My name is Hrach Kalsahakian. Hrach means fire eyes in Armenian and Kalsahakian derives from the biblical name Isaac, which was the name of my great grandfather.
My father hails from Kessab, a cluster of Armenian villages in north-western Syria in the Province of Latakia. My mother hails from Aleppo, Syria, being the daughter of immigrants from the city of Urfa (historically Edessa, currently known as Şanlıurfa in Turkey).
My father graduated from the Karen Jeppe Armenian High School in Aleppo, Syria, as a qualified teacher of Armenian language and history. My mother grew up and attended schools in the same city, but they did not know each other then.
Before his marriage, my father was assigned as a teacher in his hometown Kessab and several other locations in Syria, more specifically in the cities of Qamishli, Homs and Latakia.
My parents met in Beirut, Lebanon, and married in 1964.
I spent my childhood in the cities where my father was assigned to work as a teacher, namely in Athens (Greece) where I was born in 1966, Tripoli and Byblos (Lebanon) and Kuwait City (Kuwait).
This early concept of travel and cultural interaction with culturally diverse host societies has created a basic understanding inside me about the meanings of travel, culture, humanity, diversity, environment, and other subjects of interest.
After ending his teaching career, my father returned to Syria, where he was engaged in agricultural work in his ancestral town, while my mother took care of myself and my brother Viken during our intermediate and high school education. I graduated from my father’s same school: Karen Jeppe Armenian High School in Aleppo, also known as Djemeran.
Since Athens appears always on my documents as my birthplace, I decided it was high time to know more about the Greek culture. I stayed in Greece from 1989 to 1995, using every moment to educate myself and immerse into the local life.
As a graduate of tourism management from Patras, Greece (1994), I started my career by working in travel agencies in Patras and Athens.
After being relocated to the United Arab Emirates, I was employed for almost two years in the Sheraton Abu Dhabi, at a time when Abu Dhabi was at the beginning of its economic surge.
In 2000, I was lucky to be spotted by the Greek Ambassador in Athens, who asked me to join the Embassy as a translator. This was the beginning of a long and absolutely fulfilling journey that continues until today.
In 2005, I started another long journey, this time with the Cyprus Tourism office in Dubai as a regional marketing manager, allowing me to reconnect with the people of the Middle East, remembering the earlier travels I used to do with my parents.
Since 2013 I have started my own boutique consultancy company (Consider Consultancy), based in the city of Ajman in the United Arab Emirates.
I like books, culture, history, geography, anthropology, tourism, travel, languages, art, music, politics, economics, marketing, public relations, teaching, coaching, social media, and many many other subjects.
Welcome to my world!
Hrach Kalsahakian