Bourj Hammoud , Lebanon ( CNN ) -- Film director Nigol Bezjian was born in Syria , raised in Lebanon and studied in the United States , but nowhere does he feel more at home than in Little Armenia . Little Armenia is the vibrant Bourj Hammoud neighborhood of Beirut . Bourj Hammoud was developed mainly in the 1930s by Armenian refugees who arrived in Beirut after massacres of Armenians in 1915 and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire . Armenians and many historians refer to the massacres as genocide , but Turkey has always denied there was a genocide of the Armenian population . Bezjian , 57 , 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 . He said : `` If you ask me what I am , I would tell you I 'm Armenian . `` 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 takes CNN to an Armenian radio station where the news is read in Armenian and where he is a regular guest . Ending his tour in a restaurant called Baroud run by a father and son , Bezjian ponders the question of identity . `` In this part of the world people do n't talk about identity so much , it 's a given . Identity is North American invention ... who am I ? You are who you are . ''
Film director Nigol Bezjian takes CNN on a guided tour of the Bourj Hammoud neighborhood . Bourj Hammoud , on the outskirts of Beirut , is known as Little Armenia . Bezjian , director of `` Chickpeas , '' says he is Armenian first of all .