ARMENIAN CHURCH IN LAKE VAN WILL OPEN FOR RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES ONCE A YEAR

Balkan Travellers
March 25 2010

25 March 2010 | The ancient Armenian church of the Holy Cross, located
on the Akdamar Island in Lake Van, now a part of Turkey, will open
for religious ceremonies on one day of the year, the Turkish Ministry
of Culture and Tourism decided recently.

The only surviving remnant of the large-scale construction undertaken
on the island by Gagik I of the Armenian Vaspurakan dynasty, the
church was built between 915 and 921AD and turned into a monastery
in 1113. Boasting uncommon, strikingly expressive reliefs – many of
which have been defaced, the church also has an extension that was
built later in order to adapt it to a mosque.

According to CNN Turk, the church has been designated a monument of
culture, managed by the Cultural Heritage and Museums directorate.

About 2.6 million Turkish liras (about 1.3 million euro) were invested
in its restoration a few years ago.

In response to a request from 2009, the Ministry decided to allow a
religious ceremony to take place in a part of the church once a year,
in September.

Lake Van is Turkey’s largest lake, located in the far east of the
country. Its history dates back to 1000 BC, when the body of water
became the centre of the Armenian Kingdom of Ararat, followed by the
Satrapy Kingdom of Greater Armenia and the Armenian Vaspurakan Kingdom.

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