Armenian Tashoron Church in Malatya will be restoredMarch 24, 2010 - 19:20 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - An old Armenian church, located in the neighbourhood where slain Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was born, will be restored.A mosque foundation carrying out activities in Çarmuzu-Kaynarca district of the eastern province of Malatya has recently applied to the Turkish Ministry of Culture & Tourism for the restoration of the "Armenian Tashoron Church" constructed in the province's Çavuşoğlu neighbourhood nearly 300 years ago. Çavuşoğlu neighbourhood is also the birthplace of journalist Hrant Dink, the editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, who was shot dead outside his newspaper's offices in Istanbul in 2007. During a visit to his hometown in 2002, Dink had also expressed his desire for the restoration of the church. Speaking to the Anatolia news agency on the project, the mosque foundation's president Latif Yıldırım said Tuesday that Tashoron Church was constructed in the 18th century, during the reign of the Ottoman Empire. Yıldırım said his foundation, together with several NGOs and the non-Muslim population living in Malatya, had been displaying efforts for the restoration of the old building since the beginning of 2009. Expressing the importance of freedom of faith, Yıldırım said religions should act with tolerance towards each other and seek for dialogue. "The historical Armenian church in Çavuşoğlu neighbourhood is about to collapse. It was constructed during the Ottoman period and this shows us how a tolerant and libertarian culture we are coming from. People lived all together and practised their religious beliefs freely at those times. This happens and should happen today as well," he said. Yıldırım also said the restoration process of the historical temple would be carried out with the support of Malatya municipality, Today's Zaman reported. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Power of One Dram sums up two-year program with Teach for Armenia Idram Junior also joined the companies during the visit, bringing with it a fascinating intellectual game for children Moscow slams EU mission in Armenia for “provocative activity” The EU mission is doing more and more against Armenia’s neighbors Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran, Mikhail Galuzin said. Yerevan Mayor to travel to Paris on May 15-19 The official delegation headed by Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan will travel to Paris from May 15 to 19. Armenia, India hold first defense consultations The meeting was attended by Indian Ambassador Nilakshi Saha Sinha and Defense Attaché Brigadier General Naveen Nijhawan. |