TURKEY ANNOUNCES DATE OF OFFICIAL OPENING OF AKHTAMAR CHURCH

Tert.am
11:13 ~U 21.12.09

Van mayor Munir Karaloglu has announced that, after speaking with
Turkey’s Ministry of Culture, a decision was made to open the Armenian
church on the island of Akhtamar, reports Azerbaijani news site
1news.az, quoting Turkish news agency Hurriyet Daily News.

The church, located in Lake Van in eastern Turkey, will begin
officially opening its doors on September 12, 2010; until then,
construction work will be taking place. According to the mayor,
Akhtamar will then become a pilgrimmage site for the many Armenians
living in different countries around the world.

Karaloglu also noted that after the opening of the Armenian-Turkish
border, Van will become one of Turkey’s tourism hot-spots. "Here,
people will come to vacation not only from Armenia, but also from Iran:
isn’t it true that our border now passes through hills, but after the
opening of the Armenian-Turkish border, tourists from Iran will be
able to more easily travel to Van through Armenia," stated the mayor.