30-year-old Mehmet Cemsi is from Diyarbakir. He is one of those Islamized Armenians who had to deal with the obscurity of self-identity through his life.

Mehmet learnt about his Armenian roots since his childhood.

“My father used to talk to us about Armenians, the Armenian genocide, Andranik Pasha and Tigranes the Great. He also used to speak about the prosperous Armenian history and culture. I know that Armenia is the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion. I retell those stories to my children. I want them to learn Armenian and be proud of their Armenian identity. I reclaimed my long lost roots which I’m proud of”, said Mehmet to Hayern Aysor during the Ari Tun program.

“This is the very first time I travel and the first country I wanted to be was Armenia. The beauty of the country and the kindness of its people made great impact on me. I visited so many places but the most impressive for me was the Armenian Genocide Memorial. While staring at the eternal flame, my eyes came across everything happened in 1915. “

Mehmet Cemsi, as well as all the other Islamized Armenians, does not speak Armenian.

“Though I do not know Armenian, but I do feel like Armenian. And now learning Armenian becomes a priority for me.”