MOSQUE FOUNDATION IN TURKEY APPLIES FOR CHURCH RENOVATION

Hurriyet
March 24 2010
Turkey

A foundation for the construction and renovation of mosques has applied
to the Culture Ministry to restore the Armenian TaÅ~_horon Church in
the neighborhood that is known as the birthplace of Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink.

According to Latif Yıldırım, head of the TepebaÅ~_ı Mosque
Construction and Preservation Society, the decision to undertake
the renovation was made in 2009. The foundation also asked for the
opinions of non-governmental organizations and of the non-Muslim
public in the CavuÅ~_oglu neighborhood of Malatya, he said.

In 2010, the project further improved. Pointing out that they set off
with the belief that there should be tolerance and dialogue between
religions, Yıldırım said there were many mosques in Europe.

"The TaÅ~_horon Church was built in the Ottoman era. This is proof
that our culture is based on tolerance and freedom of faith," said
Yıldırım. "Those were the times that people used to live together
and could do their religious exercises freely. This also is the case
today and it should by. We applied for the project via the Provincial
Directorate of Culture and Tourism. There seems to be nothing to hinder
us now. The church will be re-opened first under the supervision of
the Sivas Protection Committee and then the renovation costs will be
determined. Then we will start the operations. The renovation will
also be financially supported by Malatya Municipality."

Stating that they finished all the necessary correspondence between
governmental institutions about the application, Malatya Provincial
Director of Culture and Tourism Bahaettin Kabahasanoglu said,
"One-third of the church land belongs to the municipality and the rest
to the General Directorate of the National Estate. An outcome report
was prepared and it said the municipality’s share must be turned
over to the National Estate. We also sent the project documents to
the Sivas Regional Committee. If the committee accepts the project
and the municipality turns its share over, then the renovation work
will begin."

Hopes for city-center church as well

"We are well aware of the fact that the church’s walls and stonework
are very sound. We know that it will be very easy to renovate the
church. I hope the church in the city center is also renovated
according to the original plans like all the other historical
buildings. We are keeping an eye on this," said Kabahasanoglu.

‘Doors and windows blocked up’

Among those who wanted the church to be renovated was also Dink, the
editor in chief of weekly Agos who was murdered in January 2007. Dink
was born in the CavuÅ~_oglu neighborhood of Malatya.

Over time, the wooden dome of the 18th-century church has fallen down
and inscriptions that have faded are now illegible.

To prevent further entry, the door and windows of the church were
filled in with stones and blocked up.

During a 2002 visit to his birthplace, Dink visited the church site
and said it should be renovated.