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March 29, 2007 -- A 10th-century Armenian church is scheduled to reopen today in Turkey after extensive restoration work. Turkish and Armenian officials will attend a ceremony marking the reopening of the Akdamar Church, which is perched on an island in eastern Turkey's Lake Van. The church will reopen as a museum. Patriarch Mesrob II, the spiritual head of the Armenian Orthodox community in Turkey, and Turkish Culture Minister Atilla Koc are also scheduled to attend.The ceremony is seen as a good-will gesture between Armenia and Turkey. The two countries have no diplomatic ties and relations have been frosty over the mass killings of Armenians in Turkey around the time of World War I, which Armenia describes as genocide, and Armenia's continued occupation of the Azerbaijani territoy of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia's Deputy Culture Minister Gagik Gyurjyan and a 20-member delegation of officials, historians, and experts traveled to Turkey for the ceremony. (AP, AFP) Copyright (c) 2007. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org |
