The Kurds of Kars Live Under the Roofs of Armenians

The Kurds of Kars confess: “We still live under the roofs of Armenians.” This is written by Turkish media. Is this good for us Armenians, or bad?

The good news is that the Kurds themselves – who have actively participated in the Armenian Genocide a hundred years ago – show that they aren’t appropriating the land that has been illegally taken away from the Armenians killed by the Turkish government.

It is good that it is said that these are the houses of the Armenian autochthonous people who had lived in their ancestral lands before the brutal Armenian Genocide of 1915.

On the other hand, it is known that the Turks have been recently actively building up the territory of Historical Armenia, simultaneously restoring the ancient monuments that are or can be a catalyst for tourist pilgrimage to ancient and sacred places. An example of this is the monastery on Akdamar Island in Lake Van.

A project was implemented to supply Akdamar Island with drinking water. The governor of the Van Province Murat Zorluoğlu back in the day wrote about this on his Twitter page.

Prior to the governor’s post, the Turkish administration had noted that the island plays an important role in the development of tourism in Turkey: “Almond trees make up the majority of the island’s green zone. There are also 100 years old trees here. The recent global climate change is also being felt here.

Over the past 10 years, the flora has been experiencing a period of drought. If we do not take action, Akdamar Island may turn into a desert. This project is especially important in terms of preserving the almond trees and providing a beautiful environment for tourists.”

Thus, the news of the Turkish media about the living conditions of the Kurds can be perceived as a call to the arrangement of better living conditions for them. After all, the Kurds still live in the houses they themselves had destroyed a hundred years ago.

It would not be superfluous to say that the restoration work is carried out in the Turkish style and is accompanied with the replacement of Armenian toponyms and removal of all traces of the Armenians in the region, including Armenian cemeteries and ancient burial grounds.

Kurds of Kars live under the roofs of Armenians

The village of Kilittash in the historical Armenian province of Kars is located 50 meters from the current Armenian-Turkish border. Armenian houses abandoned after the Armenian Genocide were inhabited by Kurds who resettled from the neighboring settlements. The Kurds became the new owners of the Armenian houses and churches.

This settlement, a part of the Digor region of Kars, attracts attention with its unique beautiful nature.

The historical Armenian village and today’s Armenia are separated from each other by the Arpaçay (Akhurian) River. The village itself was built on the banks of the river in the almost 300-meters-deep gorge. There are only 40 households there.

The current locals say that during the last hundred years, not a single new house has been built in Kilittash. Everyone lives in the houses left by Armenians: “We still live under the roofs of Armenians,” the Kurds admit.