YEREVAN, MAY 10, ARMENPRESS: Citing an April 17 story in Yeniduzen newspaper published in the Northern Cyprus, Armenian foreign ministry said an Armenian Saint Makar monastery, which is in the mountainous part of the island, was turned into a cafe. The newspaper said its new owner, Dervish Sonmezler, intends to rebuilt the monastery into a hotel.
The monastery was built in the 4-th century AD by Copts, but later it passed to Armenians and was for centuries an Armenian Church sanctuary. Though it was subordinated to the second Armenian Catholicosate in Antelias, Lebanon, the monastery maintained closed ties with Etchmiadzin.
Before the Turkish occupation of the Northern Cyprus the monastery was one of the favorite destinations for local Armenians, but now it is inaccessible to Christians. All manuscripts and other relics kept in it were plundered and sold and only the intervention of the Republic of Cyprus, the Armenian Church and international organizations prevented further destruction.
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