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November 27, 2007
Ara Tekian Discusses His Pilgrimage to Mt. Ararat with Audiences the World Over
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Ara Tekian with AGBU Lebanon members during his July 8 lecture in Beirut, Lebanon, entitled "Mt. Ararat: The View from the Other Side." -
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Ara Tekian with AGBU YP Vienna Chairperson, Hrayr Sarikian, during his June 27 lecture in Austria.
Longtime AGBU member, Ara Tekian, a medical education specialist and professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago, lectured to audiences around the world about a journey to Mt. Ararat that would change his life and teach him about the pride of being Armenian.
During his trek, Tekian was accompanied by American University of Armenia (AUA) president, Haroutune Armenian, Dr. Armenian's wife Sona, assistant professor of public health at AUA, Varduhi Petrosyan, and her husband Arsen Krikoryan, as well as a former professor of public health at AUA, Dr. Arthur Melkonyan. The trip was the group's way of celebrating the 15th anniversary of Armenia's independence and the founding of AUA.
Eager to share the exhilaration of the trip with Armenians around the world, Tekian prepared more than 300 images to illustrate a colorful lecture about his August 2006 journey that started in Armenia, continued through Javakhk (in Georgia), then went on to the Biblical Mt. Ararat, including visits to key sites in historical Armenia.
Beginning in Chicago on March 4, 2007, Tekian spoke to his hometown crowd about his adventures during the previous summer. Then, the vibrant Armenian-American professor began a summer lecture series on three continents, first in New York, where he spoke to a packed house at AGBU Central Office on June 19. The 100+ crowd followed the colorful journey that included detailed descriptions of the people and landmarks Tekian and his colleagues encountered on the way, including Kurdish guides, unique local customs, native foods and the natural beauty of a mountain that plays a central role in the psyche of Armenians everywhere, Mt. Ararat.
On June 27, he continued on to Vienna, Austria, where he spoke to a small group of local Armenians. On July 8, he presented a riveting lecture entitled "Mt. Ararat: The View from the Other Side" to a large audience in Beirut, Lebanon, where he grew up.
During his talks, Tekian outlined what he described as "a spiritual journey" to the regions of eastern Turkey that had long been inaccessible or unwelcoming to Armenians.
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