25/03/2024
For the more serious readers...
HOLY CROSS CATHEDRAL AND AGHTAMAR ISLAND, 2024
I recently posted a few interesting but uncomfortable items on Dogubayazid and the ancient city of Ani in eastern Turkey. Today I will post something more uplifting and probably surprising for many readers. It concerns the official Turkish website on Sourp Khach Cathedral and Aghtamar island in Lake Van (www.akdamar.gov.tr). I do not know who is behind the content of this site, but it reflects some positive developments. Here are some of the critical elements worthy of note.
* The English, French and German sections of the website refer to Aghtamar (Աղթամար) by the island’s proper name, “Aghtamar,” and not the more common Turkish rendition, "Akdamar." This is a positive compromise and I hope Turkish authorities will also consider changing “Akdamar” to a more fitting, "Ağtamar" one day.
* The main history section of the website starts with "Armenian Kingdom: Aghtamar City and the Kingdom of Vaspurakan." This prominent reference to Armenians also appears in the Turkish section, "Ermeni Krallığı: Ahtamar Şehri ve Vaspurakan Krallığı." Such references used to be anathema in Turkey, even a few years ago. Now we can see them on a government website. So, again, a positive note.
* In the architectural drawings section, the website presents facimile images from the Italian/English publication, "Documents of Armenian Architecture, Aght'amar," an academic series edited by Agopik and Armen Manoukian and published in Italy by Edizioni Ares, 1974. Yet again, this is a positive feature and adds much to the website. I suggest they add a bibliography to the site and list their sources for the more nerdy visitors.
* To its credit, under the section restoration, the website includes the following paragraph:
"The demolition of Aghtamar Church along with many Armenian monuments in the east was decided by the government in 1951, and the demolition that started on 25 June1951 was stopped by the intervention of Yaşar Kemal, who was a young journalist at that time and who coincidentally heard about of the incident. The church, which was neglected and dilapidated for years after that was decided to be restored under the leadership of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism in the period of 2005-2007, as a step towards the promotion of the relations between the Armenians of Turkey and Armenia."
The Turkish section of the website also includes the same passage:
"Doğudaki birçok Ermeni anıtı ile beraber Ahtamar Kilisesi’nin de 1951’de hükümet emriyle yıkımı kararlaştırılmış, 25 Haziran 1951’de başlatılan yıkım çalışması o dönemde genç bir gazeteci olan ve tesadüfen olaylardan haberdar olan Yaşar Kemal’in müdahalesiyle durdurulmuştur. Bu tarihten sonra yıllar boyu bakımsız kalan kilise 2005–2007 döneminde T.C.Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı öncülüğünde, Türkiye Ermenileri ve Ermenistan ile ilişkilerin geliştirilmesine yönelik bir adım olarak restore edilmesine karar verilmiştir."
I was bowled over when I read it. This forthright passage is a major departure in addressing painful episodes from the past in such a candid manner. However, I find the last sentence a little strange because the benefits of this project are much wider than “the promotion of the relations between the Armenians of Turkey and Armenia.” They also promote better relations between Armenians and Turks in Turkey, Turkey and Armenia, as well as Turkey and the Armenian diaspora.
COMMENT
Many years ago, Armenian history in this region was a taboo subject. The renovation of Sourp Khach Cathedral on Aghtamar island broke that taboo in a monumental fashion in the early 2000s. Today, tens of thousands of Turkish and foreign tourists visit Aghtamar every year, and the island serves as an unofficial memorial to the Armenian heritage of that region. How far any development around Aghtamar Island and related issues go will depend on input from different quarters. Armenians today would do well to be more learned and proactive, stand up for their shared heritage in Turkey, and engage positive opportunities when they see them.
DISCLOSURE: I am a historian of the late Ottoman Empire and modern Armenian history, the executive-director of the Gomidas Institute, and currently head “ProjectKharpert2022,” a Gomidas Institute initiative to rehabilitate the memory of Armenians in the Kharpert region of Turkey.
