Diyarbakır: Armenian Surp Sarkis Church on verge of collapse

Diyarbakır: Armenian Surp Sarkis Church on verge of collapse

Ντιγιαρμπακίρ: Η αρμενική εκκλησία Surp Sarkis στα πρόθυρα της κατάρρευσης

Diyarbakır: Armenian Surp Sarkis Church on verge of collapse

With a history going back half a millennium, the Armenian church of Surp Sarkis signifies a unique cultural heritage for the city of Diyarbakır. Having endured 106 years of neglect after the Armenian genocide of 1915, it is now slowly falling apart and will be totally lost if attempts to start a restoration fail.

Surp Sarkis Church, one of four Armenian churches in Turkey’s southeastern city of Diyarbakır, is on the verge of collapse, JinNews reports.

Built in the 16th century, the church was used by the Armenian community in the city until 1915 when the entire Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire was sent on a death march under the pretext of relocation.

Inheritors of one of the greatest civilisations in Anatolia and Mesopotamia, the Armenian people were virtually wiped out of existence in less than a year in systematic massacres as well as hunger and disease on the road to the Syrian desert.

The church, which after 1915 was turned into a rice mill then a storage facility, has in recent years started literally falling apart due to lack of repair and restoration, damage caused by treasure hunters, and the looting of stone parts.

Representatives of an Armenian foundation in Diyarbakır and of the Chamber of Architects have met with state authorities to call for protection of the remaining parts and restoration of the church, but with no success.

It is clear that failure to save the church will mean the loss of a unique cultural heritage for the city.