KeghartKrikor Zohrab
By Melinda Andonyan, Istanbul, 6 January 2026
Some cities preserve the voices of those silenced forever, and Istanbul is one of them. In this city, even stones hold memories, preserving forgotten names and incomplete sentences. Kirkor Zohrab epitomizes a voice that Istanbul cannot forget. Born in the town, he was an Armenian who served as a member of the Ottoman parliament, a writer, and, most importantly, an intellectual who explored the human soul through his writing. He believed that justice could be achieved even from the parliamentary podium.
To understand Zohrab, one must listen to Istanbul because Zohrab’s story flows with the multilingual, multilayered, and fragile spirit of this city. His life is more than the story of an individual; it is a deep wound that has been opened in the multicultural memory of this city.
Born in Istanbul in 1861, Krikor Zohrab grew up during a period when the Ottoman Empire had not yet collapsed, though its structural fractures were increasingly visible. His education at Galatasaray High School exposed him to legal thought, critical reasoning, and comparative perspectives, particularly through his engagement with French literature. These influences broadened his worldview and expanded his intellectual horizon while reinforcing his connection to Istanbul as a multilingual and multilayered cultural space.
For Zohrab, Istanbul was not just an ordinary city, but a living entity. In his writings, one can feel both the wind of the Bosphorus and the silence within the household. This is because Zohrab was more interested in small details than grand narratives.
Kirkor Zohrab’s stories don’t feature shouting heroes. His characters often don’t speak; they remain silent. There are marriages, but love is absent. There are crowded streets, yet a profound sense of loneliness permeates the lines.
In one of his stories, Zohrab conveys the feeling that a person is most alone when they are misunderstood. Through a few brief silences, he shows that even those living under the same roof can become estranged from one another. In another narrative, he suggests that the emptiness within a man standing in the middle of a crowd is wider than even the most secluded rooms.
In his texts, happiness doesn’t arrive with noise. Love often comes late; regret, however, comes early. Zohrab reveals the moment of heartbreak not with a loud cry, but with a whisper. Thus, the reader finds a trace of their own life between the sentences.
Zohrab’s power lies not in creating dramatic events, but in making visible the subtle cracks in the human soul. That is why his stories remain timeless even today, because human fragility is resistant to time.
Zohrab did not limit himself to writing alone. After the Second Constitutional Era, he entered the Ottoman Parliament as a representative of Istanbul. This was a heavy responsibility for him. As an Armenian, he began to speak on behalf of the city to which he belonged.
His speeches in parliament focused on the rule of law, equal citizenship, and constitutional order. He did not use divisive language; on the contrary, he adopted a tone rooted in the possibility of coexistence. Perhaps this is precisely why he disturbed some people, because Zohrab was an intellectual who refused to remain silent.
In the spring of 1915, on April 24, Zohrab was arrested along with other Armenian intellectuals. The immunity of a parliamentarian and a lawyer remained only on paper. He was exiled to Çankırı; then, together with Vartkes Serengülian, he was sent to Diyarbakır under the pretext of a trial.
This journey was not a quest for justice. Near Urfa, in an incident officially recorded as a “bandit attack,” they were killed, their heads crushed with stones. Testimonies and historical studies indicate that this death was a planned execution. Along with Zohrab’s body, faith in the power of the word was also wounded.
This was more than a murder. It was the silencing of writing, of law, and of the parliamentary platform.
Today, Kirkor Zohrab is more than just a biography. He is one of Istanbul’s unfinished sentences. His name lingers in the wind blowing from the Bosphorus, in the courtyard of a closed school, and on a silent assembly platform. In his stories, we encounter the inner fragility of humanity; in his life, the price paid by an intellectual.
Some people don’t fall silent even after they die; the city speaks in their place. Zohrab’s voice still resonates in the stones of Istanbul today. It’s like an unfinished sense of justice and a belated appeal to conscience. The question remains whether this city—or we—are willing to hear this voice.
*****
Melinda Andonyan was born in Istanbul-Türkiye in 1982. She is a Turkish-Armenian whose ancestors have lived in these lands for centuries. She graduated with honors from the Department of Teaching. She studied linguistics in Germany, on a scholarship from the German government. She has been actively involved in educational activities in various countries and worked as a teacher at private schools and universities in Türkiye. In addition to her teaching career, she has been an active translator and interpreter in four languages (English, German, Armenian, and Greek) since 2014. She first translated a Turkish book into English, called “Chaldee Letters and The Chaldeans,” (written by Mgr. Francois Yakan) in 2014. This translation has been acclaimed worldwide and has found its place in libraries in many countries. Currently, she is translating books for many publishing companies and also writing articles and texts for various magazines and online platforms.
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6 comments
Congratulations for this excellent article about our great writer and journalist Krikor Zohrab by Melinda Andonyan.
Allow me to add some of Zohrab’s flavor by giving a short brief about some of his articles mentioned in one of his
Books.
“From Our Life” «Մեր Կեանքէն» is a collection of famous articles by Krikor Zohrab, which presents the life, pains and difficulties of the Armenians of Constantinople, the Armenian reality of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in a moving style, social and family problems, and human relationships, often with sharp satire.
Zohrab has deeply presented the inner sufferings of individuals and national pains, in a calm manner, but with deep feelings.
This work allows us to understand the concerns of Armenian life in the last years of the Ottoman Empire.
I will present brief summaries of the articles in this important book, so that we can taste and closely touch Zohrab’s ideas, concerns and inner world.
-Immoral Literature;
Zohrab criticizes the ridiculous struggle of the journalism of that time against the modern French bibliography, which Zohrab considers as the embodiment of a magnificent and unparalleled art.
Zohrab proposes replacing the system of national charitable wills with the system of Ottoman endowments, in which the donor or a person appointed by him remains the guardian of his donation in order to better preserve it.
The lack of university education among us
The importance of our youth and clergy pursuing university education.
-Our Girls’ Schools;
Zohrab criticizes the way female education of the day. He condemns the backward methods of education in girls’ schools and proposes teaching subjects which are more relevant to modern life.
-New Journalism;
On the characteristics and roles of old and new journalism in Istanbul.
-Teachers’ Meeting;
Zohrab writes about what should and should not be said in teachers’ meetings, and then suggests that primary education materials be adapted to the geographical location of the schools.
-Russian-Armenian Literature;
Zohrab cleverly compares Russian-Armenian and Istanbul-Armenian journalistic literature.
-Finally;
About the idea of preparing a law for the judicial power of the National Patriarchate.
-Theater;
Who said that the theater is a place of entertainment? It is a school, no other art can match the height of its moralizing factor.
-Women’s Rights (Maida);
It is about the writer Maida, who fights for women’s equality. Zohrab affirms that a man is more capable than a woman, not only in physical strength but also in mind, for natural reasons, and provides facts and examples for this.
-A Fire is Needed (About a Woman Who Returned); Continuation of the above Maida article.
-Chinese Correspondent;
The article begins with a joke about an Armenian colony living in China. Then, through a Chinese correspondent, Zohrab describes Chinese political rules and the important role of women in Chinese life.
-The Old and the Young in Our Society;
Zohrab condemns the harmful struggle of old and young national figures. At the same time, he calls on the elders to be more humble and not boast about their national contributions and to give the youth a chance to play a greater role in the national cause.
-Why don’t rich men marry very educated girls;
According to Zohrab, the reason is the desire to rule, and he continues that an educated woman, having ceased to be a woman, becomes an example.
-Poker;
Women love poker very much, because they can win through deceit and deception, and they are more skilled at it than men. And the world is a big joker, says Zohrab.
-The shipwreck of the Armenian Theater;
About the decline of the Armenian theater and the ways to solve it.
-Song;
The importance of songs for our people.
-Mrs. Siranoush;
Praise to the great actress Siranoush.
-The foolish implementation of a clever idea
Insuring church property against fire is a good idea, says Zohrab, and there are no new benefactors to restore it in the event of a fire, but since the insurance fund is very small, Zohrab proposes to create a fund for this purpose, instead of giving it to foreign friends.
……In 1906, by order of the Minister of Justice, Zohrab was banned from defending cases in Turkish courts, because he defended a Bulgarian rebel and Zohrab was soon arrested.
The same cruel fate awaited him as millions of his unfortunate compatriots.
He was brutally murdered on the way to exile in 1915.
Dear Jirair Shoushanian,
First of all, thank you very much for your comment. I’m glad you liked it. The story of Krikor Zohrab has always deeply affected me. Here, I have tried to briefly summarize what happened to him in general terms. Your additions are especially valuable. I would like to thank you again for the information you have provided.
Sincerely,
Melinda Andonyan
Thank you.
Dear Jirair Shoushanian,
Thank you very much for your comprehensive and highly instructive comment. Your close reading of Zohrab’s texts, approached with examples and historical context, almost completes the article as a second text in itself. The framework you present, especially through Մեր Կեանքէն (From Our Life), vividly brings Zohrab’s intellectual world and the Armenian social reality of his time into view. This valuable contribution is a true enrichment for the reader. Many thanks for your generosity, your effort, and for sharing your knowledge so openly.
Melinda, I read your piece thinking of you — it truly speaks in your voice. The care, sensitivity, and quiet strength in the way you write about Zohrab are deeply felt. As a reader, you’re gently drawn in, and the text stays with you long after. It’s a beautiful, thoughtful piece. I’m genuinely moved — thank you for writing it.
Sending you a big, warm hug.
Dear Nurnisa,
Thank you for your heartfelt comment. Krikor Zohrab’s life has always been fascinating to me. He was a very valuable member of parliament who tragically lost his life. And of course, like everyone else, this deeply affected me. That’s why I wanted to remember and commemorate him once again. I hope I was able to reflect my feelings while writing. Thank you, with love…