TURKEY TO OPEN ARMENIAN CHURCH IN EASTERN REGION

Xinhua General News Service
December 24, 2009 Thursday 6:25 AM EST
China

Munir Karaloglu, the governor of the eastern province of Van, said on
Thursday that Turkey would open an Armenian church in an eastern city
to worship in 2010, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

"We expect all Armenian citizens to a prayer at the Akdamar Church
on September 12, 2010," Karaloglu was quoted as saying.

The Akdamar Church on Akdamar Island in Lake Van was opened in 2007
as a museum after it was restored by the Turkish government between
May 2005 and October 2006 with the cost of 1.7 million U.S.dollars.

Karaloglu said he had contacted the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for
opening of the church to worship, and they would invite all Armenians
to the prayer in 2010.

The Akdamar Church was constructed by architect bishop Manuel between
915 and 921 A.D. under the supervision of King Gagik I.

Among the important pieces of Armenian architecture, the church draws
attraction with its stone workmanship and the relieves on its walls.

In October this year, the two sides agreed to open borders two months
after the protocols entered into force. The protocols are yet to be
ratified by the two countries’ parliaments.

Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic or economic ties since Armenia
declared its independence in 1991. Turkey closed its border with
Armenia in 1993 to support Azerbaijan during its conflict with Armenia
over the Upper Karabakh region, an enclave of Azerbaijan occupied by
Armenian troops.

Turkey-Armenia rifts went back to the World War I period. Armenia
claims more than 1.5 million Armenians were killed in a systematic
genocide in the hands of the Ottomans during the time, which was
denied by Turkey.