Speaking to One Another - The International Raoul Wallenberg ...

Muslims returned to Van, but not to their own houses: “After a while all the people returned, but thosewho returned settled in the Armenian quarter. They weren’t buying anything. Everybody came, founda place, and settled.” Zübeyde’s grandfather moved into the five storey house of the well-known AramPasha. Zübeyde defended her grandfather and his generation, saying that they didn’t have ‘designs onproperty’: “People of olden times didn’t have an ambition for money. There was fraternity, sharing. Butnow?” However, the hidden treasures, cans of gold and the stories about them charmed everyone, includingZübeyde: “Our house used to belong to Aram Pasha. In the old days, the kitchen was full of jarsof food: rice, couscous, lentils. There were two big jars of gold. They came and took two jars of gold frombehind the bricks. My mother didn’t know. The Armenians moved the wall, the bricks where they hideverything, inside the wall.” According to Zübeyde’s narrative, some Armenians returned to Van to takethe gold they hid: “The Armenian comes and says, ‘This is my house.’ They come after four-five yearsand say, ‘Look, here is a treasure. Remove this or that stone, here is a treasure.’ They say, ‘Half for you,60