Erdogan turns another museum into glass

Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered the Byzantine Church of St. Sotir and Hora to resume operating as mosques. This sacred building, whose roots date back to the sixth century and was rebuilt in present - day form in the 11th century, is world famous for its mosaics and frescoes. After the conquest of Constantinople, modern - day Istanbul, the Ottomans turned it into a mosque in 1511 and covered the Christian mural frescoes with lime and soot.

The frescoes of the Byzantine Church of St. Sotiri and Hora were restored after World War II as part of a broad restoration programme after this building was declared by the state as a museum. In 2019, Turkey's Supreme Court approved its reconstruction in mosques.

Erdogan Not Interested in Criticism

At the end of July, St. Sofia's once the largest church of Christendom was reopened. St. Sofia functioned as a museum since 1934. This step was accompanied by international outrage. Serious criticism came from Greece and the Greek Orthodox Church in particular, but also from the EU, the US and Russia.

Prior to the reconversion of St. Sophia to the mosque, Ankara had promised that Christian mosaics and frescoes would be covered only during Islamic prayer times and that visitors would have the opportunity to visit them at the time between prayers. But this week it was announced that works of art are constantly being kept covered in white collars.