Ajam Media Collective

The tumblr home of Ajammc.com.

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Mehelle

A project from Ajam Media Collective dedicated to preserving the sights, sounds, and memories of changing neighborhoods in Central Asia, Iran, and the Caucasus.

When looking at video and photos from Sovetski over the past 2 years you'd be forgiven for thinking you were looking at a neighborhood on the outskits of Baku. Even when walking its streets one feels as though they've left the capital, entering some undefined space separate and surely far from the glittering lights and glass skyscrappers of Azerbaijan's capital. In truth though Sovetski is the absolute heart of the city, a five minute walk from the popular Targova shopping distract. This summer while recording footage for our project, the sound of F1 race cars racing around the carefully preserved walls of Baku's Old City could be heard buzzing over the razed homes of Sovetski. Read More

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Journalists in Baku, Azerbaijan spent six months digitizing this community before it was razed in October.

Ajam’s Mehelle Project is featured on The Creators Project! 

For six months before the city bulldozed Sovetski, the Ajam MC team painstakingly recorded everyday scenes in local shops, housing complexes, and labyrinthine alleyways. “Within the neighborhoods themselves, we try to find the specific buildings, people, shops, and street life that make it unique. In Sovetski, this included doner shops, street musicians, bird keepers, and repairmen. When exploring the map, viewers should constantly be surprised by what they find,” Ajam MC co-editor-in-chief Rustin Zarkar tells The Creators Project.

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Things Left Behind: Art Left to Burn

Since 2014 the residents of Sovetski have lived in a state of flux.

Since 2014 the residents of Sovetski have lived in a state of flux. After the announcement of the neighborhood's demolition two years ago some people immediately packed up and left to stay with family outside the city. The majority, however, stayed either to fight for better monetary compensation or out of love for their homes. As late as August 2016 a few single homes remained jutting out of the gutted neighborhood, the last holdouts of Sovetski. For these people it was a constant question of when and how they would finally leave. On some days police would crowd the streets early, going door to door giving people a few hours to leave, construction equipment looming behind them. Others were luckier, managing to obtain a better compensation before being told to leave.

Read More and see the whole project at Mehelle.ajammc.com

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Ajam’s Mehelle: Recording Everyday Life in Endangered Neighborhoods

Ajam Media Collective has created Mehelle— a new project dedicated to preserving the sights, sounds, and memories of rapidly-changing neighborhoods from Eastern Anatolia to Central Asia. It will se…

Ajam is pleased to announce the launch of Mehelle, a new project dedicated to preserving the sights, sounds, and memories of rapidly-changing neighborhoods from Eastern Anatolia to Central Asia. Please join us by taking time to explore and share mehelle.ajammc.com!

"The Mehelle project’s first featured neighborhood is Sovetski, located in the heart of Baku, Azerbaijan. Originally sheltering lower-income families who worked in Baku’s booming oil fields during the mid-19th century, Sovetski soon became a bustling neighborhood filled with shops, mosques, baths, and a church. By the end of the Soviet period, Sovetski housed around 50,000 to 60,000 people and included over 230 registered historic monuments.

In 2014, the municipal authorities announced that they will be demolishing the neighborhood in order to build a public park–part of a larger urban beautification initiative aimed at attracting tourism and foreign investment. While the government offered meager compensation (1,500 manats— or $1,911– per square meter) for the loss of property, the announcement was met with disapproval and demonstrations.

As of October 2016, the vast majority of the neighborhood has been demolished. Over the last six months, however, our team in Baku has painstakingly documented the city streets of the neighborhood, recording life at local shops, major throughways, labyrinthine alleys, abandoned houses, as well as during festivals and holidays."

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The #mihrab of the #StPetersburg #Mosque, modeled after Timur's mausoleum in Samarkand. #ajamistan pic taken by our editor @rz422 #Russia

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Samarkand - Uzbekistan (von Sebastià Giralt)

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Carpets hanging out to dry on the streets of Dushanbe, Tajikistan

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Exciting news! Ajam will be launching a new project: the Ajam Digital Archive of 20th Century Persianate Life! We will be circulating info on how to get involved as a contributor or a staff member, but in the meantime, check out this sneak peak of an American woman's scrapbook of her trip to Iran and Egypt in 1977! Stay tuned! #ajamistan #iran #isfahan #egypt #luxor #persepolis #history #digital #archive #community #diaspora #iranian #instahistory #instalife #instairan #ajam (at 🎉 EXCITING NEWS 🎉)

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This #ajamistan photo from the great @jmashouf, who you should be following if you aren't already. #iran #chador #mosque #muslim

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Beautiful pic of #Golestan Palace by @rmsoleymani. That's Fat'h Ali Shah's ivory throne, and the walls are adorned with yellow and blue mosaics, signature of the Qajar period. Tag your pics with #ajamistan to share them with us! #qajarlife

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Bazzar of Rasht, Iran (late 1800’s)

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100 Years After: Remembering the Armenian Genocide Through The Culture that Persists

One hundred years on from the Armenian Genocide, we highlight but a few Armenian cultural organizations and producers in hopes of both remembering the past, and supporting Armenians who continue to build a better future.

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Armenian Diaspora in the Levant

To commemorate the centennial anniversary of the Armenian genocide, I’ve compiled a list of resources about the Armenian communities in the Levant. It should be noted that a lot of those people are descendants of genocide survivors. 

Palestine:

Armenian Christians in Jerusalem: 1700 years of peaceful presence

Armenians in Jerusalem: The Politics of Survival in the Holy Land

From Ararat to Zion (Documentary - directed by Edgar Baghdasayan)

The Armenians and the Syrians: Ethnoreligious Communities in Jerusalem

The Armenian Community in the Holy Land

The Armenians of Palestine 1918-1948

Jordan:

Armenians’ Dual Identity in Jordan

Armenians in Jordan: A community with Dual Identity

Armenians in Jordan

Lebanon:

Armenians in Lebanon (1) (United By the Sea II) (Part of the Fabric of Keserwan III)

Bourj Hammoud: Seeing the City’s Urban Textures and Layered Pasts

Lebanese Armenians: A distinctive community in the Armenian diaspora and in Lebanese Society 

‘Little Armenia’ Bourj Hammoud (Video)

The Settlement of Musa Dagh Armenians in Anjar, Lebanon, 1939-1941

Syria:

Armenian Genocide Martyrs’ Memorial Church, Deir Ez Zor

Armenians in Syria

Problems of the Armenians of Syria: The Armenian Community of Damascus 

Syria’s Kessab: The devastation of an Armenian safe haven

Syria: Kessab’s battle and Armenians’ history 

Syrians in Armenia: Not just another refugee story 

The Ebb and Flow of the Armenian Minority in the Arab Middle East

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Iranian-Armenians gather at Saint Sarkis Cathederal in Tehran, Iran on the anniversary of the Armenian genocide 

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“A Long Time Between Drinks”, humoristic cartoon from Puck on the establishment of diplomatic relations between Greece and Persia, 1902 

source

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Cartoon to celebrate the Qajars appointing an ambassador to Greece in 1902.

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Armenian genocide memorial in the courtyard of an Armenian church - Isfahan, Iran

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شحليلهم

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Images from Bahrain.