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Ankara Attempts to Turkify Ani's Past
Kristine Aghalaryan
hetq
11:35, May 26, 2011
The ruins of Ani, the city of 1001 churches, continue to fascinate
tourists from around the world.
On the day we arrived, despite the inclement weather, we bumped into
Turkish students and tourists from the Czech Republic and Armenia. The
Turkish government has latched on to the tourism draw and now longer
restricts outsiders to the medieval Armenian city.
One Czech tourist, travelling by motorcycle, knew little of the city's
history but was impressed with what he saw. Sadly, the information
posted at the entrance and inside the area, told him nothing about the
city's Armenian roots.
Loosely translated the official sign posts read that Ani "...is a
medieval city where various cultures clashed."
The signs mention kings like Ashot (961-977 AD) and Smbat Bagratouni
(977-989AD) must conveniently omit the fact that they were Armenian.
Neither do they note that the city serves as the capital of the
Armenian Kingdom.
Ani sat at the crossroads of trade routes as well - goods were brought
from China, Persia, Byzantium and Egypt.
While the Tigran Honets Church has been partially renovated, its dome
has been left unrepaired. While a sign affixed to the church states
that it was built when Ani was under Georgian jurisdiction, Armenian
historian Samvel Karapetyan is convinced that it belonged to the
Armenian community.
Despite the efforts of the Turkish Cultural Ministry to the contrary,
the locals know that Ani was an Armenian political and religious
center.
We met up with Ali Ihsan Alunak, a Kurdish journalist, who heads the
Caucasus Cultural Research Institute of Turkey.
Alnak says the lack of any mention of Ani's Armenian identity is a
result of decades of Turkish rejectionist state policy when it comes
to Armenians. Ankara, he states, wants to avoid any linkage of
Turkey's history with that of the Armenians; especially the period
related to the 1915 Genocide.
The architect says that Turkey has even seen fit to start calling Ani
by the Turkified "Anu" name; thus further removing it from its
Armenian legacy. In Turkish, the word means "memory" or "remembrance".
Alnak told me that Ankara's attempts to "Turkify" Ani are futile given
that the whole world regards the city as Armenian.
Turkish Minister for Tourism and Culture, Ertugrul Günay, has declared
that Ankara plans to renovate the Mother of God Cathedral and the Holy
Saviour Church in cooperation with the World Monuments Fund.
The work is being coordinated by Anadolu Kültür, an NGO headed by
Osman Kavala. He says that work will commence in 2012 and last for
four years.
Ishan Karayaz, who heads the Millennium Development Goals Fund, is a
bit more optimistic, despite the fact that Ani was a military
off-limits zone till 2004. He says that things have changes today with
specialists visiting the site; even Armenians.
"What this means is that we will have different studies of Ani. I also
see more willingness on the part of the Turkish government to
acknowledge Ani's Armenian identity," says Karayaz.
Ali Ishan believes that such official acknowledgement will be
facilitated with the normalization of relations between Turkey and
Armenia. But he doesn't hold his breath regarding any such
development.
He also doesn't put much faith in Ankara's pledges to renovate Ani's
monuments and believes that Turkey is just going through the motions
after having been pressured by the international community.
Kristine Aghalaryan
hetq
11:35, May 26, 2011
The ruins of Ani, the city of 1001 churches, continue to fascinate
tourists from around the world.
On the day we arrived, despite the inclement weather, we bumped into
Turkish students and tourists from the Czech Republic and Armenia. The
Turkish government has latched on to the tourism draw and now longer
restricts outsiders to the medieval Armenian city.
One Czech tourist, travelling by motorcycle, knew little of the city's
history but was impressed with what he saw. Sadly, the information
posted at the entrance and inside the area, told him nothing about the
city's Armenian roots.
Loosely translated the official sign posts read that Ani "...is a
medieval city where various cultures clashed."
The signs mention kings like Ashot (961-977 AD) and Smbat Bagratouni
(977-989AD) must conveniently omit the fact that they were Armenian.
Neither do they note that the city serves as the capital of the
Armenian Kingdom.
Ani sat at the crossroads of trade routes as well - goods were brought
from China, Persia, Byzantium and Egypt.
While the Tigran Honets Church has been partially renovated, its dome
has been left unrepaired. While a sign affixed to the church states
that it was built when Ani was under Georgian jurisdiction, Armenian
historian Samvel Karapetyan is convinced that it belonged to the
Armenian community.
Despite the efforts of the Turkish Cultural Ministry to the contrary,
the locals know that Ani was an Armenian political and religious
center.
We met up with Ali Ihsan Alunak, a Kurdish journalist, who heads the
Caucasus Cultural Research Institute of Turkey.
Alnak says the lack of any mention of Ani's Armenian identity is a
result of decades of Turkish rejectionist state policy when it comes
to Armenians. Ankara, he states, wants to avoid any linkage of
Turkey's history with that of the Armenians; especially the period
related to the 1915 Genocide.
The architect says that Turkey has even seen fit to start calling Ani
by the Turkified "Anu" name; thus further removing it from its
Armenian legacy. In Turkish, the word means "memory" or "remembrance".
Alnak told me that Ankara's attempts to "Turkify" Ani are futile given
that the whole world regards the city as Armenian.
Turkish Minister for Tourism and Culture, Ertugrul Günay, has declared
that Ankara plans to renovate the Mother of God Cathedral and the Holy
Saviour Church in cooperation with the World Monuments Fund.
The work is being coordinated by Anadolu Kültür, an NGO headed by
Osman Kavala. He says that work will commence in 2012 and last for
four years.
Ishan Karayaz, who heads the Millennium Development Goals Fund, is a
bit more optimistic, despite the fact that Ani was a military
off-limits zone till 2004. He says that things have changes today with
specialists visiting the site; even Armenians.
"What this means is that we will have different studies of Ani. I also
see more willingness on the part of the Turkish government to
acknowledge Ani's Armenian identity," says Karayaz.
Ali Ishan believes that such official acknowledgement will be
facilitated with the normalization of relations between Turkey and
Armenia. But he doesn't hold his breath regarding any such
development.
He also doesn't put much faith in Ankara's pledges to renovate Ani's
monuments and believes that Turkey is just going through the motions
after having been pressured by the international community.