Kay Mouradian wrote her first novel, A Gift in the Sunlight: An Armenian Story after her mother’s remarkable survival of the Armenian genocide prompted her to examine her own ancestral past. After working in various libraries and archives in the United States, she visited Hadjin, the village in Turkey where her mother and her mother’s family, along with 20,000 other Hadjintsies, were forced to leave their homes. Traveling across the same deportation route to the deserts of Syria where more than a million perished in the Armenian Genocide, she became acutely aware of the suffering of her mother’s generation and the lingering sense of injustice they carried. This series awakens some of those voices lost to history.
MORGENTHAU AND WAR CLOUDS CHAPTER TEN
‘A telegram from the consulate at Smyrna just arrived,’ Phillip said as he entered Morgenthau’s office. ‘They are requesting a war ship or the SCORPION to anchor by their coast in case Americans need protection.’
Morgenthau recalled his recent conversation with the attorney from the American licorice root dealers in Smyrna. There was a possibility they would be forced to discharge thousands of Greeks in their employ....
MORGENTHAU AND JEMAL PASHA CHAPTER NINE May, 1914
The next morning as Morgenthau was having breakfast, he noticed Jemal Pasha entering the dining room. Jemal’s gait was quick and heavy and Morgenthau immediately knew the Turkish Minister of Marine was upset.
‘You must stop the sale of those dreadnoughts!’ Jemal demanded even before he greeted the American ambassador.
Morgenthau looked into Jemal’s beady eyes, observed his clean uniform and wondered why he still looked shadowed....
MORGENTHAU RETURNS TO CONSTANTINOPLE CHAPTER EIGHT May, 1914
The American flag waved in the wind as the SCORPION, the American embassy’s ship, steamed up the Dardanelles and into the Sea of Marmora on it way back to Constantinople. Standing together on the starboard deck, Morgenthau and his wife, Josie, smelled the salty air, a gentle breeze blowing against their faces.
Morgenthau’s eyes were drawn toward Stamboul and the numerous minarets reaching up toward the heavens....
AMBASSADOR MORGENTHAU’S RECEPTION FOR THE AMERICAN COLONY CHAPTER SEVEN CONSTANTINOPLE MARCH 1914
The hands on the clock on the wall were nearing 4 o’clock. Glancing at the time, Henry Morgenthau quickly buttoned his suit jacket as his wife, Josie, stood in front of the mirror putting on another coat of lipstick. Morgenthau did not want to be late for this reception where he would formally introduce his wife to the American colony....
AMBASSADOR MORGENTHAU’S FORMAL DINNER CHAPTER SIX February 1914
Row upon row of carriages and automobiles lined the street by the American embassy. Foreign ambassadors and ministers in full regalia walked up the marble stairs to the embassy’s entrance. Accompanied by their wives who normally don’t appear in public, Turkish leaders arrived as their bodyguards stood by, watching.
Feeling dapper in a new tuxedo, Henry Morgenthau personally introduced his wife, Josie, the new Ambassadress to each guest....
MORGENTHAU’S WIFE ARRIVES CHAPTER FIVE ADRIANOPLE February, 1914
Two years ago Bulgaria defeated Turkey in the first Balkan War and seized Adrianople. Six months later Bulgaria moved her army to another front to fight the Serbs and Greeks in a second Balkan war and Enver Pasha, Turkey’s Minister of War, led his troops back to Adrianople. Enver retook the territory without firing a shot. Adrianople had once again become part of Turkey....
MORGENTHAU AND TALAAT CHAPTER FOUR November, 1914
Having had a reception and a Christmas party for the American colony, Ambassador Morgenthau was glad the holiday season was over. Intermittent rain and a bitter cold spell greeted the New Year and the embassy was back on a full work schedule.
Arshag Schmavonian, wearing a wool grey sweater under his grey suit jacket, walked into the ambassador’s office and stood by the brick hearth warming himself at the crackling fire....
THE INTRIGUE OF CONSTANTINOPLE POLITICS CHAPTER THREE November, 1913
Henry Morgenthau was anxious to meet the Turkish politicians and the ambassadors posted in Constantinople.
‘It is better to wait,’ his dragoman, Arshag Schmavonian advised. ‘They want to meet you, Sir. Let them be the first to extend an invitation.’
‘Are you suggesting I remain aloof?’
‘No, Sir, but this is Constantinople and intrigue is part of the culture. You want to arouse their curiosity....
MORGENTHAU’S FIRST DAY IN CONSTANTINOPLE CHAPTER TWO
After a hearty breakfast of omelets smothered with herbs and a variety of breads, cheeses, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, and yogurt, the new ambassador made arrangements for his family to tour the city while he went to work. Entering his office he left the door open, walked across the thick Persian rug to the window and observed the bustling activity on the bay. Small steamers taking commuters back and forth were just as packed as the New York ferries on which he had traveled....
MORGENTHAU ARRIVES IN CONSTANTINOPLE CHAPTER ONE Constantinople, November, 1913
The train swung around a great curve by the Golden Horn, the inlet adjacent to Stamboul, the oldest section of Constantinople. Henry Morgenthau felt it slowing down, heard the brakes squealing, and was once again aware of his wife’s absence. He missed Josie already.
He had not wanted to go to Constantinople alone, remembering the loneliness he felt that summer he remained in New York while the family vacationed in Europe....