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Europe

The Sound of Hagia Sophia, Recreated Centuries Later

The sound of Hagia Sophia was recreated recently by two scholars from California’s Stanford University by simply popping a balloon. Bissera Pentcheva, a professor of art history, has published a book on the subject titled Hagia Sophia: Sound, Space, and...

Hagia Sophia Features in New Turkish Passports

Hagia Sophia, the symbolic center of the Greek Orthodox faith that was converted by Turkey into a mosque in 2020, will be featured in the new Turkish passport, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Tuesday. According to the Turkish president,...

Greece Asks UNESCO to Press Turkey on Hagia Sophia Vandalism

Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his “sadness and disgust” at the vandalism to a door of Hagia Sophia in a call with UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, on Thursday. Mitsotakis said that the damage to the Imperial Gate demonstrated disrespect...

Hagia Sophia to Hold First Ramadan Prayer in 88 Years

Hagia Sophia, the symbolic center of the Greek Orthodox faith that was converted by Turkey into a mosque in 2020, will hold its first tarawih prayer in 88 years, a special evening prayer during the Muslim fasting month of...

Archbishop Elpidophoros Slams Turkey as Erdogan Celebrates Hagia Sophia Anniversary

Archbishop Elpidophoros issued a statement on the occasion of the first anniversary of the conversion of Hagia Sophia into an Islamic mosque.

“There’s No God But Allah” in Hagia Sophia Notes Turkey

Turkey illuminated Hagia Sophia, the historic Byzantine Church, now turned mosque, with a "There's No God But Allah" sign on Saturday.

Turkey Demolishes Greek Orthodox Church Known as “Hagia Sophia of Bursa”

Turkish authorities on Wednesday demolished a historic Greek Orthodox church in the region of Bursa, north-western Turkey, which had been abandoned. The Georgios Greek Orthodox Church, known as the “Hagia Sophia” of Bursa, was destroyed amid warnings over the safety...

After Hagia Sophia Turkey Converts Another Byzantine Church to Mosque

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a presidential decree on Friday turning the historic Holy Saviour in Chora, a medieval Byzantine church in western Constantinople that was a museum, into a mosque. The move follows the July decision to convert...

UN Calls on Turkey to Make Hagia Sophia an “Intercultural Space”

UN human rights experts explained on Friday, July 31, that Turkey's conversion of the significant World Heritage Site "could reflect a supremacist view of history and culture." In an officially released statement, UN Special Rapporteur Karima Bennoune, who works in...

Greek EU Minister Schinas Expresses Anger Over Muslim Prayers in Hagia Sophia

  "Turkey must finally decide what its broader geopolitical goal will be," said Margaritis Schinas, the European Commission's vice-president and Commissioner for the promotion of the European way of life, during the presentation of the new EU strategy for the...

Erdogan Invites World Leaders to Friday’s Muslim Prayer Service at Hagia Sophia

According to information published in the Turkish daily newspaper Hurriyet today, government officials there have sent out invitations to a number of officials to hear the prayers which will be said on the first Friday after the reconversion of...

Italian, Israeli Groups Protest Hagia Sophia Conversion to Mosque

Italian and Israeli groups protested on Monday the decision by Turkey to turn the Hagia Sophia museum to a mosque. Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the Turkish consulate in Milan to express their dismay at the Turkish decision. Led by...

EU Foreign Ministers Condemn Turkey’s Hagia Sophia Decision

The European Union's foreign affairs leader Josep Borrell stated that the EU flatly "condemned the Turkish decision to convert such an emblematic monument as the Hagia Sophia," after Monday's meeting of all 27 foreign ministers of the nations belonging...

Hagia Sophia to Open for Muslim Worship on July 24

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that after completing all preparations, Hagia Sophia will open for worship on July 24. In an address to the nation, Erdogan stressed that Hagia Sophia's doors will be open for Turks, foreigners,...

The Call to Muslim Prayer Resounds from Hagia Sophia

Minutes after President Erdogan signed the decree turning Hagia Sophia into a Mosque, a crowd of Muslims gathered for a prayer at the UNESCO cultural site. Turkey’s administrative court annulled a 1934-dated decision that paved the way for the use...