FeaturedSpecial ReportsHeadlines
Dual Survival: Man and Church in the Lake Van Region of Historic Armenia
Story and photos by Mathhew Karanian
(Special to the Armenian Weekly)
If you’ve ever watched a reality survival show on television—one of those shows were a couple of adventurers get dropped off in a desert with instructions to survive long enough to make it back home—then you might be able to conjure up an image of me hiking in Historic Armenia.
I was on the shore of Lake Van, researching and photographing the Armenian churches of the region.
My goal for this day was modest: hik
Or, subscribe now for unlimited access
By submitting your email address you agree for Hairenik Association, Inc. to send you communication by email.
Already a subscriber?Log in here
This story is FREE for you...
Create a free account to access this and four more articles, and get more sent to you with our e-newsletter.By submitting your email address you agree for Hairenik Association, Inc. to send you communication by email.
What a sad commentary on the extreme poverty of the Kurds under Turkey and their lack of respect for the human heritage of ancient Armenia. The Turkish government has a responsibility to the world community to protect these historic sites.
In response to rkeeler…How about asking the Armenian government to do the same with the historical mosques there! At least in Turkey, there are still Armenian churches standing, with one in Van having been completely restored! In Armenia, they bull-dozed down one of the last two that were left while celebrating all the while! There remains only one intact mosque in all of Armenia!! Because they’re Christian, no one questions them!
On the contrary no one questions Muslims because that is considered “islamophobia”. Armenia was never Turkish land, modern eastern Turkey was on the other hand Armenian land. Did you forget where you came from?? A clue: 1000 years only.
There is more than 20 churches and monastries around van lake.
Mr. Karanian is dead right .the Treasures -for us-are those churhces and monasteries-as yet- there.Int´l instances such as U.N should be alerted by our Church Leaders in N.Y. and elsewhere to take notice and suggesto to great Turkey,it is time for Repairs…restorations,as begun in Bolis(istanbulla) and Dikrankert area (Diarbakira!!!!
Would anyone kindly have any information about a village on the shores of Lake Van called Alyur (Turkish name is Ozyurt)where my grand-parents were from, been trying every resource without any success.
Thanks
My grandfather was from Alyur, current name is Alacoy. I never met anyone else from there…
I know about Artamed(famous for its apples).Sorry don´t know about Alyur…keep searching on various sitges.Armenpedia Wiki pedia etc.,
If you travel around the Armenian plateau, from Malatya to Sepastia to Bitlis to Van to Erzerum to Diyarbakir, and other places in the region, you will see many ruins just like these on mountains and hilltops. Almost all are virtually inaccessible, but like the pyramids and ancient Urartian ‘perts’, they stand as silent sentinels that attest to Armenian architectural prowess that is many thousands of years old. They also show us (and the Turks), very clearly who built all the Seljuk monuments that dot the same area, with both Armenian structural elements and decoration, albeit with a slight Islamic twist. The lesson, I think is that even though the Turks tried to eliminate the Armenians, they really can’t take the ‘Armenian-ness’ out of Turkey….it is permanent, as Armenians are the essence of the place – predating Turks by many thousands of years! Like fingerprints, Armenian monuments will remain – hopefully, forever.