Chinar

The original Chinar village was spread over the south eastern foot of the mount ‘Korom’.
There were 2 main quarters in Chinar before the genocide; the quarter of the spring, and the quarter of Katabians (Katabints). The quarter of the spring was mainly dwelt by the houses of Topalian, Jourian, Arabian and Ohanian. Half a km away form this quarter situated the quarter of the Katabians. A slant land was situated in front of each of these two quarters. The meeting of these two slopes formed a deep valley. After the return of the genocide survivors, a new quarter was formed on the right side of the valley named “the side Chinar (ante Chinar)” where settled mainly the families of the Chilingirian and Kortmosian lineage. The village is famous for its abundant spring. A water mill was located in Chinar which served the whole region of Kessab up until the repatriation period.
Originally, the landlords in Chinar were Kessabtsi residents. In 1965, Chinar contained 40 houses, but it never had its own church.
In 1909, the Turks destroyed the village.
In 1911, Chinar had 176 dwellers, while in 1915, 210 dwellers. Almost the two third of the population in Chinar were killed during the genocide. In 1920, around 77 individuals returned to Chinar after surviving the genocide.
The villagers welcomed the decision of repatriation and almost the whole village repatriated to Armenia in 1947.
Chinar unfortunately started to be effaced during the last two decades. Today, Chinar is considered a nice summer resort.

Schools
Two schools were active in the region:
a- the national school; established in 1910. This school was active until 1915, and then again between 1923 and 1943. The school was a division of the Sahagian School of Kessab and consisted of two parts: a nursery and a primary school. After the third grade, the student attended the primary school situated in Kessab. In 1935, this school was converted to become an AGBU related school.
b- The Latin’s school which was active from 1904 to 1915 and again from 1921 to 1946. In 1960, a small school was established to educate the resident catholic students in Chinar.