18th century Armenian church on sale in Turkey

BURSA, Turkey

A 300-year-old Armenian church has been put up for sale in Turkey for $1.5 million.

An advert on the property website "sahibinden.com" shows the ramshackle, three-story building in the heart of Bursa, northwest Turkey, is located near the tombs of the fifth Ottoman sultan, Mehmed I, and the 14th century tomb of Bayezid I’s adviser and son-in-law.

Estate agent Tayfun Ozengirler said the building in the Setbasi neighborhood was registered in as a historical monument in 1986.

“The area where the church is situated was once inhabited by Armenians,” Ozengirler said. “You can smell the history on every corner.”

Bursa, the capital of the Ottoman Empire before the capture of Constantinople in 1453, was a center of Armenian culture and the Armenian Patriarchate was based in Setbasi before moving to Istanbul.

Ozengirler said he had received a number of queries about the advert. “No one has agreed the demanded price so far but we will do our best for the sellers,” he told Anadolu Agency.