Haigaz Mangoian

When I have time, I love to read and learn about the lives of people who have left an indelible impression of Cyprus. I am always fascinated by creative people such as writers, musicians, artists and photographers who have influenced and raised our understanding about the past. The person I would like to present today is in good company with many other great Cypriots. Alas, I wish there was more written about him. My tribute to Haigaz Mangoian is therefore based on only a few sources that I have found which I have mentioned at the end of this article. Please feel free to add any further facts or truths about this man. I especially wish to hear from anybody who has personally met Haigaz or members of his family. Haigaz Mangoian was born in Adana in Southern Turkey in 1907. He was the youngest of seven children and belonged to a prosperous Armenian family. His father, Avendis was the mayor of Adana and his mother Hatoun (who was married at the tender young age of sixteen) was the daughter of a well-known architect. Even before Haigaz was born, his parents experienced their first tragedy. Their young daughter Siranoush died as a result of sustaining extensive burns to her body after her dress accidently caught on fire. Mother Hatoun fell into a deep depression that lasted a few years but thankfully recovered to have three more children including Haigaz. At the beginning of the twentieth century, there were around 90,000 Armenians living in the province of Adana. They were scattered across seventy villages and had access to forty-four churches, five monasteries and sixty-five schools. According to Colonel Doughty-Wylie who was the British consul in Mersina at the time, the Armenians of Adana were amongst the most intelligent, most educated and most talkative group of people he had ever encountered. Haigaz, like all his brothers and sisters attended elementary school. When he turned twelve years of age he acquired his first camera and his lifelong interest in photography had begun. He spent many hours a day capturing and recording the world around him and soon discovered that he could sell his photos to neighbours and passing travellers and earn a little bit of money on the side. Unfortunately, in 1915, in the midst of the First World War, the Ottoman State decided to deport all the Armenians in Anatolia. For the first time, Christian Armenians, who had lived alongside Muslim Turks for centuries were now forced to leave their homeland – not because of religion, but rather a bloodthirsty and vengeful ideology that was pursued by ‘Young Turks’ seeking nationalism. In 1920, the Mangoian family after five years of fearing for their lives decided to leave Adana by ship and head for Europe. Haigaz’s older brother Megerditch did not accompany them but instead travelled separately to America to practice medicine. For unknown reasons, the ship carrying the Mangoian family and many other Armenians changed course and stopped in the port of Larnaca, in Cyprus. Shortly after their arrival, Avendis, the matriarch died suddenly. Hatoun, having just lost both her country of origin and now her husband was forced to try to make a new life with her children in this new and foreign land. Fortunately, there were many other Armenian refugees living in Cyprus at the time and as always they formed a tight-knit and supportive community, helping each other with all the essential necessities for survival. The number of Armenians in Cyprus significantly increased following the massive deportations and horrific massacres committed by the Ottomans and the Young Turks between 1894 and 1923. Now living in Larnaca, Haigaz attended the American Academy where he became an active member of the school’s football team and continued to pursue an interest in photography. He later became an apprentice to Hungarian-born German photographer Leopold Glaszner, who had a studio in Larnaca. In 1924, aged only seventeen, Haigaz together with his older brother Levon decided to open their own photographic studio in nearby Famagusta. They lived and worked in Famagusta briefly before deciding to move their studio to Nicosia where they rented a large two-storey house in Ledra Street. They converted the lower level into a shop and studio, which they named ‘Mangoian Bros’ and used the upper level as their living quarters. In 1928 the two brothers started producing their now famous postcards of Cyprus. Their other brother Krikor, who also became a doctor, stayed on in Larnaca where he opened a clinic and every Thursday he would offer free treatment for the poor. In the early 1930s the fate and fortunes of Haigaz and Levon was about to change forever when the British governor, Sir Herbert Richmond Palmer, appointed the Mangoian brothers as the official photographers for the colonial Government of Cyprus. This incredible opportunity allowed Haigaz to travel all over the island to photograph and record many important and significant events and locations, including the rural (and urban) landscape. The photographic skills of the Mangoian Bros soon became widely known in Cyprus and eventually their sisters Vergin and Siranoush (she was named after her deceased sibling) came to help out with the ever increasing work in the studio and the shop. At the end of World War II, the Mangoian family moved their business from Ledra Street to nearby Regina Street. Haigaz Mangoian met his life partner, Elise Vanian in 1934 soon after her arrival to Cyprus from Cairo following the tragic death of her father at just forty-two years of age. Elise together with her widowed mother and sisters moved in with an aunt who was living in Cyprus at that time. She had only just graduated from the American College for Women in Cairo where she excelled in music and art. Haigaz and Elise were engaged within a very short period of time. Haigaz always promoted and loved his wife’s gift for music and insisted that she continue to play the piano at every opportunity. Apparently their house was always full of music. In 1947, Haigaz and Levon published their illustrated guide to Cyprus aptly titled ‘The Island of Cyprus: An Illustrated Guide and Handbook.’ This book featured one hundred and forty photographs showing views of the island and pictures of the rural population rarely seen or photographed. Not since John Thomson’s legendary ‘Through Cyprus with the Camera in the Autumn of 1878’ has there ever been such a major photographic survey of Cyprus. Haigaz Mangoian died in 1970 aged only sixty-three. His son Avo who inherited the business after his father’s death still manages the famous shop and studio today.

I am sure you would all agree that the Mangoian photographs have provide us with a valuable historical record of our beautiful island as it once was. The Mangoain photographs are probably the largest visual record of the cultural and natural heritage of Cyprus. I wish there were more dedicated photographers at that time. Alas, we should be grateful for what we have. If anyone has any additional information regarding this extraordinary man and his family, please add your comments below. I’d like to know more about how he met his wife Elise. I’d like to know more about his mother. In fact any further information would be great. I will also like your help to identify some of the photos posted. I will try and add more captions in the coming hours or days. I’d like to offer my special thanks to Joe Bloogs for providing the scans and Sermen Erdogan from Frozen Cypriots for informing me about the article written by Prof. Fehlmann. Sources accessed for this article include: Haigaz Mongoian (1907 – 1970) Edited by Anna Marangou Haigaz (Hayaz) Mangoian by Assist. Prof. Dr. Marc Fehlmann The history of Cypriot Photography parts 1 and 2 – By Ismail Veli (www.cyprusscene.com).