ARMENIAN MONUMENT FOUND DURING EXCAVATIONS IN AGHTAMAR ISLAND: TURKS KEEPS SILENCE ABOUT ITS BEING ARMENIAN

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 1 2006

ISTANBUL, JUNE 1, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. A monument dated of
June 1, 1884 was found during the excavations implemented near the
church of the Akhatamar Island in Lake Van. Mete Tozkoparan, the
Director of the Van museum informed that excavations were started
from the church garden, near the monks’ house, and numerous rooms
coming next to each other were found out in this territory. “A marble
stone-monument was found during the last excavations in a territory
consisting of six rooms, and the monument shows that a college
established to prepare clergymen existed in that territory. It is
written on the stone that the college was opened on June 1, 1884 by
Khachatur Rshtuntsi, one of Catholicoses of that period of time,”
Tozkaparan stated. The Director of the Van museum considers notable
the fact that the monument, besides giving information about details of
building of the college, contains “expressions of gratitude” addressed
to sultan of that period of time Abdul Hamid II for his permission,
assistance and support in the issue of building the college. “It
is clear from the monument that the monks’ college was built during
the period of Abdul Hamid II, Tozkoparan mentioned and informed that
they defined that a monks’ college was really built in that territory
in the same year. The Istanbul “Marmara” daily draws attention to
the fact that in spite of the information of the monument with text
in the Armenian language and one about the Armenian Catholicos, the
issue that this church of Aghtamar is Armenian, and the text on the
stone is in Armenian was not touched upon at all.