Two of Professor Richard G. Hovannisian’s volumes, Armenian Van and Armenian Bitlis and Mush, were recently published in Turkish by Aras Publishers in Istanbul, The Armenian Weekly reports.

Both volumes, edited by Hovannisian, are from the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) international conference series “Historic Armenian Cities and Provinces,” begun by Hovannisian in 1997. Aras Publishers plans to translate all 14 volumes in the UCLA series into Turkish, the most recent of which, was released in 2016 by Mazda Publishers under the title, "Armenian Communities of the Northeastern Mediterranean: Musa Dagh-Dört-Yol-Kessab."

Contributors to the Van and Bitlis-Mush volumes discuss the political geography and dynastic history and culture of the two regions from antiquity to the 20th century; their art and architecture; classical historians and colophons; interactions with foreign powers; tribulations under Ottoman rule; their role in Armenian liberation movements; their fate during the Armenian Genocide and self-defense in World War I; and their presence in modern literature.

The two volumes were released to the public in Istanbul on November 9-10, 2016, during an international conference on Van sponsored by the Hrant Dink Foundation. During his keynote address, Hovannisian reflected on growing up in the San Joaquin Valley of California among the immigrants and survivors from Van, Bitlis, and Mush. He then assessed the multifaceted information and insights gained from the 70 oral history interviews that he and his students at UCLA conducted with natives of the city and numerous villages of the province of Van.

Aras Publishers is currently translating the third volume in the UCLA series, "Armenian Tsopk/Kharpert."