ANCIENT ISLAND CHURCH HOSTS SYMPHONIC CONCERT
Anadolu Agency
June 26 2009
Turkey
VAN (A.A) – 26.06.2009 – The ancient island church of Akdamar on Lake
Van was the venue for a symphonic concert on Thursday as part of an
international culture festival.
Izmir State Symphonic Orchestra and State Opera singers performed a
special repertoire including songs in Turkish and English as well as
Kurdish and Armenian.
Akdamar is a 10th century church, constructed on small Akdamar islet
located 3 kilometers off coast in Lake Van. Built during the years
915-921 and commissioned by Vaspurakan King Gagik I, the cross-shaped
church underwent a renovation by the Turkish Government between
May 2005 and October 2006, and it was opened as a museum in March
2007. The renovation works costed some 2.6 million YTL.