ARMENIAN MONUMENT FOUND DURING EXCAVATIONS IN AGHTAMAR0 ISLAND: TURKS
KEEPS SILENCE ABOUT ITS BEING ARMENIAN
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.