New guidebook for Armenian tourists to Van

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

The recent increase in the number of visitors from Armenia and its diaspora to the eastern Turkish city of Van prompts the publishing of an Armenian-language tourism guide to the region, where the renovation and reopening as a museum of the Surp Haç church on Akdamar Island has drawn much attention

The reopening as a museum of the renovated Surp Haç church on Lake Van’s Akdamar Island in eastern Turkey has drawn crowds of tourists despite earlier arguments about the placement of the historical building’s cross.

In response to the demand, a tourist guidebook has been prepared for the Istanbul Armenians, Armenian tourists and members of the Armenian diaspora who have been flocking to the site.

According to Hüsamettin Öztürk, the culture and art administrator for the Van municipality, the guidebook was printed not only in Armenian but in Kurdish, Arabic and Persian as well.

“When it comes to the Armenian version, our ancestors lived together in Van and shared the same culture,” Öztürk told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. “There is a lot of that heritage in this city in the form of historical relics, which encouraged us to prepare this tourist handbook.”

The translations were done by the employees of the weekly newspaper Agos, which is printed both in Turkish and Armenian. The guidebook, Öztürk said, has the exactly the same content as the Turkish original

“Van’s history dates back to B.C. times. The city has hosted many civilizations such as the Urartus, Medes, Persians and Seljuks,” he added.

The content of the book, rather than the language in which it was printed, is what matters, said Gagik Gyurjian, the former deputy head of the Armenian culture ministry. “I do not know about its contents, but I would like to look through it,” he said. “But if the handbook still ignores traces of Armenian civilization and its cultural wealth in line with Turkey’s official ideology, it does not matter at all in what language it was published in. Respect for history comes first.”

The Turkish cultural ministry has approved the opening of the historical church for religious services once a year, with the first service to be held Sept. 19. The governor’s office and the municipality are working together on the preparations for the event.

“There already is a noticeable rise in the number of tourists in the city, and many of them are Armenian,” Öztürk said, adding that officials had attended the International Tourism Fair in Yerevan from May 13 to 16 and held meetings with nongovernmental organizations and artists in the country.

The municipal official also said Armenian artists and institutions had been invited to the Lake Van Culture, Arts and Nature Festival, which will be held for first time between June 30 and July 4. “Our fair in Yerevan attracted interest,” he said. “The participation of Armenia in the festival will contribute greatly to Van’s tourism.”

Öztürk said Van’s advertising activities were not limited to Armenia and aim to make the eastern Turkish city known all around the world. “After the renovation of the Akdamar church, we had many visitors from Armenia. But we have further goals,” he said. “Van could be a new center in dialogue between civilizations and religions.”

Responding to Öztürk’s remarks, Gyurjian said: “Cultural heritages are shared by all humanity, therefore so is Surp Haç. We should not deny their identities and forget their real names.”