An Alchemist’s Pilgrimage By Khatchig Mouradian
Best-Selling Author Paulo Coelho’s Journey Among the Armenians
“This book, telling the story of a shepherd boy named Santiago, is about following your dreams,” said my Chinese friend.
“Its message is powerful and simple: If you really believe in something, the whole universe conspires with you to achieve it. Take it to Beirut with you and read it,” she continued.
Thousands of miles away from home, I was being offered a book I had on my own bookshelf, but had never read. Thus, on September 10, 2000, in Shenyang, China, my story with The Alchemist had begun.
As I was reading the book on the plane on my way back, I felt I could easily relate to the message of the novel: We had to go to far away lands, sometimes, to find treasures hidden in our backyard.
“I will translate this book to Armenian one day,” I thought, as the captain was announcing our arrival at the Beirut International Airport.
In October 2003, I started interviewing writers …
This article is written by Khatchig Mouradian @ The Armenian Weekly. You can visit the journalist blog : Paulo Coelho in Armenia to read more articles about the story of Coelho’s pilgrimage to Armenia.
