Armenian church in Turkish province turned into cattle shed

October 14, 2013 - 16:32 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - A historic Armenian church in the village of Germuş, south-eastern Turkey's Şanlıurfa Province was turned into a cattle shed, hyetert.com said.

The church was reconstructed by Armenians 10 years ago, however, 3 years ago, instead of becoming a tourist destination, the church was turned into a cattle shed, according to urfadabugun.com.

A 3-language sign installed at the entrance of the church tells the story of the building, yet the place is far from being a tourist zone.

The village of Germuş was a home to a number of Armenians before 1915. Yet modern villagers never stopped excavating the land in search of treasures allegedly hidden underground.

Photo: urfadabugun.com

Related links:

http://hyetert.com

http://urfadabugun.com

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.