Paper short abstract:

The aim of this research paper is to see how the people of the Musa Mountain, and their own image, as related to Armenia, are defined as an ethno-religious identity by reference to other ethnic groups, that are, similarities and dissimilarities that constitute the border between them and the others.

Paper long abstract:

This paper builds upon data collected through interviews with members of the Christian Armenian community and their representatives in the Province of Antioch (Hatay), Eastern Turkey, where their social, economic and daily life takes place. I shall precisely focus on the people of Vakıflı, Hatay Province, being the only Armenian town in Turkey. The aim of this research paper is to see how the people, and their own image, as related to Armenia, are defined as an ethno-religious identity by reference to other ethnic groups, the similarities and dissimilarities that constitute the border between them and the others. Like the Musa Mountain on which Vakıflı stands on, it has both an historical and symbolic meaning for Armenian identity: the identity of the town encapsulates the effects of both the symbolic construction and reproduction of the Mountain.