Gülistan Azak 

 

DİYARBAKIR - The historical Surp Sarkis Church, which belongs to the Armenians in the Sur district, is resisting destruction like the Alipaşa Neighborhood in which it is located.

 

After the domination of the Hurrian-Mitannis until 1260, many places of worship were built in Diyarbakır, which hosted Assyrian, Aramaic, Urartu, Scythian, Med, Persian, Macedonian, Roman, Marwani, Hamdani, Seljuk and many other civilizations respectively. One of the places of worship that has survived to this day is the Surp Sarkis Church, which has a 500-year history.

 

Surp Sarkis Church, located in Alipaşa Neighborhood and built in the 16th century and used as a granary during the Armenian Genocide, was later transformed into a Paddy Factory. The church, which started to demolish in the years after it became a factory, is about to perish. Many of its stones have been stolen and the church has been plundered, and it want to be erased from the memories.

 

Resisting in Sur district

 

The historical building, also known as Hızır İlyas Church, defies destruction like the Sur district it is in. Some parts of the church were destroyed, and holes were made in the remaining walls enough for a person to pass through. Although many of the inscribed or embroidered stones within its walls have been removed and stolen, the church is determined to resist monism, cultural genocide and war. Despite the destruction carried out by the state in Sur district, it has managed to survive.

 

In the neighborhood where many historical Diyarbakır houses have been demolished, memory has been erased, and new structures have been built.

 

Unique architecture with stones specific to Diyarbakır

 

While basalt stones, iron and lime were used in the construction of the Surp Sarkis Church, it is possible to see that basalt stones were also used in the bandelets, doors, buttresses and windows of the church. The religious ritual part, baptistery and yard of the church continue to offer a unique architecture despite the destruction.