“I understood that this was to become our real, actual, Tigranakert city,” joked Harout Baghiryan. The Baghiryan family has been living in Tigranakert, formerly Aghdam, for the past twelve years. After the experts excavated the place and found that the town was built by Tigran the Great, Harout Baghiryan realized that he had made the right choice in putting down roots here. Harout presented himself as town’s supervisor. When asked what areas he was especially keeping an eye on, he answered, “In general, I’m monitoring all the grounds of the archeological sites.  I keep an eye on all of it to see that no one cuts down a tree or disturbs anything. I’ve been doing this work on a voluntary basis for ten years now.” Baghiryan family moved to Artsakh in 1994 It’s been a year and a half that Harout has been registered as the inspector for which he receives 60,000 AMD per month. He’s the only one in the household that works. The extended family consists of his wife Alvina, his mother-in-law, his son and his wife and the grandkids. His daughter stays with the family during school vacations. There’s no school in Tigranakert and his daughter lives with her mother’s sister in Askeran, where she attends classes. The Baghiryans moved to Artsakh in 1994 and resided in the village of Astghashen, formerly Dashboulagh, in the Askeran district. “Before that we lived in Chardakhlou, the village off Marshall Baghramyan and Babatchanyan. We’re refugees. After the Karabakh movement started we relocated to Hrazdan and then here, to Artsakh,” stated Mrs. Baghiryan, adding, “When my husband participated in the war he stated, ‘it doesn’t make sense for me to fight and then to leave this place.’ That’s how we moved to Karabakh.” The family moved from Astghashen to Tigranakert in order to become better off financially. They tend to the livestock of others as well as raising their own – cows, chickens and turkeys. The family also has a garden capable of producing all kinds of produce. Mrs. Baghiryan says they don’t have a minute’s free time; there’s always something to do. The Baghiryans live in a two room house. The second room was added on last year. One room just wasn’t enough for all of them. No electricity for ten years “Hey, like it or not, you have to make the best of it. You have to take care of the children, put food on the table, and everything else in between. It’s not easy,” she said, adding that since they live close to the main Martakert-Stepanakert roadway, transportation isn’t much of a problem. They have no electricity in the house. “We haven’t had electricity for ten years. We gotten by using lamps. It’s only last year that we’ve started to use a generator, but only during the evenings for about 2-3 hours,” Alvina said. They have a T.V. but since they can’t receive any Yerevan channels they only use it to watch videos. Mrs. Baghiryan says that she gets her news from “here and there”. She tells us that there are twenty-five families in Tigranakert but that most aren’t permanent residents. “People don’t stay not only because there is no electricity but because there’s no school in town. Where will their kids go to class? Now, if there were electricity, a school, a kindergarten, they’d all stay here. This is liberated land, no? We have to come and settle here in order to protect what we have liberated. Our numbers here must increase, she argued. Mrs. Baghiryan - “I will never leave” Mrs. Baghiryan says she will not leave Tigranakert, even if she gets the opportunity to return to her native village of Chardakhlou in the Shamkhor district, that she was forced to leave. “Perhaps many others will have the chance to go back but I won’t because I have buried a daughter here. She fell into the water here when 16 years-old. There’s here photo. It’s possible that I’d go back for a visit if I had the chance, but no permanently. I won’t abandon her,” stated Alvina. The family has picked out a plot of land in Tigranakert where the NKR government has promised to build them a house this year. The house they had in Astghashen was demolished by the storms. When she complained, the authorities told her that while they couldn’t renovate the house, they would build the family a new one in Tigranakert. “They promised that there’d be construction, that we’d get a house. The chief of the Askeran district, whose name I can’t remember, promised that they’d help out, but it’s been awhile and nothing happened. I still believe them and hope for the best but things are all right the way they are now. Just so long as conditions remain calm and that our kids can grow up under a peaceful sky. That’s our dream,” said Mrs. Baghiryan Her husband, Harout, participated in the war from start to finish. “I came here early on when there were only the volunteer units. I remember the day I settled here, May 3, 1990. I haven’t gone anywhere since. Despite all the hard times we’ve managed to stay together and enjoy good times as well. We’ve watched each other’s back and stuck close. That’s how we won the war. But it was the partisan units that guaranteed our victory, not the regular army. If we had a regular army earlier on, believe me, we would have captured Baku as well. I fully convinced that returning any land is out of the question. However, we could still advance further; until the River Kur, to liberate all of our Armenian lands. I am convinced of this,” stated Harout. A museum is scheduled to open this year Harout also has expectations linked to the new year. Construction work has been going on at the Panakh Khan fort in Tigranakert for the past year. The fort is scheduled to officially open this year as a museum. Tourist numbers have been on the rise in this area. “Our government stated back then that this area would really get developed. Then representatives from the newly formed Ministry of Tourism visited the place and drew up projects. The project they proposed for this area is really something to behold,” he stated. Another primary responsibility of his job is to escort tourists when they arrive and to give them background information regarding the area. The Persians built the Panakh Khan fort back in the 18th century. In the 1980’s the Azeris turned the place into a restaurant. Harout says that they removed some 150 dump trucks full of garbage from the restaurant. “We want tourists to flock to Tigranakert” “It will really be an interesting museum. This place is really scenic and will be a great tourist site for all to come and see. People from all over can come and visit and relax while learning about our history at the same time. The best of both worlds; wouldn’t you say? The future looks promising. If the trees bear fruit 2 or 3 times per year, things will be even better,” Harout stated. A basilica church dating from the 4th century was unearthed in Tigranakert during the excavations that began in 2004. An ancient Armenian inscription was also discovered on a clay disc measuring seven centimeters in diameter. Experts regard this inscription as one of the most important finds in this city built by Tigran the Great. Harout Baghiryan told us that there are also plans to build a coffee house and bar in the town. “In order to welcome our guests with the utmost of hospitality, we’ll make sure to build places here with all the comforts of home. We want to do ourselves proud. The more guests that arrive, the better. We want to make them really feel welcome. I’ve spent time with many visitors and none have seen the need to complain.”