ODA Middle East

In this section, we present collections of memory items preserved by Armenian families from the Middle East (Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, etc), as well as concise microhistories of these families.

Our aim is to give the public access to historical treasures that have previously been accessible only to the families that preserved them. These include historical photographs, tangible objects (clothing, metalwork, embroidery, etc.), letters, and documents. They belonged to, or were owned by, Armenian families while they lived in their native cities or villages across the Ottoman Empire. In many cases, the original owners of these relics have long been deceased, but these tangible legacies they left behind are witnesses of their lives. These collections are accompanied by short histories of the families that they pertain to.

The Open Digital Archive also aims to collect in one place and present to the public the non-tangible historical legacy of Armenian families, especially as it relates to the daily life that Armenians led across the Ottoman Empire. Among these items are historical songs, lullabies, children’s or youth’s games, stories, legends and beliefs, adages, recipes, etc.

In addition to family archives, the Open Digital Archive also includes collections of photographs that are housed in various libraries and institutions around the world, and which directly or indirectly relate to the lives of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.