ANKARA (TURKEY) – A month after the iconic Hagia Sophia museum was turned into a mosque, yet another celebrated Byzantine building in Istanbul, the Chora church museum, was declared a mosque by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday.
The Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora dates back to the Medieval period and it is located near the ancient city walls of Constantinople. It contains Byzantine mosaics and frescoes depicting Biblical scenes.
After the city was overrun by the Muslim Ottomans in 1453, the church was taken over and the Christian icons were plastered over. However, they were carefully restored when it was turned into a museum at the time when modern Turkey was born.
Erdogan sees himself as the champion of practicing Muslims and the ruling AK Party has roots in political Islam. For the first time in 86 years, thousands of believers took part in Friday prayers in Hagia Sophia along with him.
The move was slammed by leaders of Christian Churches and some Western countries, saying that turning Hagia Sophia into a mosque risked widening the gap between religions.
A court last year annulled the government order converting Chora church into a museum.
The edict signed by Erdogan and published in the official gazette said “the management of the Kariye Mosque be transferred to the Religious Affairs Directorate, and (the mosque) opened to worship.”
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field