The Armenian at Home, 1896
"Armenians are especially noted as good farmers and shrewd merchants. There is not a factory in the whole country; everything is made by hand, and thus skilled workmen abound."
From “The Armenian at Home,” by Two Armenians, in The Cambridge Magazine, Issues 1-2, 1896.
The houses of the Armenians are built of stone and mortar, seldom of brick or wood. The walls are thick; the roof is flat and covered with earth a foot deep. On rainy days the earth on the roof is rolled with stone cylinders weighing about a hundred pounds, to prevent leaks. When the snow falls, members of the family shovel it off the roof down into the street. The houses are two or three stories high. One door leads into all the apartments. The barn and stable, as well as the kitchen, parlor, and one or two bedrooms, are all under one roof, but separated from each other.
The members of the family sleep in one large room, but to a newly married couple a separate room is given. There is no floor, nor is there any paper on the walls, which are whitewashed instead. Turkish rugs are spread on the ground. A wood fire in a hand-made fireplace is the only means of heating the house and cooking the meals. The windows are small, and oiled white paper takes the place of window glass.
Almost all Armenians have houses of their own; only a few of the people have to pay rent. Sometimes one hundred or more houses are built so close together that they look like one block. The streets are narrow and crooked, and without sidewalks. Beasts of burden, men, women, and children are crowded together. There are no street numbers to the houses.
Farmers eat four meals a day and work sixteen hours out of the twenty-four. Men of other occupations have three meals a day. The food of the Armenians consists chiefly of vegetables and fruits, with fresh meat twice a week. Meat a day old is thrown away. Pastry is not known there. Provisions for the year are stored up in the autumn.
The chief article of food is called “boolghoor,” which is prepared thus: wheat is boiled in water for some hours, dried in the sun, ground, and packed away in earthen vessels. At the table all the household partake of the same food at the same time from the same dish, but separate dishes are provided for guests. Cooking utensils are made of copper nickel-plated. Plates of pottery and wood are sometimes used; spoons are made always of hard wood.
Both men and women dress in three different styles. The European style of dress is general in the cities; in towns the dress is a combination of the European and Armenian costumes; but in the villages it is wholly the Armenian style. This is a coarse and simple dress. Over the undergarments a robe is worn called “zuboon,” which resembles a dressing gown with a girdle; over that is a short coat. It is impossible to tell a man from a woman except from the head. The dressing of the hair and their faces betray the women. They wear a veil over their faces, and you can see only their bright eyes. But young girls before their marriage, and old women, do not wear veils; only married women do this.
As to occupations, Armenians are farmers, merchants, weavers, metal workers, bakers. There are also lawyers, physicians, musicians, teachers, and preachers. Armenians are especially noted as good farmers and shrewd merchants. There is not a factory in the whole country; everything is made by hand, and thus skilled workmen abound.
Two Armenians. “The Armenian at Home,” in The Cambridge Magazine, Issues 1-2, 1896.
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