Armenian church reopens in Turkey
BBC News
29 March 2007
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.
Story from BBC NEWS:
/6505927.stm