The Saints Of Zara

Nishan was nineteen years old when Turkey saw an upheaval in the Ottoman government. Violence and lawlessness ravaged the whole country. When the Mormon missionaries arrived, it seemed logical to seek a new opportunity in the United States. Nishan and a small group of Armenian converts left their violence-torn home in Zara, Turkey, in September of 1902. In The Saints of Zara, author Isabel-Rose Kulski shares her family’s story, focusing on her father Nishan, a man who saw too little love but nonetheless lived an interesting life. Through a host of photographs, excerpts from Nishan’s diary, and details provided by family members, she tells of how the group made a new life in Mormon Utah. The Saints of Zara recounts a compelling and rich story that evokes another time in a changed landscape. It offers a look into one family’s stunning triumphs and failures in twentieth-century America.