Presentation on Armenian Orphan Rug to be held in Glendale

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Glendale Central Library Auditorium will host a power point presentation of the Ghazir Armenian Orphan Rug by Maurice Missak Kelechian on Feb 26.

Msar Palace in Ghazir is about 20 miles from Beirut, Lebanon, perched on a hill. The Msar (often spelled Mizar) palace in Ghazir was built during the 19th century by a Lebanese prince, Emir Chehab II. Early in 1923, the Near East Relief organization rented Msar palace and turned it into an Armenian girls’ orphanage, the largest in the area. Under the American flag, the orphanage became a safe haven for 1400 Armenian girls who had witnessed the destruction of their country, during the Armenian Genocide. The place is well known for its rug factory. From 1923 to 1930, the orphanage produced 3254 rugs and around 1000 orphan girls certified in the art of rug weaving. These girls made history by introducing the art of rug weaving into the Lebanese culture. Three years after the Ghazir orphanage was founded and within a period of ten months, seven Armenian orphan girls wove their masterpiece rug on behalf of tens of thousands of Armenian orphans around the world.

The Ghazir Rug, also known as Armenian Orphan Rug is an 11.7 by 18.5 feet rug, woven into 4,404,206 individual hand-tied knots of figures of more than one hundred animals and plants. In December 1925, the rug was presented to United States President Calvin Coolidge as a token of gratitude and it stayed with Coolidge and his family even after he left the office. The rug was returned to the White House in 1982, and stored in the storage room for thirty-two years until November 2014 when it was exhibited at the White House Visiting Center.

“The Ghazir Rug is not just a carpet; it is a tangible connection to the first genocide of the Twentieth Century – a silent, beautiful rebuttal to those who deny the murder of 1.5 million men, woman and children in a campaign of mass murder, forced marches, rape and looting that befell the Armenian people from 1915-23,” Congressman Adam Schiff commented.