ARMENIAN ARCHITECTS CAN MAKE SURP KHACH CHURCH COMPLETE
By Ruzan Poghosian
AZG Armenian Daily #177
04/10/2005
Armenia-Turkey
Armenian architects, who by mediation of Armenia’s national committee
of the International Council on Monuments and Sites were in Turkey
to watch reconstruction works of Surp Khach church of Akhtamar
Island, shared with their impressions at a press conference on 1
October. Architect Ashot Hovsepian said that they failed to meet the
author of the church’s layout, a Turkish architect. The latter did
not come to the meeting for uncertain reasons. The layout fitting
required criteria in general, still has a number of inadequacies that
can be corrected before the end of the reconstruction.
“Those deficiencies are perhaps not a deterioration but the layout
would be more perfect if they were not there. We told 3 Turkish
architects working there about our observations asking to correct
visible deficiencies”, he said. The Turks turned down Armenian
specialists’ offer to mix cement with lime batch. The Armenian
architects think that the quality of the Turks’ work is not satisfying
but the overall impression is not despairing.
Gagik Gyurjian, minister of culture of Armenia, said that Armenian
and Turkish specialists will make visits in near future. The
Turk architects will have a chance to study Armenian architecture
scrupulously. Van-born academician Varazdat Harutyunian expressed
wish to celebrate his 97th anniversary in Van, hoping that Turkey will
open borders and improve relations with Armenia before his birthday.