THE AKHTAMAR CHURCH HAS NO ANALOGS IN THE WORLD’S ARCHITECTURE

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.03.2007 GMT+04:00

The international legislation stipulates that the original should
serve as a sample in monument reconstruction; consequently a cross
should be placed on the dome of the Holy Cross Church.

In 2005 in Beijing law on reconstruction of the Holy Cross Church
situated on Akhtamar Island in Turkey was adopted. According to the
law Armenian restorers and architects must also take part in the
reconstruction works. But as these two countries are not in healthy
diplomatic relations with each other, the Armenian party had to appeal
to UNESCO for assistance.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ According to the Turkish Press, the Church is ready
for its opening ceremony, where the Turkish Prime-minister Redgep
Erdoghan and Members of the Cabinet will be present. It was also
stated that the Representatives of the Armenian Diaspora and the
Armenian Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs are also invited,
though the Ministry doesn’t seem to have received any official
invitation yet. The date of the opening ceremony has been postponed
more than once. At first it was supposed to be held on April 24,
but later under the pressure of the Armenian Diaspora the date was
changed and was fixed on April 15, at present it is said that the
opening ceremony is going to be held on April 11.

However the Holy Cross Church is reconstructed. In the opinion of the
Armenian historian Samvel Karapetian Akhtamar is a universal property
that is why the Turkish government decided to reconstruct it. The
Akhtamar Church has no analogs in the world’s architecture. "Akhtamar
is unique, and the Turkish government will have great profits from the
flow of tourists. The matter of the contents of the inscription on the
wall of the temple is a question of minor importance. Presently Greek,
Armenian and Assyrian monuments are being reconstructed throughout
Turkey and the Turks will decide themselves which monument will carry
writing about its belonging," Karapetian said.

Over the past two years, Turkish authorities have raised loud
clamors over the restoration of a 10th century Armenian Church on
Akhtamar Island. Until now it is not clear whether this restoration
project is a gesture of peace or a crude gloss over the reality
of the Armenian Genocide and the destruction of Armenian cultural
properties. Komitas Institute in London quotes the words of the Head
of the Turkish Historical Society, Yusuf Halacoglu from New Anatolian,
"We have nothing to hide… Opening of the Agdamar Church will be a
gesture towards the Armenians and the whole world…"

Meanwhile, debates about placing a cross on the belfry of the Church
are being held. According to the Minister of Culture Attila Koch
"if the cross indeed existed, it should still be there", Hurriyet
writes mentioning that the Holy Cross Church was built by King Gagik
I Artsruni (915-921 A.D.) of the Vaspurakan kingdom. In its turn
the Armenian Marmara mentions, that the issue of placing the cross
on the belfry of the Church itself has become a vexed question for
the Turkish Government. "Engineer Yagub Hazan, who has taken up the
responsibility of the reconstruction of the Church, mentioned that
during the research they have found one picture only, where the cross
is not distinctly marked, and the engineer doesn’t think it worthwhile
to place the cross on the dome of the Church.

Meanwhile, architect Zakaria Mildanoglu, who has been selected by the
Armenian Community to control the reconstruction works, objected to the
engineer’s point of view and appealed to the international legislation,
which stipulates that the original should serve as a sample in
monument reconstruction. He mentioned that by his initiative a group
of specialists has designed a cross of 2.5 meters of height. Besides
an official involved in the works; Dzhahid Zeinadli has announced
that they don’t want to place the cross on the dome of the church
avoiding fire in the church that may be caused by the lightening",
Marmara writes.

"PanARMENIAN.Net" analytical department