AN OFF-TOPIC DAY
By Berk Cektir

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Aug 15 2007

I am on the way back to Istanbul from Van (pronounced similarly to
the English word "one"). The city is located in Turkey’s East and
is a border city near Iran. I went to Van for business but was able
to take some time off and visit the beauties of this sacred city. I
would like to write a bit about Akdamar Island and the stunning old
Armenian church. The city was first founded by the Urartians (1000
B.C.). Van Citadel was first built by Sardur I, the Urartian king,
in the ninth century B.C., is 80 meters above the lake level and
extends 1,800 meters from east to west, 120 meters from north to south.

The church on Akdamar Island in Lake Van represents one of the most
sublime examples of Armenian religious architecture. The church was
built by the architect Bishop Manuel between 915 and 921 A.D.

Constructed in a cruciform plan (cross-shaped) and with a conical
roof domed on the inside, the building is made of red tufa stone
brought to the island from distant quarries.

The outside walls of the church are very beautiful, and the reliefs
depict Biblical scenes with Adam, Eve, Abraham, David and Goliath
and Jesus, as well as themes from daily life. You can also feel the
influence of ninth and 10th century Abbasi art. The interior church
walls are also decorated with frescoes with religious themes.

My companion during the visit to the island was an executive at
a restoration company who told me the original bell of the church
had been lost but that he found it with the help of an unbelievable
coincidence in Turkmenistan. Now there are efforts being made to
bring the bell back to the church.

I am totally amazed by the city and recommend you visit it soon.

Now let’s go back to legal matters. As most of my readers know,
I choose to write about real estate law and private real estate
investments in particular.

The first reason for such preference is the presumption that most of
my readers are involved in some kind of real estate transaction or
private investment in Turkey, and I am trying to satisfy the needs of
my readers. However I sometimes receive very sophisticated questions
about company law and/or stock exchange matters. These questions
convinced me to revise my schedule of articles, and I will be writing
about some corporate matters in the coming days.

The second reason for writing about company law is the fact that
I am actually a corporate lawyer who specializes in mergers and
acquisitions. In other words, I cannot resist the call of the wild…

Some of my readers may find this very complicated or very specific,
but don’t forget that you never know what kind of information you
might need. A bit of information about specifics of company law may
be very handy for your private investments.

I’m sorry I used the space today writing about irrelevant issues. I
will finish the second part of this article and begin with information
for shareholders of Turkey’s companies tomorrow.

Goodbye.

NOTE: Berk Cektir is a licensed attorney at law and available to answer
questions on the legal aspects of living in Turkey. Send enquiries to
b.cektir@todayszaman.com <mailto:b.cektir@todayszaman.com> The names
of the readers are disclosed only upon written approval of the sender.

DISCLAIMER: The information provided here is intended to give basic
legal information. You should get legal assistance from a licensed
attorney at law while conducting legal transactions and not just rely
on the information in this corner.