JERUSALEM – Here in Jerusalem’s Armenian Quarter, an ancient Christian community is fighting to protect its historic land. They’re resisting an attempt to put a hotel on property they’ve owned for centuries, and they believe the issue raises broader concerns for the Christian presence in the city.
The Armenian Quarter, with its ancient heritage, is facing a land dispute that has implications beyond these ancient walls. A land deal with a Jewish businessman leased a large portion of the Armenian quarter of the old city, and the investor plans a luxury hotel that would demolish homes where Armenians have lived for centuries.
Armenian Resident Garo Nalbandian told CBN News, “My family comes in 1920s after the Turkish massacres. My father come along with the sister without their families.”
“I was living, 1948, inside the convent. Afterwards, when we start to work, we make the money… But when we get married… I took from the Patriarchate, this house. (Since) 1969, when I married, until now, I am living there,” he said.
Another Armenian resident, Hagop Djernazian, told us, “Two years ago, an illegal deal was signed to lease this land for a hotel. We were shocked to learn that the deal included
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