Nadia Basmadjian - Sarafian Collection – Thessaloniki

Author: Ani Apikian, 30/03/2025 (Last modified: 30/03/2025) - Translator: Simon Beugekian. This page was prepared collaboratively with the “Armenika” periodical of Athens.

Nadia’s paternal grandfather was Karekin Basmadjian, who lived in Üsküdar (in Constantinople). Karekin was married to Beatrice (nee Nshanian, 1862-1943). The couple had five children: Manoug, Armenouhi, Ara, and the twins Haigouhi and Haig (born in 1896; the latter being Nadia Sarafian’s father). At the age of one, Haigouhi had an allergic reaction to milk and died. Karekin and Beatrice Basmadjian, with their children, lived in the Üsküdar neighborhood, on the Asian side of Constantinople, for some time. Then they moved to the city’s European side, to the Pera neighborhood, where they lived until 1919.

In Pera, Karekin Basmadjian was engaged in the production and trade of textiles. He owned three small shops, located in the covered market of Constantinople (Kapalıçarşı). Karekin’s profession was probably the reason the family was called Basmadjian (in Turkish, basma means “pressed fabric”). After receiving their early education at an Armenian school in Üsküdar, the family's four children went on to attend the Berberian School, also located in Üsküdar.

Haig’s sister, Armenouhi, most probably left school before graduating. While still a teenager, she met Mikayel Msrian, and the two fell in love. Mikayel was born in Samsun, and was a successful tobacco manufacturer and exporter. He would often travel to other cities for work. He and Armenouhi met on one of his business trips to Constantinople. A short time later, the couple married and had three daughters: Louiz, Anahid, and Adrine (born in 1915). Mikayel and Armenouhi decided to leave the Ottoman Empire with their children. They moved to Brussels, where Mikayel’s tobacco company had its headquarters. Mikayel and Armenouhi’s three daughters were educated in Brussels. The years passed, the three girls married, and they formed families in different countries.

Adrine married Zareh Checheyan. During the Second World War, the couple moved to New York, which was home to a branch of Mikayel Msrian’s tobacco business.

Louiz married Boghos Fringhian in Paris. The couple had three daughters. Boghos’ older brother, Nourhan Fringhian, founded an Armenian museum in the 16th arrondissement of Paris in 1953 (Musée arménien de France). Today, the museum is closed, but its collection can still be viewed online at le-maf.com. Nourhan Fringhian was one of the leading members of the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) in France and Europe, and one of the organization’s benefactors.

Anahid married a man named Elmasian (first name unknown) in London. The couple had one son.

With the financial assistance he provided, Mikayel Msrian greatly contributed to the legal defense of Soghomon Tehlirian, who assassinated Talaat Pasha in Berlin in 1921. During the deportations of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Mikayel was able to save his brother-in-law Manoug, thanks to his financial resources.

Manoug Basmadjian, Nadia’s uncle, had studied architecture, and worked in carpentry and commerce. He had a special talent for painting and had received a musical education.

At the start of the Genocide, Manoug Basmadjian was among the Armenian intellectuals who were arrested by the Ottoman authorities in Constantinople and Izmir. A total of 600 prominent Armenians were arrested in the capital, including intellectuals and political figures. They were then deported to various corners of the empire, and the majority were killed. Manoug Basmadjian, too, lived through the entire nightmare of the deportations. On the evening of April 24, having returned home from work, Manoug was about to partake in his customary glass of raki in his garden, when an Ottoman police officer arrived and politely asked Manoug to follow him to the police station, supposedly to resolve an insignificant affair. He was among the group of prominent Armenians exiled to Changhuru/Çankırı (a city near Ankara), which also included Father Gomidas. Every night, Father Gomidas would lead the members of the caravan in prayers and song.

Manoug was one of the few Armenians exiled to Changhuru who survived. He escaped death thanks to the intervention of his brother-in-law, Mikayel Msrian. Mikayel bribed Ottoman officials who then ensured that Manoug would return to Constantinople from exile. At this time, Manoug was 28 years old. His brother, Haig, told his daughter, Nadia, that on the night of his return, the family welcomed Manoug with great excitement and warmth. The glass of raki that had been poured for him on the evening of his arrest, left untouched since then, was once again offered to him.

Around this time, when the First World War erupted, Manoug’s brother, Haig, was eligible for conscription, but tried to avoid the conscription order. At first, he hid on the roof of the family home. When the police burst into the house looking for him, he was able to escape. The living descendants of the family do not know what happened to him next. We know one thing for certain – that Haig survived the genocide.

On October 30, 1918, a ceasefire was declared and Allied forces occupied Constantinople. In 1919, the Basmadjian family left Constantinople and settled in Brussels. The two brothers, Manoug and Haig, immediately began working in their father-in-law’s tobacco company. The third brother, Ara, left for the United States. Karekin Basmadjian remained in Üsküdar, where he lived until his death. In 1938, Haig Basmadjian moved to the city of Thessaloniki in Greece. There, he met Nvart Medzigian, and the two married.

In 1924, Manoug married Alice Boyadjian, who was born in Thessaloniki. The wedding ceremony took place at the Holy Mother-of-God Church in Thessaloniki. Nadia’s mother, Nvart, acted as the bridesmaid. Manoug and Alice had two sons, Karekin-Berdj and Diran. Manoug Basmadjian and his family then moved to Germany, where they lived in the cities of Dresden, Leipzig, and eventually Hamburg. In Hamburg, Manoug formed a choir consisting exclusively of German members, and who sang Armenian songs during their concerts, especially arrangements by Father Gomidas.

During the Second World War, the family returned to Thessaloniki, where Manoug’s mother, Beatrice, and younger brother, Haig, lived. They lived in Thessaloniki for five years, then moved to Athens. At the end of the war, Mikayel Msrian’s tobacco company stopped doing business in Brussels. Manoug and his family returned to Brussels, where he founded a factory that made eyeglasses. Manoug died in Brussels in 1964.

One of Manoug and Alice’s sons, Diran, studied chemistry at the University of Zurich (Switzerland), and then worked as a researcher at the University of Toronto (Canada).

During the Second World War, after the occupation of Greece by Nazi forces, Karekin-Berdj participated in the activities of the resistance, and was a member of the National Liberation Front (EAM). Unfortunately, the extant oral history of the family has not preserved additional information on this aspect of his life.

Karekin-Berdj dreamt of being a doctor. He received a scholarship to study medicine in the United States, but American authorities refused to allow him entry due to his anti-Nazi activities with the EAM, which was a communist group.

Karekin-Berdj married Elo Haroutyunian. They had two children, Badrig and Alice. Both later studied medicine in Brussels.

In Thessaloniki, Levon met Aghavni Tashdjian (1887-1973), who was born in Edirne. The two later married. In 1900, Aghavni and her family had settled in the city of Dedeaghadj (present-day Alexandroupoli, Greece). Aghavni’s mother was Efkharis (nee Soukikian), also called Paris. Aghavni’s father, Giragos, had a restaurant in Edirne, and many of his customers were employees of the Eskishehir railway. Efhkharis and Giragos had three other children: Sdepan, who was a member of the Communist Party of Greece and repatriated to Soviet Armenia in 1947; Ludvig, who later moved to Egypt; and Mgrdich, who later settled in France.

In 1903, when the construction of the Holy Mother-of-God Church began in Thessaloniki, Levon Medzigian participated as a metalworker, under the supervision of an Armenian called Minasian (first name unknown). Levon lodged in Minasian’s house and also worked in his smithy. As Minasian was childless, he decided to become a foster father for Levon. With Minasian’s encouragement, Levon decided to hone his skills as a blacksmith in the United States. At the time, Levon and Aghavni were not yet married. During his years apprenticing in the United States, the couple maintained a regular correspondence. Through this correspondence, they became engaged and promised to marry each other and live in Thessaloniki. Two of the postcards that Aghavni received from Levon are still kept by the family (they are presented on this page).

A postcard sent by Levon Medzigian to his beloved, Aghavni Tashdjian. The note states that Levon had not yet reached the United States and was at the port of Cherbourg in France. From there, he would leave for Marseille, which was probably his last stop before boarding the ship that would take him to the United States. The postcard is dated June 30. The year is very smudged, but may be 1908.

This vow became reality in 1909, at the Holy Mother-of-God Church of Thessaloniki. The couple had two daughters, Naze (born in 1910) and Nvart (born in 1915). Levon and Aghavni lived in the Besh Chinar neighborhood of Thessaloniki. The area was also home to the local office of the American Socony Mobil Oil company, where Levon was initially employed as a machinist in the tin factory. Later, he was promoted to the position of general overseer. In 1922, after the Asia Minor Catastrophe, a large number of Armenian refugees found safety in Greece. Levon invited more than 100 Armenian workers to work in the factory he oversaw.

During the years of the Second World War, when Greece was occupied by Nazi forces (1941-1945), many companies and factories were forced to close. Socony Mobil Oil was also dissolved, in April 1941, when German forces entered Thessaloniki. Immediately before the German invasion, the Greek authorities informed Levon that the allied British forces would blow up this factory, as it was of strategic importance, so that the Germans could not benefit from it. Levon lived near the factory. Before the planned explosion, he and his family packed their belongings and fled.

On the night of April 8, German forces captured Thessaloniki. A week later, on April 16, the occupation forces arrested Levon Medzigian, accused him of being a “secret agent,” and took him to the prison of the Yedi-Kule fortress city, northeast of Thessaloniki. Levon remained imprisoned for about three months. The conditions of his detention were extremely strict. During these three months, he contracted glaucoma and lost vision in one eye. He also began exhibiting early symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease. After his release, Levon continued working for the same petroleum company until his retirement. Levon Medzigian died in 1953.

One of Levon and Aghavni’s daughters, Nvart (Nadia’s mother), married Haig Basmadjian in 1938. In 1939, the couple had their first daughter, Nadia-Anahid; and in 1943, a son, Hrant-Mikayel. In that same year, Haig’s mother, Beatrice Basmadjian, died in Thessaloniki.

After the outbreak of the Second World War, the Msrian tobacco company was shuttered. Haig Basmadjian’s career of almost ten years came to an end. He returned to work only in 1952, in the northern Greek city of Kavala, working for the tobacco company owned by Mikayel Msrian’s brother, Armen. Haig’s wife, Nvart, had graduated from the American Anatolia College in Thessaloniki. Thanks to Armenian classes offered by this institution, she had improved her proficiency in Armenian. Nvart was a member of the Thessaloniki chapter of the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), and for many years, served as its chairwoman. Nvart was also a regular participant of the camping trips organized jointly by the AGBU and the Armenian Cross of Mercy.

Hrant-Mikayel was a cobbler and a shoe seller. He married Hripsime Alyanakian. The couple had two children. Hrant-Mikayel died in the summer of 2024 of a cerebral illness.

Nadia-Anahid attended the Anatolia College of Thessaloniki. She received personal tutelage in Armenian from Mary Manougian, who served as a teacher at the Thessaloniki Kindergarten’s elementary school. After graduating from this school, Nadia-Anahid received a scholarship to study in the United States. She participated in the American Field Service Intercultural Program in California. Later, Nadia specialized in translations and graduated from the École de Traduction et d’Interprétation de l’Université de Genève (School of Translation and Interpretation at the University of Geneva). In 1971, Nadia-Anahid married Varoujan Sarafian in Athens. The couple had two children, Tovmas and Markrid. For ten years, the family lived in Switzerland, after which they settled in Thessaloniki, Nadia’s birthplace, where Nadia worked at the Anatolia College as a secretary for approximately 12 years.