FERDA BALANCAR

The controversy continues related to the efforts of Ukraine to establish an Orthodox Church not affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate. Moscow does not want the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul to send a representative to the church in Ukraine. The Ecumenical Patriarchate spoke to Agos in regard of the topic.

Ali Yamaş and Bülent Erdem are engaged in caving. They have a cave research group called “Obruk” (sink-hole). We wanted to talk to two experienced cavers about the works in this field. However, we found ourselves talking about the underground cities in Turkey. They say that there are many underground cities that were built by Christian peoples especially between 6th and 11th centuries.

Prof. Dr. Niyazi Kızılyürek is an internationally acknowledged expert on the Cyprus question and currently works in University of Cyprus. Kızılyürek is also known for his activism on the both sides of the island, his contributions to the efforts of confrontation and struggle for peace and reconciliation. We talked to Niyazi Kızılyürek about the recent situation in Cyprus, by way of his new book (“A History of Resentment and Violence: Fight for Status and Ethnic Conflict in Cyprus”) published in Turkey.

We talked to Fehim Taştekin about the recent developments in Syrian Civil War, based on his recently published book “Rojava: The Time of Kurds" (Kürtlerin Zamanı).

We talked to Michel Marian about the centennial of the Armenian Genocide and the developments that might take place in 2016, based on his book on Armenian Genocide which was published in France in 2015.

The biography of Dr. Avedis Cebeciyan is compiled from the book that his son, Robert Cebeciyan, wrote and published in Aleppo in 1999: “Autobiography, Memoirs and Activities of Robert Cebeciyan”. In the book, there is also an introduction by Prof. Ayhan Aktar that is titled “War and Genocide Diary of Dr. Cebeciyan”.

Planning permission has been issued for the historical site in Germüş village, a former Armenian settlement 10 kilometres away from Urfa city centre.

Confirmation announced that Pope Francis is to conduct mass in person in memory of 1915 Armenian Genocide victims to be held at the Vatican on April 12.

Pope Francis’s 3-day visit to Turkey (28-30 November) has had broad repercussions both in Turkey and the world. Beside the visit’s political aspects, it also had a historical significance in terms of efforts for dialogue and unification between the Catholic and Orthodox worlds.