- Feb 5, 2002
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Unesco world heritage site dating back 1,500 years is treasured by Muslims and Christians alike
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ordered the conversion of one of the world’s most treasured cultural sites into a Muslim house of worship, potentially sharpening the rift between the Ankara government and Europe.
Mr Erdogan signed a decree transferring the 6th-century Hagia Sophia, which had bean a museum for nearly 90 years, to the Diyanet, the country’s highest religious authority.
The decree came shortly after Turkey’s highest administrative court, annulled a 1934 decision to turning the iconic building into an interfaith museum.
The Unesco world heritage site began life as a cathedral, before being transformed into a mosque in the 15th century and later designated a museum under Turkey’s secularist founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
It remains unclear whether converting the architecturally and historically significant building into mosque would result in structural changes – or even new rules for visitors.
Istanbul is full of architecturally significant mosques and cathedrals that draw tourists as well as the faithful.
Continued below.
Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia to be turned back into mosque
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ordered the conversion of one of the world’s most treasured cultural sites into a Muslim house of worship, potentially sharpening the rift between the Ankara government and Europe.
Mr Erdogan signed a decree transferring the 6th-century Hagia Sophia, which had bean a museum for nearly 90 years, to the Diyanet, the country’s highest religious authority.
The decree came shortly after Turkey’s highest administrative court, annulled a 1934 decision to turning the iconic building into an interfaith museum.
The Unesco world heritage site began life as a cathedral, before being transformed into a mosque in the 15th century and later designated a museum under Turkey’s secularist founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
It remains unclear whether converting the architecturally and historically significant building into mosque would result in structural changes – or even new rules for visitors.
Istanbul is full of architecturally significant mosques and cathedrals that draw tourists as well as the faithful.
Continued below.
Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia to be turned back into mosque
