The Spirit of an Armenian Mother

This photo shows the powerful spirit of an Armenian mother! The photo, which depicts an armed Armenian woman with her son from Shatah, was taken in Van.

During the massacres in Armenia, all her relatives have been killed. She had to take her only son and flee to the mountains.

They were being chased by Kurdish thieves who wanted to kill her and take away her son to then sell him into slavery. This female legend was fighting a gang of assassins alone on her way from the Shatah Mountains to the city of Van.

In Van, she joined the Armenian forces of self-defense. After their defeat, she left the city along with her son and other survivors.

Her descendants, her grandsons and great-grandchildren, are especially proud to tell about the way she defended her son and what cunning she deceived the Kurdish murderers with. This woman’s name was Tankik!