The Diyarbakir Regional Directorate of Foundations has
decided to return seventeen properties in Turkey’s southeastern province
of Diyarbakir to the Armenian community as a result of an initiative
launched over the past year by the Diyarbakir Surp Giragos Armenian
Church Foundation.
The Sabah daily reported on Monday, July 15, that during a restoration project
for the historic Surp Giragos Armenian Church in 2009, the Diyarbakir
Surp Giragos Armenian Church Foundation discovered a document listing
the properties owned by Armenians before they left Diyarbakir between
1910 and 1921. The document reportedly lists 190 properties in twenty neighborhoods. After the
discovery of the document, the foundation filed a petition with the
Diyarbakir Regional Directorate of Foundations demanding the return of
these properties after it found the current real estate listings of the
properties.
