Armenian Jerusalem
This is the man that lived with pride and dignity throughout his life.
After
graduating
fro
St
Tarkmanchats
,
I
went
to
work
for
him
at
the
Jerusalem Photo Studio which was right at Jaffa Gate.
He
was
known
to
every
one
in
the
city
of
Jerusalem
as
(Mukhtar
of
the
Armenian community.
I worked for him about 3 years before I came to the USA.
Fresh
from
high
school
I
was
very
attentive
to
every
word
he
said
and
showed me how to do things.
He
did
not
show
me
only
the
photography
business.He
taught
me
many
aspects of life..
He
was
respected
man
not
only
by
us
Armenians,
he
was
also
respected
by
many people around him.
He
was
a
peacemaker
and
solved
many
issues.He
protected
the
Armenian
youth
from
the
Haras
Al
Watany
(”national
guard”,
conscription
by
the
Jordanian
army):
shop
keepers,Taxi
drivers,
Coffee
shop
friends
even
simple
individuals that usually used to hang around the shop.
He
committed
himself
to
help
the
poor
and
the
needy.
Every
Saturday
right
after
he
came
back
from
having
lunch
with
his
family,
he
used
to
stand
at
the
steps
of
the
shop
and
hand
out
5
piasters
to
every
one
who
came
and
extended
their
hands
to
him.Many
of
them
came
back
for
more
since
they
were
covering
their faces.
Early
Saturday
morning
he
used
to
go
the
the
meat
market
and
the
vegetable
markets
and
ask
the
merchants
to
donate
meat
and
food
to
the
old
age home which was run by Catholic sisters.
By
the
time
I
came
to
open
the
shop
the
stairs
were
full
of
many
different
food items.
During
the
week
when
he
was
notarizing
papers
for
some
clients,
and
they
asked
him
how
much
they
owed
him,
he
always
said,
“there
is
a
box
at
the
counter, just put as much as you like.”
Saturdays
just
before
he
went
home,
he
hired
one
of
the
taxis
and
we
used
to
fill
the
taxi
with
all
the
food
items
and
I
used
to
carry
the
money
box
-
we
never
knew
how
much
money
was
in
it
-
and
I
went
with
the
driver
to
the
old
age home and dropped the food and the box..
He
was
paying
the
driver
for
all
the
expenses,
and
neverdiscriminated
and
hired the same driver.He always gave every one a chance.
Anyone
who
passed
by
and
stopped
to
talk
to
him
on
the
steps
of
the
store
was
offered
cup
of
coffee
or
tea.
He
was
not
extending
only
one
hand
out
to
reach other people, he had both arms out to reach every one.
He
was
well
respected
by
the
Armenian
Patriarchate,
the
Greeks,
the
Roman
Catholics and Latin Patriarchate.
He
was
not
only
my
boss,
he
also
was
my
leader
and
at
the
end
he
gave
me
the title of Mukhtar Junior.
His
best
moments
in
the
shop
were
when
he
had
a
cigar
in
his
mouth
and
he
was retouching the negatives to make someone look better in the picture.
When
he
was
there
to
take
pictures
of
little
children
he
used
to
prep
them
and
have
them
sit
on
the
chair
and
watch
as
he
covered
his
head
with
a
black
sheet and said “Bader, Bader, Bader” and clicked the picture.
The
3
years
I
worked
for
him
were
like
going
to
school
all
over.
He
became
part of my daily life and treated me just as he treated his children.
He
will
always
be
remembered.
I
owe
him
all
the
respect
in
life.I
know
he
was not happy to see me go, but he always said, “go seek your future.”
He was indeed a legend and he is in the history books.
God
Bless
his
soul
and
may
he
rest
in
peace
and
I
am
sure
he
is
continuing
his
good deeds in heaven.
site of photo studio, to right of center
