Photo of a Bread Shop in Partizak – 1910

The city of Partizak situated 20 km from Nicomedia on the southeast coast of the Gulf of İzmit in Turkey used to be a purely Armenian city. It was founded in the 16th century by immigrants from Partizak in Sebastia. There used to be schools, a theater, and Armenian newspaper publishers in the city.

By the beginning of the 20th century, 17.000 Armenians lived in the city. Its last mayor was writer Ter-Hakobyan. In 1915, Partizak was ravaged and its population slaughtered or exiled by the Turks.

In 1918, 3.500 Armenians returned to Partizak and began to restore it. However, the Greek-Turkish War put an end to this. A part of the surviving Armenians of Partizak found shelter in Soviet Armenia. Some also settled in Aleppo.

Nowadays, the city bears the Turkish name Bahçelik.

Read also: Photo of the Forcible Deportation of Armenians from Trebizond – April 1916, A Photo of an Armenian Boy-“Mowgli” Found in the Desert – 1920 – 1921, Photo of the Armenian Self-Defense of Van, Erivan 1917 – Photo of Armenian Orphans – Commentary by James Bryce