"The Kurdish headman of Yerekdagi village (Van province, Turkey), where the Holy Cross Church of Varaga temple complex is situated, has purchased construction materials for repairing the roof of the church built in the 13th century," historian Samvel Karapetyan told the PanARMENIAN.Net journalist. He said the headman has turned to tourists who visit Van, including Armenians with a request to assign money for paying workers. "I do not know anything about the future of this initiative," Karapetyan said.

Van, the administrative center of historical Vaspourakan province, has been one of the most important places for the Armenian nation over thousands of years. In 1914 there were almost 100 Armenian monasteries and more than 500 churches in the Van province of the Ottoman Empire. Armenians left these territories in July of 1915 with the retreating Russian troops.