A church dedicated to the Armenian martyrs of the 1915 massacres was erected in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor 25 years ago. By a twist of fate, the monument to the victims of the atrocity is now collapsing as a result of a bombing. BBC has released an article presenting the Holy Martyrs Church of Syria, according to Tert.am.
The author of the article describes the crypt/holy place located in the center of the church. It represents a mound coated with sand, on the peak of which there are remains of humans.
“I was shocked when I saw the bones. They don’t make you mourn or cry, but make you delve into thoughts that are simple valuable and sincere,” the source cites British-Armenian writer Nuritsa Matosian, who visited the church in 2001. Matosian’s ancestors were martyred during the tragedy that took place 100 years ago.
“Over the years, Deir ez-Zor has become a place of pilgrimage for Armenians, but the monument to the Armenian martyrs remained standing for less than a quarter of a century. In 2014, it was destroyed as a result of a bombing organized by ISIS and the Al-Nusra Front adjunct to Al-Qaeda,” the author of the article says.
The source notes that there used to be 100,000 ethnic Armenians living in Syria before the civil war broke out, most of which were descendants of those who had been displaced.
