Surb Khach Church is ready for Sunday Mass. According to the Turkish website Haberler, the Governor of Van Münir Karaloglu, who made an inspection visit by helicopter on Sept. 18 to the island of Akhtamar, said: «The mounting of the cross was an official decision due to technical problems and it will require a minimum of 1.5 months».

The Governor emphasized the importance of granting permission for ceremonies to take place in the church, since it will benefit the development of religious and cultural tourism and said that Akhtamar is ready to accept visitors.

In response to questions about the placing of the cross, Karaloglu said that in order to avoid additional technical problems they wanted it to be handled by the construction company which carried out the restoration work in the church.

The governor did not specify the number of visitor arrivals, but, as previously reported by a correspondent from Armenian News-NEWS.am from Van, the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of Van Zahir Kandashoglu noted that 90% of the people who expressed a desire to visit Van canceled their reservations after they learned about the decision not to place the cross atop the dome