The Municipality of Artamed (Edremit) of Van province refuses to complete the assignment of Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey Numan Kurtulmus to dismantle the toilets built atop an Armenian cemetery.

In particular, the municipality’s state-designated curator Atif Cicekli has declared that the toilets will not be destroyed, claiming that there is no Armenian cemetery there.

“We have not dismantled and will not dismantle any structure. There is no Armenian cemetery there. To all those who are following the topic, I would like to inform that we will make this natural wonder more beautiful,” Cicekli said.

Let us remind that, upon the assignment of the curator of the Municipality of Artamed, a public restroom and dressing rooms were built on the historic hill and Armenian cemetery located next to the public beach.

A couple of days ago, Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey Numan Kurtulmus declared that the structures built atop the Armenian cemetery in Van must be dismantled.

In the mentioned area, there used to be an Armenian quarter that is known as the birthplace of famous Armenian painter Arshile Gorky. The Armenian cemetery located next to the quarter has been profaned, numerous human bones have appeared due to construction and have been scattered here and there. The hill and cemetery have also attracted the attention of treasure hunters, who have dug and ruined the area, writes Ermenihaber.am.