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DIKRANAGERD CHURCH IN TURKEY TO DISPLAY ARMENIAN LEGACY
http://asbarez.com/120538/dikranagerd-church-in-turkey-to-display-armenian-legacy/
Wednesday, March 12th, 2014
The Armenian church of St. Giragos, which laid in ruins for a
century after the genocide, was restored and reopened with the help
of the Kurdish mayor of Diyarbakir (Dikranagerd) and the Surp Giragos
Armenian Foundation
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Hurriyet Daily News)--One of Diyarbakır's
(Dikranagerd) most famous churches, the Armenian church of Surp
Giragos, is set to become a city museum hosting artwork and artifacts
depicting the Armenian history in the city.
Earlier, the Hurriyet Daily News reported that Diyarbakir Metropolitan
Mayor Osman Baydemir and Surp Giragos Armenian Foundation President
Ergun Ayik had signed a protocol to turn the church, which was recently
restored and opened to prayer, into a museum.
According to the protocol, the church's Hidir Ilyas section will
be given to the municipality and converted into a museum featuring
belongings and ethnographic artifacts.
Ayik said the church was the largest church in the Middle East but was
in ruins until it was restored and reopened to worship three years ago.
Noting that the church was surrounded by many famous buildings and
artifacts in the city, Ayik said, "The representatives are evaluating
the buildings around the church."
The Diyarbakir City Museum will display Armenian heritage and Armenian
art. "We are currently meeting with the municipality and we have
signed a protocol to open this part," Ayik said.
"We will first collect artifacts before decorating the museum. The
decorations and the curation will be made according to the artifacts,"
said Ayik, noting that there would be information about the family,
social and cultural life of Armenians.
Letters from Lice Very few artifacts have survived over the past
100 years, but Ayik said they were able to collect letters from 1913
from a family who lived in the province's Lice district, as well as
kitchen appliances, musical instruments and other examples of writings
from elsewhere.
During the last 100 years, many artifacts that belonged to Armenian
families have been lost, he said. "We are currently collecting
artifacts to display in the museum. This is the first time that
something like this has happened in Turkey, and many people are
approaching this with suspicion."
The written documents are very valuable because they reflect the
lifestyle of Armenians at the time, he said. "We have collected
these documents from Turkey and also from foreign countries. We have
succeeded in collecting these artifacts."
Noting that there were also many financial documents, Ayik said these
revealed the debts and the trade that Armenians had in history.
Artifacts in Istanbul The artifacts that have been collected have
been sent to Istanbul to be analyzed and researched.
Collecting the data and the artifacts has taken a long time, he said,
adding that the job was an important task that only professionals
could do.
After analyzing the works, the artifact will be sent to the museum
for display.
Surp Giragos, which boasts seven altars, originally had an earthen
roof, although a new roof of wood was subsequently erected over the
restored church. It was closed in 1915-1916 before being returned to
the local Armenian community in 1960.
A new bell that was made for the reopened church was made in Russia
especially for the place of worship.
http://asbarez.com/120538/dikranagerd-church-in-turkey-to-display-armenian-legacy/
Wednesday, March 12th, 2014
The Armenian church of St. Giragos, which laid in ruins for a
century after the genocide, was restored and reopened with the help
of the Kurdish mayor of Diyarbakir (Dikranagerd) and the Surp Giragos
Armenian Foundation
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Hurriyet Daily News)--One of Diyarbakır's
(Dikranagerd) most famous churches, the Armenian church of Surp
Giragos, is set to become a city museum hosting artwork and artifacts
depicting the Armenian history in the city.
Earlier, the Hurriyet Daily News reported that Diyarbakir Metropolitan
Mayor Osman Baydemir and Surp Giragos Armenian Foundation President
Ergun Ayik had signed a protocol to turn the church, which was recently
restored and opened to prayer, into a museum.
According to the protocol, the church's Hidir Ilyas section will
be given to the municipality and converted into a museum featuring
belongings and ethnographic artifacts.
Ayik said the church was the largest church in the Middle East but was
in ruins until it was restored and reopened to worship three years ago.
Noting that the church was surrounded by many famous buildings and
artifacts in the city, Ayik said, "The representatives are evaluating
the buildings around the church."
The Diyarbakir City Museum will display Armenian heritage and Armenian
art. "We are currently meeting with the municipality and we have
signed a protocol to open this part," Ayik said.
"We will first collect artifacts before decorating the museum. The
decorations and the curation will be made according to the artifacts,"
said Ayik, noting that there would be information about the family,
social and cultural life of Armenians.
Letters from Lice Very few artifacts have survived over the past
100 years, but Ayik said they were able to collect letters from 1913
from a family who lived in the province's Lice district, as well as
kitchen appliances, musical instruments and other examples of writings
from elsewhere.
During the last 100 years, many artifacts that belonged to Armenian
families have been lost, he said. "We are currently collecting
artifacts to display in the museum. This is the first time that
something like this has happened in Turkey, and many people are
approaching this with suspicion."
The written documents are very valuable because they reflect the
lifestyle of Armenians at the time, he said. "We have collected
these documents from Turkey and also from foreign countries. We have
succeeded in collecting these artifacts."
Noting that there were also many financial documents, Ayik said these
revealed the debts and the trade that Armenians had in history.
Artifacts in Istanbul The artifacts that have been collected have
been sent to Istanbul to be analyzed and researched.
Collecting the data and the artifacts has taken a long time, he said,
adding that the job was an important task that only professionals
could do.
After analyzing the works, the artifact will be sent to the museum
for display.
Surp Giragos, which boasts seven altars, originally had an earthen
roof, although a new roof of wood was subsequently erected over the
restored church. It was closed in 1915-1916 before being returned to
the local Armenian community in 1960.
A new bell that was made for the reopened church was made in Russia
especially for the place of worship.