This is the first Armenian Genocide monument ever to be erected in the world until 1965, a memorial chapel of the Martyrs of the 1915 Genocide where 1.5 million Armenians were savagely massacred.

The Martyrs’ Chapel was built in 1938 in the courtyard of the Catholicosate of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon. On display are remains of the Armenians victims collected from the desert of DER-EL-ZOR where they were forced to march to death under a pretext of an extermination program. These remains represent the victims from all the Armenian villages and countries… they represent the whole Armenian nation.

The concept is conceived according to many standards and considerations and it is guided by elaborated researches & thoughts with a high concern of its sacred cause of existence. Hence, a far-fetched concept was integrated based on five fundamental elements which have altered abundantly the whole image of the chapel and totally recreated the space inside-out:

1- The Outdoor Torch, which represents the eternal flame, a regenerative power symbolizing “life” … a life of enlightenment and hope.

2- The Reflective Squared Pool (10m x 10m), as a way of communication between “God” and “EARTH “ which reflective water designates, and so reflecting what is buried… In addition, water is above all a symbol of purification which relates to the purity of the Armenians victims souls.

3- The Platform, drawing a sacred square as in Christianity the number 4 is sacred because it stands for the 4 corners of the Earth and the 4 Evangelists. This sacred square relays to a space of prayer and contemplation, a space of spatial vibration that it is generated by an experience of faith and traces of suffer which is justified and portrayed by the choice of textures and patterns of the materials indoor.

4- The Central Cube, the core, the essence of the whole project showing the live evidence of the massacres proving their existence in time and space. It reconfirms the relation between the Earth and the Sky that is translated by the vertical transition of souls towards God.Also, it is a symbol of solidification (concentration and consolidation) which explains the central element shape where the remains are scattered and unified to assure this transcendent vertical destination to God.

5- The Altar, the sacred iconic form indentifying the divine nature.

All these five elements were embodied in harmony to create a powerful and compelling remembrance of an historic event that has twisted the destiny of a whole nation…the Armenian Nation.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/world/europe/turkeys-century-of-denial-about-an-armenian-genocide.html