The Hutura Church in Gümüşhane, built in the 14th century and considered as one of the 3 holy churches of the Orthodox sect in the Black Sea.
It has been destroyed by nature for hundreds of years and has been pillaged by treasure hunters. It is requested that the historical church be restored and opened to religious tourism.
Hutura Church, which was built in Gümüşhane in the 14th century under the leadership of 3 Orthodox priests who fled to the village of Alemdar in Gümüşhane as a result of the conflicts between the members of the Orthodox Church and the members of the Catholic Church, has been subjected to both the destruction of nature and the pillage of the treasure hunters. The church, which was dug and its walls were destroyed, fell into ruin. Local residents want the historical church to be restored and brought to tourism.
Historian-Author Adnan Güngör Thirdoğlu, who conducted research on the Hutura Church and said that he was constantly exchanging information with members of the Orthodox sect, ‘‘ The church is now completely destroyed by treasure hunters. I made a statement on this subject in 2017 and said that this church should be brought into tourism. We also had applications for a road to go to the church there, ”he said.
“FAITH TOURISM GETS DEVELEOPED”
Stating that Gümüşhane can escape its fate with faith tourism, Thirdoğlu said, “The fate of Gümüşhane is there, you cannot easily open a factory here, but you can improve the fate of this city by developing faith tourism. You can see how that church was destroyed. There was a library behind that church and 6-7 thousand books in it, of course, these were also destroyed. This place is connected to the Süleymaniye District, and if the road is made from there to here, we have received the promise that ‘we will send 100 thousand 200 thousand tourists there’ from those who come to visit the church in Beşiktaş, Istanbul. But we still haven’t managed to get the road done” he said.
“MUST BE RESTORED”
Saying that the Hutura Church should be restored and brought into tourism, Alemdar Village Headman Yücel Berker said that they reported the treasure hunters and that the gendarmerie follows them. Berker said, “As far as we learn from our elders, this is a very old church. Of course, there are 3 churches in our village, but Hutura Church is the oldest. We cannot go because it is far away at night, we have the gendarmerie follow the treasure hunters. When we see it, we inform it immediately, I do not bring anyone closer to that historical church. We want the area to be restored and brought to tourism.”
Saying that treasure hunters destroyed the Hutura Church, Tuncay Berker said, ”Our Hutura Church was destroyed in time due to treasure hunters and natural factors. When we search on the internet, we can access its old pictures, it was a really beautiful building. They used to come to our village to visit here, they don’t come anymore. Faith tourism can be done. Treasure hunters are destroying the historic church” he said.
GÜMÜŞHANE IS IN TROUBLE WITH THE TREASURE HUNTERS
Treasure enthusiasts increased in Gümüşhane, which has hosted different civilizations in history. It was destroyed in the 12,000-year-old Dipsiz Lake in Taşköprü Plateau, located within the boundaries of Dumanlı village, in the excavation carried out with legal permission. The treasure hunters who believed that there was the treasure of 15th Apollinaris legion, which was shown among the 4 major legions of the Roman Empire in Anatolia that remained in the region for a period, could not find any historical remains in Dipsiz Lake.
Treasure enthusiasts dig historical sites, bridges, cemeteries and private lands, including churches they haunt, and search for Roman-era gold that they believe that it exists. Treasure hunters also damage the historical sites they dug. Unable to find any findings until today, the treasure hunters do not give up illegal excavations, they are caught as a result of the raids of law enforcement officers. (Cumhuriyet)
