Armenian Youth To Appeal Decision Recognizing Harissa As Turkish Dis

ARMENIAN YOUTH TO APPEAL DECISION RECOGNIZING HARISSA AS TURKISH DISH

news.am
Dec 7 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Armenian publicist and writer sees a plot in the
Culture Ministry’s policy. She expressed this opinion, during a
press conference on Wednesday, reflecting on including the Armenian
national dish Harissa in UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List,
but as a Turkish national dish called Keshkek.

In her words, cuisine is a part of culture, and Harissa is an Armenian
dish which was prepared since long ago. “We must be the masters of our
belonging. We have a Culture Ministry that has two tasks: to preserve
and to reveal what was lost, and to properly present our culture,”
the publicist stated.

In his turn, the “Development and Preservation of Armenian Culinary
Traditions” NGO Chairman Sedrak Mamulyan noted that the utensils,
methods, and ingredients used for making the Harissa have a pure
Armenian origin and it is a purely Armenian dish. “If a dish is
prepared in the tonir [cylindrical clay oven], there is no doubt that
it is Armenian. The homeland of the wheat is the Armenian Plateau,
and this is accepted by everyone,” he said.

And the aforesaid NGO’s secretary Vahe Antanesyan informed that the
young Armenian ethnographers are gathering all information on Harissa
so as to appeal this decision. “But there must be state assistance
to rectify the situation,” he argued.