Of all the tourists spots introduced in this issue, Shusha, located in the western part of Azerbaijan, is the city most directly affected by the Karabakh conflict. In the spring of 1992, the entire population, numbering tens of thousands, fled for their lives when Armenian troops advanced on the city. The townspeople had always imagined their town to be invincible. They were stunned to realize that it just wasn't so. To this day, Shusha is still occupied by Armenian military forces.

Azerbaijanis who constituted the majority of the population above all demonstrated their political maturity to the whole world. Young Azerbaijani government managed to make major progress during the independence period. During the first year of its existence the government opened a number of primary and secondary schools. Founded a university and established various cultural organizations. The efforts resulted in creation a vast number of libraries and reading halls. The number of newspapers and magazines increased dramatically. Government of Azerbaijan together with the people was working day and night to build statehood. The world powers including USA began recognizing the Azerbaijani Republic.

Famous Azeri composer Uzeyir Hajibeyov (left) with friends, Ramazan Khalilov (now 94 and current Director of the Museum of Hajiybeyo) and Suleyman Alaskarov (prominent composer who teaces at the Acadmey of Music). Hajibyeov died in 1948, Khalilov in 1948. Photo: Courtesy of Hajibeyov Musuem.

When ASA was established in 1958, the sole goal of this organization was to bring together all the young Azeri children who were growing-up in the U.S. to learn about their shared history and culture. Of course, our goals and perspectives are quickly changed since our Independence in 1991. Now, our occupied lands and our close to 1 million refugees are our most important priority. As Azeri-Americans, we are concentrating on making important contacts at different levels of the U.S. government and within the different branches of the Federal government. We are concentrating our efforts on trying to build a powerful and influential lobby that will be comparable and as effective as the other strong ethnic lobbying organizations in U.S. Though the Azeri lobby in U.S. is still growing while developing a solid foundation, we model our efforts on to be important and strong as the Jewish and Turkish lobby groups. In order to advance and organize efforts to define and clarify the Azeri situation here in the U.S., we need to be stronger and unite to work together. We have many volunteers who are students or newly graduates, who are willing and able to help ASA to advance.

A Pizza Empire in Pittsburgh

They had lived in Germany for a while, next was Canada, then the United States. There, they moved around. They went to various cities in Virginia, Ohio, Louisiana.

In Louisiana, they decided to became entrepreneurs. They went in to the pizza business. Owned a couple of pizza restaurants.

"Then", the oldest son Varol continued: "The business was okay at first but then it started taking somewhat a dive. The two franchises we owned weren't quite making it. Then we decided to make it on our own instead of buying into other franchises.

We knew however that we had to make that move in another state. At first we decided to head out to Tampa, and even loaded up our moving truck and began driving. Somewhere around Mississippi though, I don't remember which one of us, one of us suggested "forget Tampa, let's go to Pittsburgh", and almost literally we turned our steering wheel 90 degrees towards Pittsburgh."

Once they arrived in Pittsburgh, the family started conceptualizing the idea of being in the pizza business but on the delivery side of it. "Because", Varol continued: "We knew the future of the pizza business was in the delivery side of it, not so much in the sit-down restaurants". They began starting a pizza franchise from literally a scratch. But they had a plan, noble plan to be able to stand out among the crowd. They first went to a pizza ingredient distribution center. There were three main ingredients of pizza; flour, sauce, and cheese. They picked the most expensive type of all ingredients. The most expensive flour, the most expensive sauce -enriched with their own family recipe, and the two most expensive kinds of cheese to be mixed.

In January of 1988, they opened up their first business $20,000 of capital, all that they had. All members of the family worked day and night, 7 days a week, no holidays, no breaks. In November of 1988 they opened up their second business in Pittsburgh. By 1989, they had had six stores and business was okay but still nowhere near enough to call themselves a great success, still getting alone but, working their hearts out day in and day our 365 days year. The businesses weren't even strong enough however at this point to be able to approach banks for credit to grow even bigger. The balance sheets said so, so did the bankers.

They were at a turning point. Would they became slaves to the giant they had created, or would they dominate it?

The turning point missed by so many was obvious to the Ablaks. "We decided: one either goes forward, or falls behind in any business" says Varol, and they went forward, taking a huge risk. They mortgaged what they had, and inquired what they could, and took a huge leap of faith backed up by their industriousness, and vision.

By the time, they had opened up their 19th business, they were all over Pittsburgh radio and television air waves at a great expense to them. But their vision and hard work finally began paying off. They were growing with leaps and bounds, and employing hundreds of people, and their name Pizza Outlet had become a household name in Pittsburgh.

And today, in 2002, the Ablaks own 106 pizza outlets, employing 2500 people across the United States. The father Hayri is the Chairman of the Board, the son Varol Ablak is the president and the CEO of Pizza Outlet.

Did you know all that?
I didn't either. I didn't, until I met the mother Gunsenin in Pittsburgh two weeks ago. One of the most impressive Turkish mothers I have ever met.

As the future president of ATAA, when I wanted to strengthen ATAA's outreach program to our local communities in this land, while traveling between Philadelphia and Rochester two weeks ago, I made a 500 mile detour to Pittsburgh to meet however many Turkish community leaders there I could.

Giving them literally a last minute notice, I found myself sitting across a table to Gunsenin at a restaurant. Before I knew it, after I ended one of my sentences, tears began rolling down her cheeks, getting sentimental about Turkey as we talked about how hard we had to work nowadays as Turks and how we were the desendants of so many greats, and that how it was time to push aside our differences, uniting around the common, promoting our homeland as it deserves, and making use of all of our great human resourses in this country.

A mother of a heart of gold, a mother of the utmost dedication to her family and her community is Gunsenin. A mother who taught her three children who were born here to speak Turkish as a native would in Turkey.

A community activist who helps the needy. A community leader who often was the backbone of the Pittsburgh Turkish Association. A mother of an immense Turkish success story in the United States.

In Turkish "Gunsenin" means: "may the day/goodlife be yours".

May many more good days, healthy and happy be yours and your family's Gunsenin.

God bless you and all you family, and thank you all.

We are so proud of you all.