Once turned into hayloft, Armenian church to be renovated in TurkeyMarch 12, 2014 - 11:18 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Once an Armenian church, a historical construction in the eastern province of Van had been converted into a hayloft after serving as a school for some time, Hurriyet Daily News reports. Nevertheless, the residents of Korlu village (30 kilometers from Van), who fill the facility with hay, grass, cowpat and wood, have personally appealed to authorities to renovate it. Considering the villagers’ request, Van Culture and Tourism Provincial Director Muzaffer Aktuğ said the renovation could be started soon. The historical church had served as a primary school for five years when there was no school in the area 30 years ago. Thirty-five students were taught at the school, before it was abandoned and converted into a hayloft by villagers. Villagers have attached a wooden door to the church, some parts of which are about to collapse, and tried to restore to prevent it from collapsing. Tourists had come to the village to look at the church, but it was mostly neglected. “For us, the church has a particular value because we graduated from here when we did not have a school. Now it is used as a hayloft. We want officials to restore the church and use it for tourism,” said villager Selim Gurban. Aktuğ said he would give instructions to the Van Museum Directorate to learn about the church’s situation and whether it was suitable for restoration. “Work will start according to the report after it is made by museum officials. We will discuss the report with the Van Monuments Directorate and we will renovate it if that is ultimately decided [by the directorate],” Aktuğ said. Related links: Top stories The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. London’s Armenian community has been left feeling “under attack” after the city’s Genocide monument was vandalised. Partner news | Russia clarifying reports on Baku’s alleged arms supply to Ukraine Russia says is carefully working to verify reports about alleged arms supplies from Azerbaijan to Ukraine Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. Armenia to sing in 2nd semi-final of Eurovision The organizers of Eurovision 2024 have revealed the running order of the countries in the two semi-finals. |