In 1939, right before WWII, Syria’s Antakya region was annexed by Turkey. The area’s large Christian population was fearful of persecution & many were also being pressured by Turkish forces to relocate further south into Syria.
Azar Al Aji, a wealthy property owner and farmer from the Antakya region, did just that. He shut down his business, sold off all his property, was left with only cash, some generational gold & his livestock. After wandering through Syria, he settled in Syria’s Wadi al-Nasara (Valley of the Christians). He used all his money to purchase acres of land in the valley & set out on horseback to find other Syrian Christians displaced by Turkish annexation or persecution. He offered every Syrian who was left hopeless: land, gold & the opportunity to learn farming from him. After finding a few families, he founded the village of Mashta Azar (Azar’s Grove/Plantation), one of the thirty villages of Wadi al-Nasara, which expanded from one person to a few families & by 2004, had an estimated population of 784 according to a Syrian census.

Decades went by & other Christians across Syria of various ethnic backgrounds & sects settled in Mashta Azar, as well as a large community of Alawites. The village became fruitful with olives, figs, almonds, and oranges along with other goods that are sold & traded across Syria & the bordering Lebanon. Mashta Azar grew wealthier, even building a hotel as it turned into a vacation spot.

As a child, I loved hearing Teta tell me the story of her great grandfather & how he established our village of Mashata Azar. Only until the war in Syria today did my 3rd great grandfather’s story begin to deeply resonate with me. It is not just an ancestral tale, but a mission that I hope to continue in honor of Azar Al Aji. If we aspire to pick each other up & share our valued skills with one another for the better, we could create a Syria with hope & prospects for those who are still struggling under war.

83 years later, I hope we can collectively apply the history of Mashta Azar onto the entirety of Syria, watching our Syria flourish like Mashta Azar did.