But the Akhtamar Church, located on an island in Lake Van in eastern Anatolia, will serve as a monument and museum, despite Armenian demands that it be opened for worship. The spiritual leader of Turkey's Armenian community, Patriarch Mesrob II, called for legal permission for use of the 10th century building for church services, at least one day a year, and for an annual festival on Akdamar Island, where the church is located. "Prayers made in a historic church will bring people closer… This will help establish peace, which has not taken root between Turks and Armenians," Mesrob II said at the opening ceremony. "I believe from my heart that the Turkish government will allow these."
Culture Minister Atilla Koç, who attended the ceremony, was non-committal on Mesrob II's request, saying he could not decide on the issue alone. The restoration of the church -- one of the most precious remnants of Armenian culture from 1,000 years ago -- has widely been seen as a positive message by Turkey to improve ties with Armenia and its own Armenian community, though Koç has emphasized that it was not meant to be a good-will gesture, saying it was his duty as a Cabinet minister to protect the country's historical heritage. Turkey has no diplomatic ties with Armenia but still invited Armenian officials to the ceremony, and Armenia's Deputy Culture Minister Gagik Gyurjyan, accompanied by a 20-member delegation, including officials, historians and experts, attended the ceremony.
The $1.5-million restoration of Akhtamar -- known as Church of Surp Khach, or the Holy Cross -- comes on the heels of a highly emotional funeral for Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, assassinated by a nationalist teenaged gunman on Jan. 19. In what was seen as an unprecedented outpouring of sympathy, tens of thousands of mourners at his funeral raised banners reading "We are all Armenians."
Yesterday's ceremony was attended by a group of 300 VIPs transported to Akdamar Island by boat. The participants included Koç, the Armenian delegation, Mesrob II, US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Nancy McEldowney and Israeli Ambassador Pinhas Avivi as well as Armenians who traveled to Turkey for the occasion.
"Let me have a contribution to peace. I open this with prayers," Koç said as he cut the ribbon with Mesrob II to open the church, which has not been operational for nine decades. The ceremony was broadcast live on Turkish and Armenian television.
"Akhtamar Church is a sanctuary for humanity," said Turkey's renowned pianist Tuluyhan Uğurlu after a mini concert before the opening. "The love for that church is the same as love for Hagia Sophia (a church-turned-mosque that was later converted into a museum), Süleymaniye (Mosque), Sultan Ahmet (Mosque) and Neve Shalom (Synagogue)."
One of the finest surviving monuments of Armenian culture 1,000 years ago, the church had deteriorated over the past century, with rainwater seeping through the collapsed, conical dome. Mesrob II expressed gratitude for the restoration of the sandstone structure, saying it looked much better as compared to its pre-restoration situation.
"This is a show of Turkey's respect for history and culture," said Van Governor Özdemir Çakacak. Noting that Turkey has stepped up restoration of historical monuments over past years, Orhan Düzgün, who oversees the state department for preservation of cultural artifacts and museums, said, "We could not have ignored the artifacts of our Armenian citizens, and we did not."
Limitations
But although the Armenian delegation was visibly pleased with the reopening, the Turkish move left Armenian demands for the church being available for religious services unsatisfied. Although the building will now operate as a museum, some of the participants attending the ceremony were seen placing candles inside the church and making the sign of the cross.
Earlier this week, the head of the Armenian Orthodox Church, Karekin II, refused to attend the reopening ceremony because the church will operate as a museum, not as a church. A similar controversy focused on whether a cross would be erected on the steeple of the Akhtamar Church. Earlier this month, Patriarch Mesrob II sent a written request to the Culture Ministry asking that a cross, prepared by the Armenian Patriarchate itself, be placed on the steeple of the church. Gyurjyan, asked why the level of participation from Armenia was low, suggested that it could be due to the discontent over the missing cross.
Koç, responding to questions yesterday, suggested that placement of the cross was still a possibility, saying a committee of scientists should decide on the matter. On Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry, which has been asked its opinion on the matter by the Culture Ministry, said Ankara was considering the request.
"Maybe one day," said Mesrob II, when answering a question as to whether a cross would be placed on the church.
The reopening also fell short of breaking the ice in relations between Turkey and Armenia. Yerevan welcomed the restoration but said Turkey should open its border gate with Armenia, closed for more than a decade, to facilitate the Armenian delegation's travel. Ankara, however, rejected the request, pushing the Armenian delegation to travel to Turkey via Georgia.
Turkey severed its relations with Armenia in protest of its support for efforts worldwide to win international recognition for Armenian genocide claims at the hands of the Ottoman Empire and its occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian enclave within regional ally Azerbaijan.
On Thursday, police briefly detained five trade union representatives who staged a demonstration on a jetty on Lake Van to protest the church's restoration. The protesters carried Turkish flags, pictures of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, modern Turkey's founder, and a banner that read "The Turkish people are noble. They would never commit genocide," the Cihan news agency reported.
Protesting their detention in Ankara, another group staged a demonstration in front of the Interior Ministry, chanting slogans against erection of the cross on the church. "You are all Armenians, we are all Turks and Muslims," they said.
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