Our honorable family whose last name was Ramazanzade prior to 1930 in Lebanon and before outlawing the use of "Zade" was once one of Beirut's wealthiest and most respected families.
I remember how proud my father always was of his family and his heritage, how they had a family association where rich family members contributed and made sure no Ramadan is ever left in need.
How they used to meet periodically. But things changed after 1974 and the civil war, most Ramadans who were well off fled the country. The association stopped meeting and everyone was forced looking after himself or herself.
Several attempts to revive the family association failed due to political reasons and foreign families that were not of our Turkish descent.
This time around, I am working on conducting DNA analysis to pinpoint the Ramadan Gene Haplo Group from Y-Chromosomes in order for it to be a Geneology Lineage test and, not only keep out non-relatives, but also to add on the lost ones who were less fortunate than us in keeping old records.
Today, with the power of the Internet, our whole world seems a lot smaller than what Beirut was 100 years ago. I hope and wish that we can establish a world association for our family, and follow in the old family tradition of caring for one another. I have read that during the time of ruling of Piri Mehmet Pasha no one who lived in the Ramazanogullari Princedom was ever left without food, and that bread was always given out free to anyone who needed it.
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| The Ramadan Association in Lebanon - in the best of times - any of you remembers? |
I remember how proud my father always was of his family and his heritage, how they had a family association where rich family members contributed and made sure no Ramadan is ever left in need.
How they used to meet periodically. But things changed after 1974 and the civil war, most Ramadans who were well off fled the country. The association stopped meeting and everyone was forced looking after himself or herself.
Several attempts to revive the family association failed due to political reasons and foreign families that were not of our Turkish descent.
This time around, I am working on conducting DNA analysis to pinpoint the Ramadan Gene Haplo Group from Y-Chromosomes in order for it to be a Geneology Lineage test and, not only keep out non-relatives, but also to add on the lost ones who were less fortunate than us in keeping old records.
Today, with the power of the Internet, our whole world seems a lot smaller than what Beirut was 100 years ago. I hope and wish that we can establish a world association for our family, and follow in the old family tradition of caring for one another. I have read that during the time of ruling of Piri Mehmet Pasha no one who lived in the Ramazanogullari Princedom was ever left without food, and that bread was always given out free to anyone who needed it.
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