The 1,500-year-old St. Petros Armenian Monastery, which is located in the Sasun province of the Turkish state of Batman, has been state registered, writes ermenihaber.am.

The Turkish Haberler reports that the monastery was registered by the territorial center for preservation of cultural and natural heritage of Diyarbakir, which is adjunct to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey. The territorial center has decided to renovate the church and the nearby Armenian cemeteries to attract more tourists.

The monastery, which has 350 rooms, was used as a barn until recently and was filled with garbage.

Leader of the Cultural Union for Social Assistance and Solidarity of the Armenians of Sasun, Bitlis, Mush, Van and Istanbul, Aziz Dagji, who has been fighting for the monastery for years, declared that “the Union will continue to fight for the Armenians’ historical church, the monastic complex and all other structures.”

However, what’s interesting is that the historical complex located in the Mesheli (Komk) village of Sasun has been registered in the Chayerl village, which has filled the Armenians with indignation. According to Aziz Dagji, all historical sources state that the St. Petros Church and monastic complex are located in Komk, meaning in Mesheli village. He also informed that the Union will file a lawsuit to correct the mistake.