The historic church of Akdamar, located in the middle of Turkey’s largest lake, Lake Van, celebrated for the 10th year a mass for the Armenian Orthodox Christian rite attended by thousands of people. A UNESCO World Heritage Site candidate, Akdamar Church was built between 915 and 921 AD by the king of the Armenian kingdom of Vaspurakan to house a piece of the “Holy Cross“. Abandoned for almost a century after World War I, it was the famous Turkish writer Yaşar Kemal who promoted its preservation when he learned that it was about to be demolished. After a major restoration financed by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, in 2007 it opened to the public as a museum.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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