Conference dedicated to Hamshen Armenians to open in Yerevan July 23

PanARMENIAN.Net - Hamshen and Hamshen Armenians attract more and more attention of the Armenian public and scientific circles, said Artavazd Tulumjian, chairman of the Krasnodar-based "Hamshen" Armenian scientific and cultural center.



"Speaking about Hamshens, people often imply Islamized Hamshen Armenians living in Turkey. However, there are many Christian Hamshen Armenians in Russia and Abkhazia. Hamshens, whether Christians or Muslims is a single sub-ethnic group of the Armenian nation," he said.



"Hamshen and Hamshen Armenians" international conference initiated by Yerkir Union jointly with the Institute of Oriental Studies at the RA Academy of Sciences will open in Yerevan on July 23.



Orientalists, linguists, historians and ethnographers from Armenia, Russia and Turkey are expected to address the conference, reports Yerkramas, the newspaper of Armenians of Russia.



Hamshen Armenians make majority of the Armenian population on the Black Sea coast of Krasnodar region and in some region if Kuban and Adygei, who settled there after the Armenian Genocide. Up to 250 thousand of Hamshen Armenians live in Kuban, Adygei and Abkhazia. The number of Islamized Hamshen Armenians in Turkey fluctuates between 700 thousand to 1.5-5 million, according to experts.