11 minutes agoErdogan against the world: Pozon para Ayja Sophia till the work is done so she can return to the mosque
Periskopi(6 years ago)
(6 years ago)At a time when a few days ago, the World Council of Churches called on Recep Tayip Erdoğan to withdraw the decision of returning the famous Hagi Sofia Museum to the mosque, Turkey's president has personally visited the controversial building. Haggi Sofia is expected to open for prayer forgiveness after 86 years. Erdoğan [...]
Haggi Sofia is expected to open for prayer forgiveness after 86 years. Erdoğan stayed in the Ajasofja Mosque about an hour, while being informed about the works conducted for opening by Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy and Istanbul Mayor Ali Yerlikaya.
In a letter to the Turkish president, the Council, numbering 350 church members, said such a move is destined to sow divisions.
The Issco World Heritage site in Istanbul has been a museum since 1934. The president announced his decision Friday, following a judicial decision that annulled his museum status.
St. Sofia was built 1,500 years earlier as an Orthodox Christian cathedral but was transformed into a mosque after the Ottoman occupation in 1453. It turned into a museum under the order of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founding father of modern, secular Turkey. Since then, religious services have been banned in this area, but devout Muslims have been campaigning long to allow worship.
