02.09.08

On July 22nd of 2008, the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute held the memorial plaque dedication ceremony in honor of the famous Norwegian missionary Bodil Biørn.

Today a temporary exhibition called “Armenian Sport in the Ottoman Empire” at the Armenian Genocide Museum was opened. A total of about 70 photos, documents, newspapers and magazines will be on show. They reflect the history of Armenian sports clubs and football teams in the Ottoman Empire until 1915.

Armenian sports clubs and sportsmen played an important role in the development of sport in the Ottoman Empire. The number of the Armenian sports clubs in the Ottoman Empire reached 100.

In 1911-1914, four Armenian Olympic Games were held in Constantinople. From 1911 to 1914, Shavarsh Qrisyan published the Marmnamarz sports magazine, the first sports periodical in the Ottoman Empire.

For the first time in the history of Turkish Olympic Games, two Armenian sportsmen Vahram Papazian and Mkrtich Mkryan represented Ottoman Turkey in the Fifth International Olympic Games in Stockholm in 1912.

In 1915-1920, many Armenian sportsmen became victims of the genocide and most of the Armenian sports clubs were shut down.