ARMENIAN CHURCH REOPENS IN TURKEY

Story from BBC NEWS:
europe/6505927.stm
Published: 2007/03/29 11:31:17 GMT

A senior Armenian delegation is in eastern Turkey for the reopening
of a 1,100-year-old Armenian church restored by the Turkish government.

The move is being seen as a positive gesture by Ankara to help
overcome the animosity following the mass killings of Armenians by
Ottoman Turks in 1915.

The two countries have no formal diplomatic ties.

Located on the small island of Akdamar in Lake Van, the pink sandstone
church has undergone 18 months of renovation.

New projects

The building, which has now reopened as a museum, had long been left
empty and neglected, its intricate wall carvings crumbling.

In a move described by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
as a positive step, the government spent $1.5m (£763,000) on its
restoration.

The 20-strong Armenian delegation of architects, engineers and
archaeologists is headed by Deputy Culture Minister Gagik Gyurjyan.

Mr Gyurjyan said they were not in Turkey just to witness the renovation
of the church, which was built between 915-921.

"We think we can discuss new projects regarding the future," he said,
according to Turkey’s Anatolia news agency.

"Our experts can co-operate in many areas including archaeology,
architecture and industry."

Border closed

But relations between the two countries remain tense.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in the 1990s to support
Azerbaijan in its dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.

To get to Akdamar, Armenian officials have had to travel via Istanbul
or Georgia.

Armenians say 1.5 million of their people were killed in a genocide by
Ottoman Turks during World War I, either through systematic massacres
or through starvation.

More than a dozen countries, various international bodies and many
Western historians agree that it was genocide.

Turkey says there was no genocide. It acknowledges that many Armenians
died, but says the figure was below one million.

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