. Los miembros del grupo se iran desvelando
en los proximos días, al igual que la cancion. Habra que esperar
para escuchar la cancion, de la cual ya se ha desvelado el nombre,
según eurovision.tv . La cancion con la que Genealogy representara
a Armenia en Viena 2015 se titulara Don’t deny (No lo niegues).

Genealogy, estrategia similar a la de Suiza 2006 con Six4One.

Con esta estrategia, el país intenta imitar el movimiento que hizo
Suiza en el festival de Eurovision 2006. El país helvetico participo en
aquella ocasion con un sexteto llamado Six4One, formado por cantantes
de diferentes países europeos como Suecia (Andreas Lundstedt de
Alcazar), Israel, Bosnia y Hercergovina, Alemania, Malta y Suiza,
con un tema títulado If we all give a little, consiguiendo un 17º
puesto con 30 puntos.

En PERDONA SI TE DIGO, construimos puentes para hacerte llegar toda
la informacion sobre Armenia en Eurovision 2015 lo antes posible.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKISH PRESIDENT REBUKES ARMENIAN REJECTION OF APRIL 24 INVITATION

Hurriyet Daily news, Turkey
Feb 11 2015

BOGOTA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Armenia to
examine the 1915 events through the lens of “science, not politics,”
criticizing the rejection of Ankara’s invitation to representatives
of the country to attend war commemoration ceremonies in Turkey.

“Let’s remove the 1915 events from the area of politics and refer to
science and scientists,” Erdogan said during a symposium on the topic,
co-organized by Bogota Externado University and Ankara University. He
was attending the event as part of his official visit to Colombia on
Feb. 10.

“What the Armenians did against the Turks and what the Turks did
against the Armenians 100 years ago has not been properly discussed,”
Erdogan said.

“We have made an effort to fix relations with Armenia and open a new
page. Unfortunately, our hand of peace has always been rejected by
the influence of the Armenian diaspora,” he added.

In January, the Turkish president sent invitation letters to more
than 100 leaders, including Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, to
participate in ceremonies on April 24 marking the centenary of the
Battle of Gallipoli in Canakkale. The ceremonies in Canakkale were
rearranged this year to coincide with Armenia’s traditional day of
remembrance for the Armenian victims of 1915.

Sargsyan reportedly denounced Erdogan’s invitation as a “short-sighted”
attempt to overshadow the 100th anniversary the massacres of Ottoman
Armenians.

“We would like them to come and be in Canakkale on April 24,
to breathe in that atmosphere and try to understand that happened
among our hundreds of thousands of martyrs. But they won’t do that,”
Erdogan said.

“They once again blocked peace and dialogue with their statement,
which violated protocols of courtesy,” he added, while vowing “not
to give up on our efforts for peace and dialogue.”

“We will continue to approach this issue under the light of history and
science, not with propaganda, perception games or ugly international
politics,” he stressed.

“This year is the 100th anniversary. We are still reiterating our
sincere call,” Erdogan added.

February/11/2015