An Armenian church dating to 1603 in the western province of Kütahya that was on the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s preservation list was demolished after it was acquired by a private party, the Turkish-Armenian bilingual Agos weekly reported.
The old church was an important heritage site for the Armenian community because famous Armenian priest and musicologist Gomidas Vartabed was baptized there. Garo Paylan, a deputy from the Peoples’ Democratic Party, a left-wing party with majority-Kurdish support, submitted a parliamentary question on how a heritage site registered for protection could be demolished.
The church was on private property and was previously used as a theatre and party venue….