After 4 years ... Akdamar is preparing for religious ceremony!

The ritual, which was last held in 2014 at Akdamar Church in Gevaş district of Van and which has the same name as the island, was canceled due to "security" reasons for the next 3 years. The ritual in the church, which is considered holy place for the Armenians, will be held on September 9th.

Following the completion of the restoration work in Akdamar Church, which was initiated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2005, restoration works were opened in 2007 as an international ceremony "Monument Museum". The first ceremony in Akdamar Church, where the Ministry of Culture and Tourism spent approximately 4 million pounds and was worshiped once a year, was held on September 19, 2010 after 95 years of service. Last year, thousands of tourists came to Van from home and abroad for the ceremony held in 2014. The ceremony was canceled on the grounds of "security" in 2015, 2016 and 2017, and it was decided to repeat the ceremony on 9 September this year.

THE HOLY PLACE FOR ARMENIANS

Faruk Biner, Vice Chairman of the Van Chamber of Commerce and Industry, noted that "Van is a very important center for our religious and Vangölü basin in Akdamar Church. Van is an important center for religious tourism. Especially Akdamar Island and the Church are sacred places for the Armenians. We Vanlılar we should evaluate this opportunity. We should encourage tourists coming to Turkey not only as believers in tourism but also in every season." he said.