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GARNI CONTROVERSY: MINISTRY OFFICIAL SAYS NO CAFE CONSTRUCTION NEAR ARMENIA'S ONLY PAGAN TEMPLE
Arts and Culture | 10.03.14 | 09:32
Photolure
No cafe will be built in the territory of the Garni reserve, a senior
Ministry of Culture official confirmed over the weekend.
Deputy Minister Arev Samuelyan spoke to Hetq following a discussion
hosted by the Ministry on Saturday, informing the online publication
that they had given up the idea.
Plans to build a cafe near the Garni temple, the only pre-Christian
house of worship surviving in the territory of Armenia, had elicited an
angry response from groups of activists concerned with the preservation
of Armenian cultural and historical heritage.
Many of those activists traveled to the territory of the museum in
Garni (about 30 kilometers to the east of Armenian capital Yerevan)
the previous weekend to protest against the construction project the
spot. They, in particular, removed the sand and road-metal from what
had been turned into a construction site near the Royal Bath area at
Garni. They brought a few sandbags to Yerevan and put them in front
of the Ministry of Culture building as a sign of protest.
The Garni Castle dates back to the 3rd-2nd centuries BC, and the
Greek-Roman temple built in the first century BC, which is the
compositional center of the castle constructions, is the only pagan
temple to have been preserved in Armenia after the country adopted
Christianity in 301 AD. It was ruined in a 17th-century earthquake,
but was restored during 1969-1975.
The Ministry of Culture had explained the construction of a cafe near
the monument by the need to develop tourism, at the same time giving
assurances that the revenues made by the cafe would be directed at
the repairs of the paved road leading to the ancient site. Besides,
it had said that the cafe would not be a permanent structure, but
would operate only from May to October when most tourists visit Garni.
Many, however, disagreed with the kind of utilitarian approach,
arguing that such a cafe would only diminish the tourist value of the
place and, therefore, would put off many potential visitors. At the
same time, they also voiced their conviction that the reserve could
make enough money even without additional facilities to pay for the
needed maintenance work.
http://armenianow.com/arts_and_culture/52546/armenia_garni_temple_cafe_protest
From: Baghdasarian
Arts and Culture | 10.03.14 | 09:32
Photolure
No cafe will be built in the territory of the Garni reserve, a senior
Ministry of Culture official confirmed over the weekend.
Deputy Minister Arev Samuelyan spoke to Hetq following a discussion
hosted by the Ministry on Saturday, informing the online publication
that they had given up the idea.
Plans to build a cafe near the Garni temple, the only pre-Christian
house of worship surviving in the territory of Armenia, had elicited an
angry response from groups of activists concerned with the preservation
of Armenian cultural and historical heritage.
Many of those activists traveled to the territory of the museum in
Garni (about 30 kilometers to the east of Armenian capital Yerevan)
the previous weekend to protest against the construction project the
spot. They, in particular, removed the sand and road-metal from what
had been turned into a construction site near the Royal Bath area at
Garni. They brought a few sandbags to Yerevan and put them in front
of the Ministry of Culture building as a sign of protest.
The Garni Castle dates back to the 3rd-2nd centuries BC, and the
Greek-Roman temple built in the first century BC, which is the
compositional center of the castle constructions, is the only pagan
temple to have been preserved in Armenia after the country adopted
Christianity in 301 AD. It was ruined in a 17th-century earthquake,
but was restored during 1969-1975.
The Ministry of Culture had explained the construction of a cafe near
the monument by the need to develop tourism, at the same time giving
assurances that the revenues made by the cafe would be directed at
the repairs of the paved road leading to the ancient site. Besides,
it had said that the cafe would not be a permanent structure, but
would operate only from May to October when most tourists visit Garni.
Many, however, disagreed with the kind of utilitarian approach,
arguing that such a cafe would only diminish the tourist value of the
place and, therefore, would put off many potential visitors. At the
same time, they also voiced their conviction that the reserve could
make enough money even without additional facilities to pay for the
needed maintenance work.
http://armenianow.com/arts_and_culture/52546/armenia_garni_temple_cafe_protest
From: Baghdasarian