Turkey

Two times in history the Princes' Islands (Πριγκηπονήσια, Pringiponisia), located off Istanbul, served as a welcome refuge from the plague, something that the current Covid-19 outbreak brings to mind again. The first time was in the year 540 when the...

The recent collapse of part of the historic Byzantine wall in the Topkapi neighborhood of Constantinople has raised concerns over the maintenance of a range of iconic ancient Greek, Byzantine and Roman sites in Turkey. Part of the Theodosian Walls,...

Hasan Türüt, the leader of the Islamic organization Diyanet Bir-Sen (Religious and Foundation Employees’ Union), asked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to allow prayer inside Hagia Sophia the first Friday after regulators lift the ban caused by the COVID-19...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threw his weight behind Turkey’s top Muslim cleric on Monday, who had caused a storm by claiming homosexuality “brings disease and causes this generation to decay,” the Associated Press (AP) reports. In his first sermon...

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, thanked Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on Wednesday for the Church's support and donations to Turkish authorities and society during the coronavirus pandemic. The Turkish President held a phone call conversation on Wednesday with Bartholomew...

The Islamic call to prayer was heard in what was once the center of Orthodoxy, Hagia Sophia, on Monday, as a video calling the former Byzantine cathedral "Hagia Sophia Mosque" on Youtube shows. The prayer was initially broadcasted on Iha.tv. Some...

The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople issued a statement on Wednesday announcing the Church's new decision in regard to the covid-19 global coronavirus pandemic. According to this statement, all religious ceremonies, events and rituals will be suspended in all of the Patriarchate's...

A special literary tribute to Greek Constantinople writers and poets was completed recently at the University of Istanbul's School of Philosophy, an event organized due to the International day of Greek Language. Greek and Turkish scholars approached through their in-depth...

Turkey, now fighting a war in Syria, will no longer stop Syrian refugees from reaching Europe, a senior Turkish official told Reuters late on Thursday, as President Tayyip Erdogan presided over an emergency meeting. According to the unnamed official quoted...

The European Union announced on Thursday that -- in solidarity with Cyprus -- it will impose sanctions on two Turkish individuals over their role in Turkey's illegal drilling activities inside the island Republic's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The EU did...