Hacking History III: The Archaeological Museum of Van

Hacking History III

by Ara Sarafian

Published: Thursday December 11, 2008

The provincial Archeological Museum of Van, which used to house an anti-Armenian exhibit and currently pretends Armenians never existed in the crucible of Armenian civilization. November 2008. Ara Sarafian / © 2008 Gomidas Institute. Used with permission.

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Van, Turkey - The Archaeological Museum of Van is a small, two-story provincial museum. It became notorious in the 1980s when its upper floor housed an overtly anti-Armenian exhibition of human remains, bullets, and spent cartridges, all of which, the museum explained, was evidence of a genocide committed by Armenians against Turks during the First World War.

This exhibition was the only reference to Armenians in the entire museum. As far as the museum was concerned, Armenians had no other presence in this area and there certainly was no genocide of Armenians in 1915.

Many local Kurds mocked the museum, and some guidebooks to Turkey even ridiculed it for its anti-Armenian exhibition.

When the Turkish government announced the renovation of Holy Cross Cathedral on Aghtamar Island near Van in 2005, I was interested to see how Turkish authorities were going to explain the presence of the 10th-century Armenian church without making any reference to Armenia or Armenian history in the museum of Van. This renovation was a high-profile event and was packaged as a peace offering for better relations with Armenians at a time when Turkey was making renewed efforts to join the European Union.

If hundreds of foreign dignitaries and journalists were going to come to the opening ceremonies in 2007, how would the Turkish authorities avoid the embarrassment of this museum?

When I visited Van in June 2006, the museum was closed. The word on the street was that the government objected to the anti-Armenian exhibit and wanted to remove it, while the military insisted that it stay. Given this impasse, the government simply closed down the museum "for renovations" until earlier this year.

The museum thus remained closed when Holy Cross Cathedral was officially opened as a museum in 2007. Turkish and foreign dignitaries were thus saved the embarrassment of observing the discrepancy between the denial of Armenian history in the museum of Van and the praise Turkish authorities elicited from commentators for their work at Aghtamar Island.

After the renovation

Now that the museum is open, we can make our own assessment of the renovation it underwent between 2006 and 2008.

The ground floor remains very much the same, with wonderful Urartian artifacts that include pottery, metalwork, jewelry, and furniture. There isn't a great deal, but what one can see is both fascinating and beautiful.

The "Armenian atrocities" section on the upper floor is removed. It is replaced with more Urartian artifacts, as well as ethnographic materials, such as kilims, period costumes, Ottoman swords, rifles, and revolvers, as well as household items and Korans.

Considering all the effort that has gone into the removal of the "Armenian atrocities" section of the museum, and all the thought that must have gone into the content of the newly designed upper floor, one is disappointed to see that Armenians have been made invisible in this new museum: there is nothing that refers to Armenia or Armenians anywhere. Although there is a map of the region showing a number of churches and monasteries, they are not identified as Armenian churches or monasteries, nor is there any explanation anywhere in the museum that mentions either Armenia or Armenians in a historical context.

The state has the power

How might one interpret these apparent contradictions about the official Turkish attitude to Armenians? While Turkish authorities maintain their wish for better Turkish-Armenian relations and insist on their positive sentiments behind the renovation of Holy Cross Cathedral, the museum of Van reflects a more sinister attitude that is not lost on Armenian visitors: the Turkish state has the power to do whatever it wants, including writing people in or out of history. This sinister message is in evidence even within 20 miles of Aghtamar, where more than a dozen Armenian churches and monasteries have been devastated.

After my visit, I introduced myself to some museum officials. Once again they were courteous, even pleasant. They were also quite knowledgeable and perhaps a little embarrassed. They were quite cognizant of Armenian history. When talking about Armenian artifacts, they made reference to beautiful Armenian khachkars in the province and the need to preserve them "in situ," in their natural environment. "One should not drag them to museums" was a comment, though they were aware that these khachkars were almost always smashed or desecrated.

"Some of this damage is done by Armenians, from Armenia" I was told.

"You have to understand that we can not protect everything. There is so much of it" was another comment. "Even mosques are damaged by people." Indeed, I have personally seen some abandoned mosques in the old city of Van, surrounded by beer bottles and covered with graffiti (in Turkish). I have also seen the example of the Seljuk cemetery in Gevash, on the way to Aghtamar, which is well protected and preserved behind walls. It has a beautiful kumbet-mausoleum that has been renovated. But no such care has been taken of anything Armenian, except for the recent renovation of Holy Cross Cathedral on Aghtamar Island. The fact remains that everything Armenian has been damaged, and most of it completely destroyed.

Buried gold

"Part of the problem is that people are ignorant and think Armenians buried gold everywhere, so it is quite common to go grave-robbing." Indeed, grave robbing is a major problem, but the government has allowed it to continue for decades. It complements the destruction of the churches and monasteries in the province, such as the monasteries around Gevash (within minutes of the Seljuk cemetery), or the complete demolition of the entire monastic complex at Nareg.

"Is there nothing else Armenian that could be placed in the museum?" I asked. The answer was no, nothing that we're aware of.  Did they not find other artifacts related to Armenians? The answer was no.