A Space of Memory

Armenian Genocide Oprhans’ Aram Bezikian Museum

Located at the heart of ancient site of Jbeil (Byblos), not far from the 12th century Citadel, the Armenian Genocide Orphans’ Aram Bezikian Museum is a place of memory, promoting common values and principles of humanity, openness to others, friendship and tolerance, peaceful coexistence, and respect for human rights and human dignity.

On the occasion of Centennial of Armenian Genocide, the Armenian Catholicosate of Great House of Cilicia created the Oprhans’ museum, the first in the diaspora, on the premises of the Armenian Orphanage of Jbeil, known as “Birds” Nest. This project was made possible by the generous donation of Bezikian family.

The Museum features three exhibits.

• The First presents the life of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire on the eve of First World war and the genocide perpetrated against the Armenians by the Ottoman Turkish government in 1915.
• The Second describes the role of western humanitarian and missionary organizations that helped resettle the surviving orphans in the Middle East, particulary in Lebanon.
• The Third Section displays the rehabilitation and settlement of orphans in the new home in Lebanon. A special corner is dedicated to the story of Maria Jacobsen, the “Mama”, who devoted her whole life to the thousands of orphans in the “Birds Nest”.