Armenian church and cemetery in the village of Artemid - The village of Artemid, now called Sarmansuyu in the district of Edremit, once served as the summer residence of Armenians from the city of Van. Ruins in the area indicate the location had been populated since Urartuan times. When I visited the location in 1996, the church was missing one wall and used as a barn, the cemetery did still contain Armenian tombstones although I witnessed two graves had been recently been desecrated in search of treasure. In 2006, the government of Turkey "renovated" the church with European funds. The politically motivated effort destroyed any recognizable features as an Armenian church. In addition, the cemetery has been destroyed from the insertion of a road leading to a new housing development on the hill above the village. The photographs in the left hand slideshow are from August 1996 while those on the right are from May 2013. You can find more on the church and renovation here and my article here.
1996
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2013
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