Assyrian people

On May 19 we commemorate the genocide of the Greeks of Pontus, a chapter of a broader genocide perpetrated by the Turkish state in the early 20th century against its Christian inhabitants that resulted in the deaths of more than 2.5 million Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians.

Final preparations are almost complete for the opening of Mor Efrem (St. Ephrem) Syriac Ancient Orthodox Church in Istanbul, the first church built in the history of modern Türkiye.

While the church in the Bakırköy district is planned to be opened in two months, comprehensible work is being carried out to eliminate the last deficiencies.

Authorities in northern Iraq on Oct. 16 unveiled an "archaeological park" of 2,700-year-old carvings from the rule of the Assyrians, including showing kings praying to the gods.

The 13 stunning monumental rock-carved bas-reliefs were cut into the walls of an irrigation canal that stretches for some 10 kilometers (six miles) at Faida in northern Iraq.

Within the scope of new projects, Mardin's historic Dereiçi neighborhood, which is considered one of Turkey's symbolic places depicting multicultural life where many TV dramas and films have been shot, will be brought to serve tourism.

Most Orthodox Christians in Turkey celebrated Easter at home this year due to the 17-day pandemic lockdown, but limited number of faithful were able to attend the church services under strict rules.

The search operation for a missing Chaldean Catholic couple has yielded no result for 12 days, their priesthood holder son said on Jan. 23.

Gendarmerie special forces, crime scene investigators, sniffer dog units, unmanned aerial vehicle operators and volunteers have been carrying out the search operation for Hurmuz and Şimuni Diril around Mount Kato since Jan. 11.

Security forces have stepped up a search operation for a couple belonging to the Chaldean Catholic minority group in Turkey's southeastern Şırnak province.

No sight or sound have been caught of Hurmuz and Şimuni Diril, ethnic Assyrians living in the remote village Kovankaya near the town of Beytüşşebap, since Jan. 11.

The Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC) and the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) have taken out a full-page ad in the New York Times, urging the US not to sell F-35 stealth fighters to Turkey.

On Sunday September 24, 2017, the Pan-Pontian Federation of USA and Canada in collaboration with another 15 organizations celebrated the publication of the new book “Genocide in the Ottoman Empire: Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks, 1913-1923”, at the Hellenic Cultural Center in Astoria.

A bakery has been converted into a church for the Protestant community in the southeastern province of ?anl?urfa, a city bordering Syria and hosting many Syrian migrants.