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EurasiaNet.org, NY
March 9 2012
Turkey: Istanbul Funeral Home Fosters Muslim-Christian Understanding
March 9, 2012 - 11:58am, by Constanze Letsch
More than 40 years ago, Kirkor Ã?apan, an ethnic Armenian, and his
father set up what today is one of the last Christian funeral homes
still operating in Istanbul. But the funeral parlor is not a religious
island unto itself. With so few Christians left in Turkey, the
stonemasons and carpenters working with Ã?apan are Muslim Turks.
`There are no more non-Muslim master craftsmen in my profession,'
commented stonemason Senol Ekinci, one of Ã?apan's craftsmen, who has
been carving Christian and Jewish tombstones for 35 years.
Standing in the Greek-Orthodox cemetery in the Istanbul neighborhood
of Sisli, where he is responsible for the graves' maintenance and
renovation, Ekinci explained what drew him to work on non-Muslim
tombstones. `These graves here are a bit more elaborate; they require
more work and craftsmanship. Turkish tombstones do not necessitate as
much effort,' Ekinci said. He is particularly proud of making the
tombstone for the grave of Lefter Küçükandonyadis, a Turkish football
legend of Greek descent who died this year.
Opportunities to work on such tombstones are shrinking. The Turkish
government claims that 99 percent of the country's 79.7 million
inhabitants are Muslim; and according to official statistics, the
country's Christian population has diminished by nearly half since
1965, when it stood at 207,000. The US Department of State's annual
Freedom of Religion report puts the numbers of Christians living now
in Turkey at approximately 115,000; only 2,500 of which are Greek
Orthodox, and 20,000 Armenian Apostolic.
While Ã?apan serves all Christian denominations, most of his customers
are ethnic Armenians. He also has set up a separate funeral home that
is now the only Greek Orthodox funeral home left in Istanbul.
While Istanbul's Greek population was exempted from the 1923
population exchange with Greece, changes in tax status, the 1955
anti-Greek pogroms and the dispute over Cyprus in the 1960s prompted
thousands to leave. Nonetheless, the community's influence lingers on.
Ekinci learned his profession from his father, who in turn learned
from a Greek master stonemason. He uses five different alphabets on
his tombstones -- Greek, Russian Cyrillic, Armenian, Hebrew and Latin.
`I learned Greek in the graveyard, from my colleagues,' he said. `It's
very hard, especially the grammar, but I finally managed.'
Ekinci claims that his friends and family never criticized his choice
to craft non-Muslim tombstones. `There used to be a lot of pressure on
non-Muslims, but things have much improved in the last 10 years," he
said.
He attributes the change to the controversial Ergenekon trial of
senior military officers and civilians accused of plotting to
overthrow the government of the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development
Party. `There was much more anti-Christian propaganda before many of
the main suspects were arrested, more aggression,' he said. `We sense
a difference.'
Ã?apan agrees that Christians now feel safer in Turkey. `Turkey has
come a long way in this matter,' he said.
Despite such affirmations, most of Istanbul's Christian cemeteries are
still surrounded by high walls. To enter, visitors have to ring a
doorbell: desecration of non-Muslim graves is still an issue, even if
the frequency of such incidents has decreased. "Before, we did not
allow any strangers to stroll through the vicinities,' Ekinci
explained. `And, yesterday, the patriarch [Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew] came to visit, accompanied only by his driver. Before, he
would have had to come with bodyguards.'
While the Turkish government in the past confiscated many buildings
owned by non-Muslims, few cemeteries were affected. One notable
exception was the Armenian Surp Agop Cemetery, on the grounds of
today's Divan and Hyatt Regency Hotels, which was leveled by the
Istanbul city government in 1939.
Currently, Ã?apan is coping with uncertainty. Urban renewal plans for
the formerly Greek neighborhood of TarlabaÅ?i mean that Ã?apan risks
losing the garage where he parks his hearse and stores coffins and
other supplies. Most churches and Christian graveyards are close to
his office, and he fears that moving to the outskirts would increase
his costs substantially.
Another business concern persists -- a government ban on cremations.
`Our requests have been ignored for years,' Ã?apan said. `They say that
`It's against our religion. It's not possible in Islam.' But the ones
asking for cremation are not Muslims.'
The Eastern Orthodox Church also forbids cremation, arguing that it
contradicts the central dogma of resurrection, but Ã?apan claims that
demand runs high among foreign tourists whose relatives or friends die
in Turkey, and would run `much higher still if the Turkish government
would finally legalize the cremation procedure here."
Both Ã?apan and Ekinci lament the small numbers of Christians left in
Istanbul, and not only because of their bottom line. `On religious
holidays, many families came to the cemetery and visited the graves,'
Ekinci recalled. `Now, most of them call from abroad and ask us to
take care of everything, if at all. There used to be at least three
priests coming to the cemetery every day. Now if there is one, we are
surprised.'
But as any resident can attest, change in Istanbul is constant. Noting
the Greeks now migrating to Turkey for work, Ekinci wagers that the
city's Christian cemeteries might not always be bereft of regular
visitors. `With the economic crisis in Greece,' he said, `this might
change again.'
Editor's note: Constanze Letsch is a freelance writer based in Istanbul.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65110
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
March 9 2012
Turkey: Istanbul Funeral Home Fosters Muslim-Christian Understanding
March 9, 2012 - 11:58am, by Constanze Letsch
More than 40 years ago, Kirkor Ã?apan, an ethnic Armenian, and his
father set up what today is one of the last Christian funeral homes
still operating in Istanbul. But the funeral parlor is not a religious
island unto itself. With so few Christians left in Turkey, the
stonemasons and carpenters working with Ã?apan are Muslim Turks.
`There are no more non-Muslim master craftsmen in my profession,'
commented stonemason Senol Ekinci, one of Ã?apan's craftsmen, who has
been carving Christian and Jewish tombstones for 35 years.
Standing in the Greek-Orthodox cemetery in the Istanbul neighborhood
of Sisli, where he is responsible for the graves' maintenance and
renovation, Ekinci explained what drew him to work on non-Muslim
tombstones. `These graves here are a bit more elaborate; they require
more work and craftsmanship. Turkish tombstones do not necessitate as
much effort,' Ekinci said. He is particularly proud of making the
tombstone for the grave of Lefter Küçükandonyadis, a Turkish football
legend of Greek descent who died this year.
Opportunities to work on such tombstones are shrinking. The Turkish
government claims that 99 percent of the country's 79.7 million
inhabitants are Muslim; and according to official statistics, the
country's Christian population has diminished by nearly half since
1965, when it stood at 207,000. The US Department of State's annual
Freedom of Religion report puts the numbers of Christians living now
in Turkey at approximately 115,000; only 2,500 of which are Greek
Orthodox, and 20,000 Armenian Apostolic.
While Ã?apan serves all Christian denominations, most of his customers
are ethnic Armenians. He also has set up a separate funeral home that
is now the only Greek Orthodox funeral home left in Istanbul.
While Istanbul's Greek population was exempted from the 1923
population exchange with Greece, changes in tax status, the 1955
anti-Greek pogroms and the dispute over Cyprus in the 1960s prompted
thousands to leave. Nonetheless, the community's influence lingers on.
Ekinci learned his profession from his father, who in turn learned
from a Greek master stonemason. He uses five different alphabets on
his tombstones -- Greek, Russian Cyrillic, Armenian, Hebrew and Latin.
`I learned Greek in the graveyard, from my colleagues,' he said. `It's
very hard, especially the grammar, but I finally managed.'
Ekinci claims that his friends and family never criticized his choice
to craft non-Muslim tombstones. `There used to be a lot of pressure on
non-Muslims, but things have much improved in the last 10 years," he
said.
He attributes the change to the controversial Ergenekon trial of
senior military officers and civilians accused of plotting to
overthrow the government of the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development
Party. `There was much more anti-Christian propaganda before many of
the main suspects were arrested, more aggression,' he said. `We sense
a difference.'
Ã?apan agrees that Christians now feel safer in Turkey. `Turkey has
come a long way in this matter,' he said.
Despite such affirmations, most of Istanbul's Christian cemeteries are
still surrounded by high walls. To enter, visitors have to ring a
doorbell: desecration of non-Muslim graves is still an issue, even if
the frequency of such incidents has decreased. "Before, we did not
allow any strangers to stroll through the vicinities,' Ekinci
explained. `And, yesterday, the patriarch [Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew] came to visit, accompanied only by his driver. Before, he
would have had to come with bodyguards.'
While the Turkish government in the past confiscated many buildings
owned by non-Muslims, few cemeteries were affected. One notable
exception was the Armenian Surp Agop Cemetery, on the grounds of
today's Divan and Hyatt Regency Hotels, which was leveled by the
Istanbul city government in 1939.
Currently, Ã?apan is coping with uncertainty. Urban renewal plans for
the formerly Greek neighborhood of TarlabaÅ?i mean that Ã?apan risks
losing the garage where he parks his hearse and stores coffins and
other supplies. Most churches and Christian graveyards are close to
his office, and he fears that moving to the outskirts would increase
his costs substantially.
Another business concern persists -- a government ban on cremations.
`Our requests have been ignored for years,' Ã?apan said. `They say that
`It's against our religion. It's not possible in Islam.' But the ones
asking for cremation are not Muslims.'
The Eastern Orthodox Church also forbids cremation, arguing that it
contradicts the central dogma of resurrection, but Ã?apan claims that
demand runs high among foreign tourists whose relatives or friends die
in Turkey, and would run `much higher still if the Turkish government
would finally legalize the cremation procedure here."
Both Ã?apan and Ekinci lament the small numbers of Christians left in
Istanbul, and not only because of their bottom line. `On religious
holidays, many families came to the cemetery and visited the graves,'
Ekinci recalled. `Now, most of them call from abroad and ask us to
take care of everything, if at all. There used to be at least three
priests coming to the cemetery every day. Now if there is one, we are
surprised.'
But as any resident can attest, change in Istanbul is constant. Noting
the Greeks now migrating to Turkey for work, Ekinci wagers that the
city's Christian cemeteries might not always be bereft of regular
visitors. `With the economic crisis in Greece,' he said, `this might
change again.'
Editor's note: Constanze Letsch is a freelance writer based in Istanbul.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65110
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress