St. Stephanos Church in Van Under Threat of Collapse

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Located at Aksorik mountainside and near Bend-i Mahibrook in Muradiye, Van, St. Stephanos Church was built in 17th century.

According to Mezopotamya Agency, St. Stephanos Church and its monastery, which is among the important constructions that managed to keep standing despite the damage of hundreds of years, has seen the greatest destruction of its history in the last 50 years.

As monk cells inside the church fell over in time, marks of their groundwork replaced them.

It was solid until 1970

The church, which has been reportedly looted by treasure hunters each passing day, has now holes going deep meters down.

Residing close to the church, which is one of the examples of Armenian Middle Age architecture, Ebubekir Çiftçi said that the church was well and sound until 1970 and went on:

“The church’s doors were very solid. I’d seen the monk cells with my own eyes and they weren’t destructed. Our people are very insensitive about this. Many people dug here for treasure. This is very said, the treasure hunters have very badly damaged the church. We want the state to restore here”.

Underscoring that the church has been hosting a large number of domestic and foreign tourists, Çiftçi called for preservation of such places. (PT/TK)