First Armenian Museum to Open in Turkey

For the first time in Turkey, an Armenian museum will be established. It is reported that the museum will be located 4 km from the only Armenian village in Turkey, Vakıflı, in the Samandağ district of Hatay Province.

According to ErmeniHaber.am, Jem Çapar, the president of the board of trustees of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Vakıflı, mentioned this in an interview with Turkish sources.

He also noted that they have received financial support from the Eastern Mediterranean Development Agency (DAKA) for the establishment of the museum, but they still need more assistance.

The museum will showcase the culture, language, history, dishes, and games of the Vakıflı community.

“In fact, in this museum, we will be telling about both Armenian identity and Christianity, as even those who have graduated from university ask whether being Armenian is a religion or a nationality. They ask whether Armenians came from Armenia, and what our religion is. We need to explain that we are the ancient people of these lands,” said Çapar.

According to Jem Çapar, one of the goals of the museum's activities is the digitization of culture.

“In other words, the mission of this work will be to prevent the destruction of people's memories, nostalgia, daily life, family photographs, and letters through digitization,” he emphasized.