Turkey Refuses Cross on Akhtamar Church

Remember the Holy Cross Church on Akhtamar Island? Sure you do! We've covered it here, here, and here. If that doesn't refresh your memory, on opening day it was the only Armenian church surrounded by Turkish flags. Oh, and there was another problem.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has rejected the proposal of Patriarch of Constantinople Mesrob Mutafyan to hoist a cross on the Holy Cross Church on Akhtamar island.

"There is not a cross even at Hagia Sofia Temple, since it’s a museum. The Church on Akhtamar will also function as a museum and hoisting a cross on its dome would be a wrong step," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

If you look at the links above, it is clear that Turkey is using a historic Armenian church to exploit tourist dollars. The restoration was shoddy and before massive protests, the slated opening date was to be April 24th. And now, they're removed basically all symbols of Armenia and Christianity in the name of it being a museum.

It is clear to anyone with half a brain that Turkey is being anti-Christian and anti-Armenian. Anyone who buys into the "Turks extending an olive branch" argument is either half-brained or just Turkish.

Source: PanArmenian

Armenia to Spend $250,000 for Charles Aznavour Museum

This news is about two weeks old, but here it is, anyway.

The Armenian government will assign 90 million drams for the construction of house-museum of universally known singer Charles Aznavour...

The incumbent authorities took the decision...presided by President Robert Kocharian.

Obviously, in the name of tourism, because I can think of just about a thousand other, better uses for a quarter of a million dollars. Can you think of any?

Source: Yerkir