by Salman Rafi Sheikh, …with New Eastern Outlook, Moscow, …and the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a research institution for the study of the countries and cultures of Asia and North Africa. [ Editor’s Note: We are taking a breather from the Beirut bombing story and Trump’s continued […]
Sophia
26 posts
By Nadia Bazuk for VT Ukraine Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 10, 2020, repealed a decree, signed by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. An Orthodox Christian cathedral built in 537 by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I once again has turned into a mosque. This incident provoked favorable reaction comments among […]
Syria has been contemplating the possibility of building its own “little” Hagia Sophia amid Turkey’s decision to convert the former museum into a mosque. The Syrian Hagia Sophia is planned to be built in Al-Suqaylabiyah in Hama province. The commander of the al-Suqaylabiyah National Defence Committee, Nabeel Abdallah, said that […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/07/19/1079983043_0:29:3289:1879_1200x675_80_0_0_3aa4bfb03dcd0ac84be36560bedd261c.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/europe/202007251079983098-greece-denies-condoning-turkish-flag-burning-after-hagia-sophia-conversion-into-mosque/ ATHENS (Sputnik) – Greece’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday it disapproved of desecration of national symbols after Turkey accused it of encouraging the burning of its flag at a rally against the conversion of Istanbul’s ancient Orthodox Christian temple into a mosque. “We categorically […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/07/18/1079975861_0:366:2016:1500_1200x675_80_0_0_c2732751a7d730f72f04592f58cefbeb.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/europe/202007251079979659-several-hundred-people-protest-in-athens-against-turning-hagia-sophia-into-mosque/ ATHENS (Sputnik) – Several hundred people have attended a demonstration in Athens to express protest against Turkey’s decision to transform Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia museum into a mosque. According to organizers of the rally, more than 500 people took part in the demonstration on […]
People gather to perform Friday prayers at Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia for the first time in 86 years. Esra Bilgin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Esra Bilgin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images People gather to perform Friday prayers at Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia for the first time in 86 years. […]
Eastern Christian, Catholic, Muslim and then secular – Hagia Sophia has played many roles throughout its nearly 1,500-year history. But following a Turkish court decision last week, this grand structure that has been serving as a museum for 85 years, has now been reconverted into a mosque. On Friday, Istanbul’s […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/07/10/1079899809_0:237:3017:1935_1200x675_80_0_0_8c05f504a78b915c63ca1023514a47d0.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202007241079970240-first-official-prayer-at-hagia-sophia-after-mosque-reconversion—video/ Live outside Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia as the first prayer takes place there after Turkey’s Council of State issued a resolution to turn the world heritage site back into a mosque. Five hundred people are permitted to stay in the mosque for the prayer, […]
(Guest post by Victoria Hudson) Hagia Sophia, which at the behest of Recep Tayyip Erdogan becomes a mosque again, will remain open to visitors outside Islamic prayer times, five times a day, when Christian symbols are to somehow be covered. Diyanet, the Directorate for Religious Affairs of Turkey, led by […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/07/13/1079931397_0:206:2698:1724_1200x675_80_0_0_db818667f0942f51a8706adcfd1aec53.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/society/202007191079931431-turkish-president-erdogan-visits-hagia-sophia-after-turning-it-into-mosque/ Earlier in July, Turkey’s top administrative court, the Council of State, annulled a 1934 decree that turned Hagia Sophia into a museum. Immediately afterwards, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a decree allowing to be used as a mosque. Turkish President Recep Tayyip […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/07/11/1079914050_0:171:3000:1859_1200x675_80_0_0_ffecc8d307651fa2bb6cce89e230599d.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/world/202007171079914094-hagia-sophia-where-will-all-the-icons-and-holy-relics-be-taken-/ Earlier this week, Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Directorate of Religious Affairs signed a protocol confirming that Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, which was recently converted into a mosque, will be preserved as a global heritage site following its change of status. Portable icons […]
Turkey’s culture ministry has officially handed over the reins of the legendary Hagia Sophia to the country’s top religious authority, reassuring tourists they will still be able to get in and won’t have to pay. The country’s religious directorate and the Ministry of Culture on Thursday signed a cooperation protocol […]
On 10 July, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, after a Turkish court ruled that the site’s secularisation was unlawful. Following an outcry over the site’s status change Turkish observers have weighed up the possible political consequences of Ankara’s decision both domestically and […]
Health Editor’s Note: Years ago, on a road trip to Turkey (which ended up in Crete and then a return back to Paris), a visit was attempted to the Hagia Sophia. No matter how many miles you may have traveled, she was closed on Mondays, even if that is the […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/07/0d/1079872775_0:77:3073:1805_1200x675_80_0_0_f7744b25fc3eb4d3f51654aeb2996e82.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/europe/202007131079872634-eu-foreign-ministers-condemn-turkeys-decision-to-convert-hagia-sophia-to-mosque/ MOSCOW (Sputnik) – EU foreign ministers condemn Turkey’s decision to convert Hagia Sophia from a museum back into a mosque, as it may fuel mistrust between religious communities, European Union Minister for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said Monday. “An important issue was about […]
By Kevin Barrett, Veterans Today Editor From a secular perspective, there is nothing particularly wrong with Turkey’s decision to return Hagia Sophia to its status as a mosque. After all, it WAS a mosque from 1453 to 1934, when the crypto-Jewish Donmeh Sabbatean tyrant Attaturk unilaterally secularized it as part […]
Pope Francis has added his voice to those objecting to the museum status of Istanbul’s famous Hagia Sophia having been revoked. Originally a Byzantine Christian church, the Turkish government has turned it back into a mosque. “My thoughts go to Istanbul. I’m thinking about Hagia Sophia. I am very distressed,” […]
ATHENS (Sputnik) – Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said in an interview with the Skai TV channel that it would be dangerous to look at the issue of Hagia Sophia’s conversion from a museum into a mosque from the perspective of the Greek-Turkish relationship alone, and called for addressing it […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/07/0b/1079858894_0:79:2941:1732_1200x675_80_0_0_72ddf935e0846f33c978c56695174621.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202007111079858923-erdogan-says-conversion-of-hagia-sophia-into-mosque-step-towards-making-turkey-great/ ANKARA (Sputnik) – The decision to convert Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia into a mosque is a step towards making Turkey great and the opinions of other countries do not matter, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday. “We made a decision to change […]
On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that he had signed a decree converting Istanbul’s historic Hagia Sophia into a mosque which will open for Muslim prayers on 24 July. UNESCO has expressed “deep regret” over Turkey’s decision to convert Hagia Sophia back into a mosque after a court […]
The US State Department is “disappointed” by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to reopen Istanbul’s historic Hagia Sophia as a mosque. Erdogan’s decision has been roundly criticized ahead of the move. The Islamic call to prayer will ring out from the sixth-century Hagia Sophia again on July 24, Erdogan […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/07/0a/1079852246_0:0:3072:1729_1200x675_80_0_0_26e3f5dc717c7af4b7bc64f76f85770f.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/world/202007101079852275-greek-prime-minister-says-change-of-hagia-sophia-status-will-affect-relations-with-turkey/ ATHENS (Sputnik) – Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis condemned on Friday the Turkish government’s decision to convert Hagia Sophia cathedral into a mosque, noting that this will affect Turkey’s relations with Greece and the global community in general. “Greece categorically condemns Turkey’s decision […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo-itemprop.png Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202007101079851882-us-disappointed-over-turkeys-decision-to-revert-unesco-site-hagia-sophia-back-to-mosque/ The US State Department voiced its displeasure on Friday with a decision by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to convert Istanbul’s historic Hagia Sophia back into a mosque after being made a museum in 1934. “We are disappointed by the decision by the […]
Armed police patrol outside the Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia, one of Istanbul’s main tourist attractions in the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul. Emrah Gurel/AP hide caption toggle caption Emrah Gurel/AP Armed police patrol outside the Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia, one of Istanbul’s main tourist attractions in the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul. […]