Churches of Diyarbakir also expropriated
Uygar Gültekin 03.28.2016 CHURCHES
Surp Giragos Church, the largest Armenian church in Middle East, is
among the places in Sur province of Diyarbakir that are expropriated
by the decision of the cabinet. With the same decision, Assyrian,
Chaldean and Protestant churches are also expropriated.
While clashes and curfews continue in Diyarbakir, the cabinet took an
urgent expropriation decision. Surp Giragos Church, the largest
Armenian church in Middle East, is among the places in Sur province of
Diyarbakir that are expropriated by the decision of the cabinet. Left
to its own fate for years, the church was finally restored and opened
to worship in 2011. With the same decision, Assyrian, Chaldean and
Protestant churches are also expropriated.
According to the cabinet decision published in Official Journal on
March 25, an `urgent expropriation' decision is taken concerning 6.300
plots of land in Sur province. With this decision, many places in
Abdaldede, AlipaÅ?a, Cemal Yılmaz, Camikebir, CevatpaÅ?a, DabanoÄ?lu,
Hasırlı, Ä°nönü, Ä°skenderpaÅ?a, Lalebey, Malikahmet, Ã-zdemir,
Süleymangazi, SavaÅ?, Å?emhane and Ziyagökalp neighborhoods and two
neighborhoods in YeniÅ?ehir province are expropriated.
Surp Giragos Church, the largest Armenian church in Middle East, Surp
Sarkis Chaldean Church, Armenian Catholic Church, Virgin Mary Ancient
Assyrian Church and Protestant Church are among the places that are
expropriated.
Legal action must be initiated
Speaking to Agos, Diyarbakir Metropolitan Municipality Cultural
Heritage Director Nevin Soylukaya stated that all churches and
properties belonging to the foundations are expropriated. Soylukaya
also said that some properties belonging to the municipality are also
expropriated and they will initiate legal action. She also urged the
owners of the expropriated properties to take legal action.
Walls of Diyarbakir and Hevsel Gardens were added to UNESCO World
Heritage List in 2015. And Sur province is considered as a buffer zone
for Walls of Diyarbakir.
There is no other church open to worship
Sur is the only center that have places of worship for non-Muslims.
Surp Giragos Church, Surp Sarkis Chaldean Church, Armenian Catholic
Church, Virgin Mary Ancient Assyrian Church and Protestant Church are
in Sur and currently closed to worship. There is no other church in
Diyarbakir.
Chaldean Church belongs to Mor Petyun Chaldean Catholic Church
Foundation and Virgin Mary Ancient Assyrian Church belongs to Virgin
Mary Ancient Assyrian Church Foundation. Apart from them, in
Diyarbakir, there are 6 churches that is owned by various state
institutions.
Millions spent for restoration
Surg Giragos Armenian Church was left to its own fate, after its
congregants left. With legal changes in foundation administration,
people from Diyarbakir living in Ä°stanbul formed a new administrative
body and initiated restoration work. With the help of funding
campaigns started in the US and other countries, the church was
restored. About 2 million liras was spent for restoration. And it was
awarded with various prestigious restoration awards.
The largest Armenian church in Middle East
The name of the church is mentioned for the first time in 1610-1615 by
Simeon of Poland in his travel notes. Being one of the most important
structures of Armenian architecture history, Surp Giragos Church is
the largest Armenian church in Middle East. It was restored in 1722
and reconstructed and enlarged by Armenian architects Å?ahin, Saruhan
and Yeram in 1729.
Zakarya MildanoÄ?lu
Diyarbakir had been one of the most important cities in Armenian
history. In `Amidai Artsakanknerı' (Echoes of Amida), published in New
York in 1952, its names are listed as the following: Amida, Amed,
O'mid, Emit, Amide, Amedu, Kara Amid, Dikranagerd, Diyarbekir.
And `Diyarbakir and Armenians' is a history that was born before the
Christian era and started to die away in '80s. Many topics, including
education life, professions, livelihoods, religious life, literature,
publishing life, traditions, cultural institutions, political life,
relation with the state and the role of local governing of Diyarbakir
Armenians are being researched and new researchers are welcome.
The relation between Diyarbakir and Armenians started to rupture
slowly in 1915. People of Dikranagerd hosted people from MuÅ?, Bitlis
and Harput, who were managed to survive on the road to Der Zor and
then, they walked to Der Zor with them. Infants and girls were taken
by the locals. Some of them were converted to Islam. Some of the
survivors returned. They tried to build a new life, but the problems
like unemployment, housing and security became unbearable. They went
to Istanbul and then they were scattered to the world. But how can you
forget your homeland? They couldn't have forgotten it.
During Ottoman times, plunderers had eyes for churches, monasteries
and graves. When we turn the pages of history, we see that some
families in Diyarbakir considered Armenian churches and monasteries as
a means of living and plundered all the tangible and intangible assets
of Armenians. With the foundation of the republic, these assets were
considered as ready-to-hand sources for constructing schools, post
offices, orphanages, banks and military buildings. They destroyed them
by cannonballs and dynamites and used the stones of those Armenians
buildings. They wanted to wipe the traces of Armenian masonry off.
Located at the center of Diyarbakir, Surp Giragos Church is one of the
symbols of the city with its size and glorious bell tower. The bell
tower was struck by lightning in 1913. It was rebuilt in the same year
by the golds provided by prominent Armenian people. In the dark days
of 1915, this bell tower was destroyed by cannonballs, since it was
taller than the minarets.
The name of the church is mentioned in 1610-1615 for the first time by
Simeon of Poland in his travel notes. Being one of the most important
structures of Armenian architecture history, Surp Giragos Church is
the largest Armenian church in Middle East. It was restored in 1722
and reconstructed in a larger scale by Armenian architects Å?ahin,
Saruhan and Yeram in 1729.
In June 10, 1881, the entire church was devastated by a fire, but it
was rebuilt in 1883.
Damaged in 1915, the church was used as quarters by German commanders.
Then, it was served as a cotton storage for Sümerbank. Having opened
to worship in 1960, the church became deserted, since Armenians
started to migrate to the western cities or Europe for various
reasons. Since it has no congregant, it wasn't open to worship and
sometimes it is plundered. In time, due to neglect, some parts of the
church collapsed and became dysfunctional. With the efforts of Surp
Giragos Church Foundation and support of Diyarbakir Metropolitan
Municipality, the restoration of the church was ended and it was
opened to worship in 2011.
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