Syria-born Armenian film director Nigol Bezjian, who was born in Lebanon and studied in the United States, has given CNN a tour to Beirit’s Bourj Hammoud neighborhood, otherwise known as "Little Armenia".

Bourj Hammoud was developed mainly in the 1930s by Armenian refugees who arrived in Beirut after the 1915 Armenian Genocide and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

Bezjian, 77, director of the 1992 film "Chickpeas," took CNN on a tour of his favorite parts of Bourj Hammoud, taking in a family restaurant, bookshop, church and art gallery, where he catches up with colleagues.

"If you ask me what I am, I would tell you I'm Armenian," he told CNN.

"Bourj Hammoud has played a significant role especially after 1950s -- this is where the Armenian patriotism was born ... Armenian literature took root again.

"Armenian culture was reborn here in a way."

As he walked down the bustling streets, Bezjian shook hands with people he knew. "This is the thing I like, you run into people and friends without planning," he said.

In an Armenian bookstore, he said: "When I come here, I see lots of acquaintances and friends from all different walks of life, I directly connect to my people and I get lots of inspiration from them."

In 2003, Bezjian made a documentary called "Muron," named after the consecrated mixture of oil, flowers, and scents used in various rituals in the Armenian Church.

Visiting a church Bourj Hammoud, he said: "Muron is basically used to consecrate icons and also for baptizing, and I wanted to see how this was made.

"When they do a new one what remains from the oil is mixed in the new one so in a way the Muron that is made today is directly connected to what was made in year 301. This sense of continuity is very important."

Bezjian said he is not religious, but loves the church for the silence it provides from the noise of the streets outside.

"Church has always played a central role in preserving the Armenian identity and culture," he added.

Bezjian later took CNN to an Armenian radio station where the news is read in Armenian and where he is a regular guest.
 

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