The demolition of Camp Armen Armenian orphanage in Istanbul, Turkey, has been put off after a strong public reaction.

The proprietor of the orphanage premises, Erhan Aydinlar, told Agos Armenian bilingual weekly of Istanbul that he had transferred the grounds to a Fatih Ulusoy, and the latter decided to delay demolition for one month, so that a resolution is found to this matter.   

“I have a lot of Armenian friends. I would not want such a thing to happen. I’m very saddened that the matter has reached such a point,” Aydinlar said. “If this property with such memories were mine, I would have donated this property. But we are talking about a purchased property; ultimately, people are doing business.”

Istanbul Armenian journalist Hrant Dink—the founder and chief editor of Agos, who was shot dead on January 19, 2007 outside the office of his weekly—and his wife Rakel Dink had grown up in this orphanage.