The Holy Cross Armenian Church of Van-Akhtamar and 9 other historical and cultural monuments in modern-day Turkey have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.

According to ermenihaber.am, the Turkish Taraftar reports that the Holy Cross Armenian Church is one of the most brilliant monuments in medieval Armenian arts in terms of architecture.

Presenting the history of the church, Taraftar writes that the church was built in 915-21 by the order of King Gagik I and by architect Manuel. The walls of the church are decorated with reliefs portraying plants, animals and episodes from the Bible.

Taraftar reports that the inclusion of the Holy Cross Church in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List will contribute to the development of tourism in Van.

Turkish Minister of Culture Omer Celik said he was very pleased with this and recalled that the Turkish authorities have allowed the Armenians to serve masses at Akhtamar once a year.

Celik also mentioned that the inclusion of the church in the tentative list in this period should set an example and “a message to foreign parliamentarians who have been left under the influence of the Armenian Diaspora’s propaganda.” According to Celik, foreign parliamentarians are politicizing the painful events that happened to the Turks and Armenians and caused pain to both sides.