Akdamar Island
Encyclopedia
Akdamar Island also known as Aght'amar ( Aght'amar, ɑχtʰɑmɑr) or Akhtamar, is the second by size of four islands in Lake Van
in the south of Eastern Anatolia Region, Turkey, about 0.7 km2 in size, situated about 3 km from the shoreline. At the western end of the island a hard, grey, limestone cliff rises 80 m above the lake's level (1,912 m above sea level). The island declines to the east to a level site where a spring provides ample water. It is home to a tenth century Armenian Cathedral church, known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Cross (915-921), and was the seat of an Armenian Catholicos
from 1116 to 1895.
.
Akdamar (meaning "white vein" in Turkish) is the official name of the island which was determined by Turkish government sometime after the modern republic was established and which is a part of the Turkish government's policy of the "Turkification
" of indigenous names (deemed "cultural genocide
" by some). The main intention is to hide the Armenian heritage in Anatolia.).
(r. 908-943/944) of the Armenian kingdom of Vaspurakan
chose Aght'amar as one of his residences. He founded a settlement and erected a large square palace richly decorated with frescoes, built a dock noted for its complex hydrotechnical engineering, laid out streets, gardens, and orchards, and planted trees and designed areas of recreation for himself and his court. The only surviving structure from that period is the Palatine Cathedral of the Holy Cross ( Surb Khach Yekeghets'i). It was built of pink volcanic tuff by the architect-monk Manuel during the years 915-921, with an interior measuring 14.80m by 11.5m and the dome reaching 20.40m above ground. In later centuries, and until 1915, it formed part of a monastic complex, the ruins of which can still be seen to the south of the church.
Between 1116 and 1895 Aght'amar Island was the location of the Armenian Catholicosate
of Aght'amar. Khachatur III, who died in 1895, was the last Catholicos
of Aght'amar. In 1915, during the Armenian Genocide
, the monks of Aght'amar were massacred, the cathedral looted, and the monastic buildings destroyed.
On August 28, 2010, a solar energy power station was opened on the island.
The architecture of the church is based on a form that had been developed in Armenia
several centuries earlier; the best-known example being that of the seventh century St. Hripsime
church in Echmiadzin
, incorporating a dome with a conical roof.
The unique importance of the Cathedral Church of the Holy Cross comes from the extensive array of bas-relief carving of mostly biblical scenes that adorn its external walls. The meanings of these reliefs have been the subject of much and varied interpretation. Not all of this speculation has been produced in good faith - for example, Turkish sources stress alleged Islamic and Turkic influences behind the content of the reliefs and minimise native Armenian influences. Some scholars assert that the friezes parallel contemporary motifs found in Umayyad
art - such as a turbaned prince, Arab styles of dress, wine imagery; allusions to royal Sassanian imagery are also present (Griffins, for example).
, the church has been exposed to extensive vandalism. Before the restoration of the church, the reliefs on the church wall used as a poligon. Zakarya Mildanoğlu, an architect who was involved in the restoration process of the church, explains the situation during an interview with Hrant Dink as "The facade of the church is full of bullet holes. Some of them are so big that, they can not be covered during the renovation process. During many conferences related to the restoration of the Akhtamar church, the process of covering the bullet holes are identified as the hardest part of the restoration by academicians and architects. Some claim that the Armenian churches and gravestones have been exposed to vandalism as a part of the Turkish government policy which aims to destroy the Armenian heritage in Anatolia.
During 1951, Turkish government took a decision to destroy the church with sledgehammers. Yasar Kemal
a very famous Turkish writer, managed to stop the destruction of the church. He explains the situation to Alain Bosquet
as " I was in a ship from tatvan
to van
. I met with a military officier Dr. Cavit Bey onboard. I told him, in this city there is a church descended from Armenians. It is a masterpiece. These days, they are demolishing this church. I will take you there tomorrow. This church is a monument of Anatolia. Can you help me to stop the destruction ? Other day we went there with the military officer. They have already demolished the small chapel next to the church. The military officer became angry and told the workers that; I am ordering you to stop working. I will meet with governor. There will be no movement until I return to the island again. The workers immediately stopped the demolition. We arrived to Van city center. I contacted with the newspaper Cumhuriyet
. They informed the ministry of education about the demolition. Two days later, minister Avni Başman telegraphed the Van governor and ordered to stop the demolition permanently. 25 June 1951, the day when the order came is the liberation day of the church."
) and was financed by the Turkish Ministry of Culture. It officially re-opened as a museum on 29 March 2007 in a ceremony attended by the Turkish Minister of Culture, government officials, ambassadors of several countries, Patriach Mesrob II
(spiritual leader of the Armenian Orthodox community of Turkey), a delegation from the Republic of Armenia headed by the Deputy to the Armenian Minister of Culture, and a large group of invited journalists from many news organizations around the world.
Özdemir Çakacak, the Governor of Van, described the refurbishing of the church as "a show of Turkey's respect for history and culture". A Turkish state department museum official added, "We could not have ignored the artifacts of our Armenian citizens, and we did not." Signs heralding the church reopening declared "Tarihe saygi, kulture saygi" ("Respect the history, respect the culture").
According to Maximilian Hartmuth an academician at Sabanci University, "the church was turned into a museum rather than re-opened as a place of worship following the restoration was, for example, claimed to be a wedge separating the monument from Turkey’s Armenian community. The critics, writing for media such as Radikal, Milliyet, or Turkish Daily News, furthermore lamented that permission to re-mount the cross on top of the church was not given. Moreover, they argued, the official name of the museum, the Turkish Akdamar (translating as “white vein”) rather than the original Armenian Ahtamar – the name of the island in Lake Van on which the church stands and Surp Haç (Holy Cross) for the church itself would suggest this to be a Turkish monument. At the same time only sparing use was made of the word “Armenian” in official statements. With Turkey’s Armenian community not granted the privilege to hold a service at least once a year - as had been requested - and a large Turkish flag mounted at the site, it was argued that this project really announced the “Turkification” of this monument, the initiative being no more than a media stunt."
The controversial cross was erected on the top of the church on October 2, 2010.
The opening was controversial among some Turkish groups, who protested at the island and in a separate demonstration in Ankara. Police detained five Turkish nationals protesting against the restoration of the church at Lake Van, who carried a banner declaring "The Turkish people are noble. They would never commit genocide." Demonstrators outside the Ministry of the Interior in Ankara chanted slogans against the possibility of a cross being erected atop the church, declaring "You are all Armenians, we are all Turks and Muslims".
Hürriyet
columnist Cengiz Çandar
characterized the way the Turkish government handled the opening as an extension of an ongoing "cultural genocide
" of the Armenians. He characterizes the renaming of the church from Armenian to Turkish as part of a broader program to rename Armenian historical sites in Turkey, and attributes the refusal to place a cross atop the church as symptomatic of religious intolerance in Turkish society.
Çandar notes that the Agos
issue published on the day of the murder of Hrant Dink
featured a Dink commentary on the Turkish government's handling of the Akdamar issue, which the late journalist characterized as "A real comedy... A real tragedy..." According to Dink,
Historian Ara Sarafian
has answered some criticism of the Akdamar project, stating that, on the contrary, the project represents an answer to allegations of cultural genocide. He has stated that the revitalization of the site is "an important peace offering" from the Turkish government.
Ian Herbert, writing in The Independent
, records his own experiences traveling in Turkey on an invitation from the Turkish government in the period of the opening of Akdamar:
Cengiz Aktar, an academic of Galatasaray University
, also took a critical stance towards the loss of the island's original name in his article titled "White Vein church and others" (Akdamar means "white vein" in Turkish).
Lake Van
Lake Van is the largest lake in Turkey, located in the far east of the country in Van district. It is a saline and soda lake, receiving water from numerous small streams that descend from the surrounding mountains. Lake Van is one of the world's largest endorheic lakes . The original outlet from...
in the south of Eastern Anatolia Region, Turkey, about 0.7 km2 in size, situated about 3 km from the shoreline. At the western end of the island a hard, grey, limestone cliff rises 80 m above the lake's level (1,912 m above sea level). The island declines to the east to a level site where a spring provides ample water. It is home to a tenth century Armenian Cathedral church, known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Cross (915-921), and was the seat of an Armenian Catholicos
Catholicos
Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases is borne by the designated head of an autonomous church, in which case the holder might have other titles such as Patriarch...
from 1116 to 1895.
Etymology
The origin and meaning of the island's name is based on an old Armenian legend. According to the tale, an Armenian princess named Tamar lived on the island and was in love with a commoner. This boy would swim from the mainland to the island each night, guided by a light she lit for him. Her father learned of the boy's visits. One night, as she waited for her lover to arrive, he smashed her light, leaving the boy in the middle of the lake without a guide to indicate which direction to swim. His body washed ashore and, as the legend concludes, it appeared as if the words "Akh, Tamar" (Oh, Tamar) were frozen on his lips. The legend was the inspiration for a famous Armenian poem by Hovhannes TumanyanHovhannes Tumanyan
Hovhannes Tumanyan , is considered to be one of the greatest Armenian poets and writers. His work was mostly written in tragic form, often centering on the harsh lives of villagers in the Lori region.-Biography:...
.
Akdamar (meaning "white vein" in Turkish) is the official name of the island which was determined by Turkish government sometime after the modern republic was established and which is a part of the Turkish government's policy of the "Turkification
Turkification
Turkification is a term used to describe a process of cultural or political change in which something or someone who is not a Turk becomes one, voluntarily or involuntarily...
" of indigenous names (deemed "cultural genocide
Cultural genocide
Cultural genocide is a term that lawyer Raphael Lemkin proposed in 1933 as a component to genocide. The term was considered in the 1948 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples juxtaposed next to the term ethnocide, but it was removed in the final document, replaced with...
" by some). The main intention is to hide the Armenian heritage in Anatolia.).
History
During his reign, King Gagik I ArtsruniArtsruni
Artsruni was an ancient Armenian noble family that claimed descent from Sennacherib, King of Assyria . Although it mirrors the Bagratuni claim of Davidic descent and the Mamikonian claim of descent from the royal Han Dynasty, it is usually interpreted as a piece of genealogical mythology...
(r. 908-943/944) of the Armenian kingdom of Vaspurakan
Vaspurakan
Vaspurakan was the first and biggest province of Greater Armenia, which later became an independent kingdom during the Middle Ages, centered around Lake Van...
chose Aght'amar as one of his residences. He founded a settlement and erected a large square palace richly decorated with frescoes, built a dock noted for its complex hydrotechnical engineering, laid out streets, gardens, and orchards, and planted trees and designed areas of recreation for himself and his court. The only surviving structure from that period is the Palatine Cathedral of the Holy Cross ( Surb Khach Yekeghets'i). It was built of pink volcanic tuff by the architect-monk Manuel during the years 915-921, with an interior measuring 14.80m by 11.5m and the dome reaching 20.40m above ground. In later centuries, and until 1915, it formed part of a monastic complex, the ruins of which can still be seen to the south of the church.
Between 1116 and 1895 Aght'amar Island was the location of the Armenian Catholicosate
Catholicos of Armenia
The Catholicos of All Armenians is the chief bishop of Armenia's national church, the Armenian Apostolic Church. It is one of the Oriental Orthodox churches that do not accept the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon. The first Catholicos of All Armenians was Saint Gregory the Illuminator...
of Aght'amar. Khachatur III, who died in 1895, was the last Catholicos
Catholicos
Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases is borne by the designated head of an autonomous church, in which case the holder might have other titles such as Patriarch...
of Aght'amar. In 1915, during the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
, the monks of Aght'amar were massacred, the cathedral looted, and the monastic buildings destroyed.
On August 28, 2010, a solar energy power station was opened on the island.
The Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Cross
Armenian architecture
Armenian architecture is an architectural style developed over the last 4,500 years of human habitation in the Armenian Highland and used principally by the Armenian people.- Common characteristics of Armenian architecture:...
several centuries earlier; the best-known example being that of the seventh century St. Hripsime
St. Hripsime Church, Echmiadzin
Saint Hripsimé Church is one of the oldest surviving churches in Armenia. The church was erected by Catholicos Komitas atop the original mausoleum built by Catholicos Sahak the Great in the year 395 AD that contained the remains of the martyred Saint Hripsimé to whom the church was dedicated. The...
church in Echmiadzin
Echmiadzin
Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin is a 4th century Armenian church in the town of Ejmiatsin, Armenia. It is also the central cathedral of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin of the Armenian Apostolic Church....
, incorporating a dome with a conical roof.
The unique importance of the Cathedral Church of the Holy Cross comes from the extensive array of bas-relief carving of mostly biblical scenes that adorn its external walls. The meanings of these reliefs have been the subject of much and varied interpretation. Not all of this speculation has been produced in good faith - for example, Turkish sources stress alleged Islamic and Turkic influences behind the content of the reliefs and minimise native Armenian influences. Some scholars assert that the friezes parallel contemporary motifs found in Umayyad
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
art - such as a turbaned prince, Arab styles of dress, wine imagery; allusions to royal Sassanian imagery are also present (Griffins, for example).
Vandalism
After the Armenian GenocideArmenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
, the church has been exposed to extensive vandalism. Before the restoration of the church, the reliefs on the church wall used as a poligon. Zakarya Mildanoğlu, an architect who was involved in the restoration process of the church, explains the situation during an interview with Hrant Dink as "The facade of the church is full of bullet holes. Some of them are so big that, they can not be covered during the renovation process. During many conferences related to the restoration of the Akhtamar church, the process of covering the bullet holes are identified as the hardest part of the restoration by academicians and architects. Some claim that the Armenian churches and gravestones have been exposed to vandalism as a part of the Turkish government policy which aims to destroy the Armenian heritage in Anatolia.
During 1951, Turkish government took a decision to destroy the church with sledgehammers. Yasar Kemal
Yasar Kemal
Yaşar Kemal, is a Turkish writer. He is one of Turkey's leading writers. He has long been a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature, on the strength of Memed, My Hawk....
a very famous Turkish writer, managed to stop the destruction of the church. He explains the situation to Alain Bosquet
Alain Bosquet
Alain Bosquet, born Anatole Bisk , was a French poet.-Life:In 1925, his family moved to Brussels and he studied at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, then at the Sorbonne....
as " I was in a ship from tatvan
Tatvan
Tatvan is a city at the western end of Lake Van, and is the regional center of the identically-named district within Bitlis Province in eastern Turkey. It has about 96,000 inhabitants. The mayor is Abdullah Ok .- Transport :...
to van
Van
A van is a kind of vehicle used for transporting goods or groups of people.In British English usage, it can be either specially designed or based on a saloon or sedan car, the latter type often including derivatives with open backs...
. I met with a military officier Dr. Cavit Bey onboard. I told him, in this city there is a church descended from Armenians. It is a masterpiece. These days, they are demolishing this church. I will take you there tomorrow. This church is a monument of Anatolia. Can you help me to stop the destruction ? Other day we went there with the military officer. They have already demolished the small chapel next to the church. The military officer became angry and told the workers that; I am ordering you to stop working. I will meet with governor. There will be no movement until I return to the island again. The workers immediately stopped the demolition. We arrived to Van city center. I contacted with the newspaper Cumhuriyet
Cumhuriyet
Cumhuriyet is a centre-left Turkish daily newspaper, founded on May 7, 1924 by journalist Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu. Based in Istanbul, it has been situated since October 17, 2005 in Mecidiyeköy. Cumhuriyet was the last newspaper to leave the old press district Cağaloğlu...
. They informed the ministry of education about the demolition. Two days later, minister Avni Başman telegraphed the Van governor and ordered to stop the demolition permanently. 25 June 1951, the day when the order came is the liberation day of the church."
Restoration
Between May 2005 and October 2006, the church underwent a controversial restoration program. The restoration had a stated budget of 2 million New Turkish Lira (approximately 1.4 million USDUnited States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
) and was financed by the Turkish Ministry of Culture. It officially re-opened as a museum on 29 March 2007 in a ceremony attended by the Turkish Minister of Culture, government officials, ambassadors of several countries, Patriach Mesrob II
Patriarch Mesrob II Mutafyan of Constantinople
Archbishop Mesrob II Mutafyan, also known as Mesrop Mutafyan, is the 84th Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople...
(spiritual leader of the Armenian Orthodox community of Turkey), a delegation from the Republic of Armenia headed by the Deputy to the Armenian Minister of Culture, and a large group of invited journalists from many news organizations around the world.
Özdemir Çakacak, the Governor of Van, described the refurbishing of the church as "a show of Turkey's respect for history and culture". A Turkish state department museum official added, "We could not have ignored the artifacts of our Armenian citizens, and we did not." Signs heralding the church reopening declared "Tarihe saygi, kulture saygi" ("Respect the history, respect the culture").
According to Maximilian Hartmuth an academician at Sabanci University, "the church was turned into a museum rather than re-opened as a place of worship following the restoration was, for example, claimed to be a wedge separating the monument from Turkey’s Armenian community. The critics, writing for media such as Radikal, Milliyet, or Turkish Daily News, furthermore lamented that permission to re-mount the cross on top of the church was not given. Moreover, they argued, the official name of the museum, the Turkish Akdamar (translating as “white vein”) rather than the original Armenian Ahtamar – the name of the island in Lake Van on which the church stands and Surp Haç (Holy Cross) for the church itself would suggest this to be a Turkish monument. At the same time only sparing use was made of the word “Armenian” in official statements. With Turkey’s Armenian community not granted the privilege to hold a service at least once a year - as had been requested - and a large Turkish flag mounted at the site, it was argued that this project really announced the “Turkification” of this monument, the initiative being no more than a media stunt."
Controversies
Armenian religious leaders invited to attend the opening ceremony opted to boycott the event, because the church was being reopened as a secular museum. Controversy surrounded the issue of whether the cross atop the dome until 1915 should be replaced. Some Armenians said that the renovation was unfinished until the cross was replaced, and that prayer should be allowed inside at least once a year. A cross had been prepared nearly a year before the opening, and Mesrob II petitioned the Prime Minister and Minister of Culture to place the cross on the dome of the cathedral. Turkish officials said it would not be appropriate to have a cross on or hold a mass in what is now a secular museum.The controversial cross was erected on the top of the church on October 2, 2010.
The opening was controversial among some Turkish groups, who protested at the island and in a separate demonstration in Ankara. Police detained five Turkish nationals protesting against the restoration of the church at Lake Van, who carried a banner declaring "The Turkish people are noble. They would never commit genocide." Demonstrators outside the Ministry of the Interior in Ankara chanted slogans against the possibility of a cross being erected atop the church, declaring "You are all Armenians, we are all Turks and Muslims".
Hürriyet
Hürriyet
-External links:* * ** * *...
columnist Cengiz Çandar
Cengiz Çandar
Cengiz Çandar is a Turkish journalist and a former war correspondent.-Early life:He finished the secondary school at Talas American College in Talas, Kayseri and the high school at Tarsus American College in Tarsus, Mersin...
characterized the way the Turkish government handled the opening as an extension of an ongoing "cultural genocide
Cultural genocide
Cultural genocide is a term that lawyer Raphael Lemkin proposed in 1933 as a component to genocide. The term was considered in the 1948 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples juxtaposed next to the term ethnocide, but it was removed in the final document, replaced with...
" of the Armenians. He characterizes the renaming of the church from Armenian to Turkish as part of a broader program to rename Armenian historical sites in Turkey, and attributes the refusal to place a cross atop the church as symptomatic of religious intolerance in Turkish society.
Çandar notes that the Agos
Agos
Agos is an Armenian weekly newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. It was established on 5 April 1996. Today, it has a circulation of over 9,000. It has both Armenian and Turkish pages as well as an on-line English edition...
issue published on the day of the murder of Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink or Հրանտ Դինք ) was a Turkish citizen of Armenian descent editor, journalist and columnist....
featured a Dink commentary on the Turkish government's handling of the Akdamar issue, which the late journalist characterized as "A real comedy... A real tragedy..." According to Dink,
Historian Ara Sarafian
Ara Sarafian
Ara Sarafian is a British historian of Armenian origin. He has an M.A. in history from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, received under the tutelage of Ronald Grigor Suny....
has answered some criticism of the Akdamar project, stating that, on the contrary, the project represents an answer to allegations of cultural genocide. He has stated that the revitalization of the site is "an important peace offering" from the Turkish government.
Ian Herbert, writing in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, records his own experiences traveling in Turkey on an invitation from the Turkish government in the period of the opening of Akdamar:
Cengiz Aktar, an academic of Galatasaray University
Galatasaray University
Galatasaray University or Université Galatasaray is a Turkish university established in İstanbul, Turkey in 1992, following an agreement signed with the presence of President François Mitterrand of France and President Turgut Özal of Turkey during a ceremony at Galatasaray High School, the mother...
, also took a critical stance towards the loss of the island's original name in his article titled "White Vein church and others" (Akdamar means "white vein" in Turkish).
Further reading
- Sirarpie Der Nersessian, Aght'amar, Church of the Holy Cross (Cambridge, Mass., 1964).
- Sirarpie Der Nersessian and H. Vahramian, Documents of Armenian Architecture, Vol. 8: Aght'amar (Milan, 1974).
- J. G. DavieMedieval Armenian Art and Architecture: The Church of the Holy Cross, Aght'amarmar (London, 1991). }}
- Lynn Jones, Between Islam and Byzantium: Aght'amar and the Visual Construction of Medieval Armenian Rulership (Aldershot, Ashgate, 2007).
External links
- Armenian Religious Service in Turkey: Breaking a Taboo in Akdamar
- Information about Akdamar Island from Sacred Sites, Places of Peace and Power
- The Surp Hach (Saint Cross) church on Akhtamar Island
- Andrys Basten's photo gallery
- Dick Osseman's photo gallery
- Gagik Arzumanyan's photo gallery
- A detailed study of the reliefs on the east facade of the Holy Cross church on Aghtamar island
- Observations and comments on the 2005-2006 restoration of the church
- Hovhannes Toumanian's poem "Akhtamar"
- Akhtamar song based on the poem of Hovhannes Toumanian
- A short movie related to the legend of the Tamara
- Another Akhtamar song based on the poem of Hovhannes Toumanian