Istanbul: Hagia Sophia Basilica to become Mosque once again

Turkish President Erdogan issued a decree on Friday following a ruling from the Council of State

by Rossana Vinci
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Hagia Sophia has reverted to a Mosque.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said friday that the city’s sixth-century Hagia Sophia, would reopen to Muslim prayer as a full-fledged mosque later this month, a shift opposed by the U.S. and others.

 

Originally built in 537 as Christian temple by the Byzantine empire, the building became a mosque during the Ottoman empire before being turned into a museum in the 1930s by President Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

 

Hagia Sophia_Ph. sivenkovnik_123rf_ID98448681

 

 

The decree followed a ruling from Turkey’s top administrative court which revoked Hagia Sophia’s status as a museum, saying the ancient building's conversion was illegally.

Reacting to the basilica’s conversion back to a mosque, the Eastern Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople lamented the decision. He said Hagia Sophia belongs not only to those who own it at the moment but to all humanity.

For their part, UNESCO said that the building is inscribed on its world heritage list as a museum, which binds the Turkish state to ensure that “no modification is made to the outstanding universal value of the property.”

Turkish President Erdogan defended the decision, saying all criticism is “an attack against our independence.”

 

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Cover photo: Hagia Sophia_Ph. bloodua_123rf_ID3313919

 

 

 

 

 

Comments
  • Öznur Yalçınkaya

    Hagia Sophia was transformed into a Mosque in 1453 with the conquest of Istanbul. Management always acted with respect for people with different beliefs. The building has 4 minarets. The building is in the form of a mosque, not a museum. It is still open to all tourists. People did not show the necessary respect when they were in the museum. In its current form, it has become a place where both tourists and other people show more respect.

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