Turkish Daily News
Oct 7 2006

Restoration of Armenian church in Van complete
Saturday, October 7, 2006

With the church refurbished, the number of tourists to the province
will increase, says the provincial culture manager

ANKARA – Turkish Daily News

A project to restore the Armenian church on the island of Akdamar
in Lake Van is complete, according to reports.

Cahit Zeydanlý, the owner of the company that restored the church,
said the restoration process began in May 2005. The process involved
the cleaning of the roof and the frescos and figures inside and
outside the church, laying floorboards and putting in windows, he
said, noting that they had found 34 rooms in the church during the
restoration.

He said the rooms were cleaned up but were not restored because
they weren’t included in the project.

"The restoration was finished on Aug. 30 at a cost of YTL 2.6
million," said Zeydanlý, noting that five experts supervised the
efforts.

"Right now, we are in the process of refurbishing the environs of
the church. We built a pier and walkways on the island. Toilets,
guard posts, ticket booths and gift shops were built. We are also
building a cafeteria behind the church. These will be complete soon
too."

He said the church on Akdamar was the second Armenian church he had
restored, noting that the Armenian church in Bitlis his company had
rebuilt was now being used as a house of worship.

Zeydanlý said they were aware of the dangers of restoring the
church and consequently were in constant contact with the government,
Armenian officials in Turkey and around the world. He said an
Armenian architect had helped them throughout the process.

"The church is a registered work of art. That’s why it was very
important to pay the utmost care on the rehabilitation of the
church."

He had talked to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan about the
church, said Zeydanlý, noting that Erdoðan was very interested in the
process. "The past problems between Armenians and Turks are harming
the current state of relations. I hope this church will help in
finding a common ground. This restoration is the proof that Turkey
can handle such projects. The opening ceremony may take place on Nov.
4. We are expecting the prime minister at the ceremony."

A tourism boost to the region:

Van Culture and Tourism Manager Ýzzet Kutuoðlu said a science board
and their bureaus had constantly checked the progress of the
restoration process and were pleased with the end result.

"The number of tourists coming to Van will increase with the
completion of this project. There are some groups who want to come
even now. However, we don’t want anyone here before the restoration
is complete."

–Boundary_(ID_l6ZeCoo24Wx+azbSo BEflg)–