St. Giragos Armenian Church located in Sur district of Diyarbakir (Tigranakert) is being restored, Tarafsız Haber Agency reports.
The renovation has been initiated by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. Sur Governor Abdullah Ciftci has provided 30 million Turkish lira (about 5 million USD) for restoration of four churches in the region.
The Church was built in 1376 and is known to be the biggest Armenian church in the Middle East. It was used by the German army as headquarters during the World War I and was converted into a warehouse after the war.
Between 1960s and 1980s, the Armenian community obtained its ownership but due to mass immigration to urban areas, the church remained deserted for several years.
It was renovated and reopened with the support of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople in October 2011, but was seriously damaged in September 2015 as a result of clashed between Kurds and the Turkish army.
