Little is known about this photographic firm, based in Adana during the 1900s-1910s. S. M. Arabian, had initially opened his lavishly bedecked studio in the Armenian section of the city, and would later partner with his sibling(s?), renaming the studios into Arabian Eghbayrner (Arabian Brothers).  Surprisingly, the business continued to operate even after the 1909 clashes that saw nearly 25 000 Armenians murdered on ethnic-religious grounds. Thus, Arabian’s group, wedding and school photographs, together with his individual portraits, give us precious insight into the tense years that Adana’s Armenian community lived through just before their final and tragic extradition from the city in 1922.

Vigen Galstyan, 2016