ARMENIAN CHURCH IN MALATYA NEEDS RENOVATION, RESIDENTS SAY

Hurriyet
May 26 2009
Turkey

MALATYA -The 18th century Toshoron Armenian church in the
CavuÅ~_oglu neighborhood of Malatya is in ruins, in need of care and
renovation. CavuÅ~_oglu is the birthplace of Hrant Dink, the former
editor of daily Agos, who was assassinated in 2007.

Mustafa Å~^ahin, headman of CavuÅ~_oglu, spoke to the Anatolia news
agency and said the church is in need of repairs and that people in
the neighborhood are being disturbed by the homeless who have taken
residence inside.

"It would be nice if the church is renovated. We do not have any
Armenians left living in our neighborhood," he said. "The community
dissolved; they migrated to big cities. However, there are a few
Armenian families living in Salköpru, the neighborhood next to us. If
the church was restored, it would be nice for them, too."

Officials from the provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism
said they wrote a note to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism about
renovating the church. Although it is on the program for 2009, the
lack of funding prevents the work from starting.