Turks Pray In Ancient Armenian Cathedral

Hundreds of Turkish nationalists have performed Muslim prayers in one of the most important historical Armenian churches in a high-profile ceremony authorized by Turkey's government, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. The political action, organized by the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), followed the reported restoration of a cross atop another medieval Armenian church located in eastern Turkey. The 10th-century church of the Holy Cross on Akhtamar Island in Lake Van saw its first religious service in nearly a century less than two weeks ago. On October 1, Turkish television images showed MHP leader Devlet Bahceli leading several hundred supporters to the 11th-century Holy Virgin Cathedral at the ruins of Ani, the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom. It is located in Turkey's northeastern Kars region, less than one kilometer away from modern-day Armenia. The crowd entered the once-thriving city through its well-preserved main gate and marched to the cathedral as an Ottoman-style Janissary brass band accompanied it. Participants carried Turkish flags and chanted "God is great" during the procession. Bahceli and senior MHP figures from across Turkey knelt and pressed their foreheads to the ground in the ensuing Friday prayer led by a Sunni Muslim cleric. The latter could be seen addressing the MHP flock from a makeshift podium erected inside the structure. Built by an Armenian royal dynasty in 1001, the cathedral has for centuries been regarded as a ...