On the day of the liturgy at Akhtamar’s Holy Cross Armenian Church, Turkish authorities were distributing leaflets containing misrepresented history of the city of Van among foreign tourists.

As journalist Hasmik Hambardzumyan stressed at news conference, Armenian journalists were impeded in their work by the representatives of the Constantinople Patriarchate of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

“Turkey’s expectations were not justified, as only a few hundreds of Armenians attended the holy mass in Van,” she noted.