The Jewish community remained in the city for 2,300 years. The building is an example of Byzantine architecture. Adjoining mosque, church defy hate. But when this involves linking or indexing these sites to aspects of national and international ideology and identity, one always needs to other someone else. The head of Antakya's tiny Jewish community died in the earthquake. Some were worried what might happen to them this time around, but while some floor mosaics are covered, and a false ceiling hides the figurative Christian dome art in the main prayer room, only a fraction of the frescoes are out of sight today. Copyright 2017-2023 Dicasterium pro Communicatione - All rights reserved. We deem every move that goes beyond voicing an opinion a violation of our sovereignty. ", Other Catholic leaders spoke out as well, with the Brussels-based commission representing the EU's bishops, COMECE, deploring the move as a "blow to inter-religious dialogue.". It is also denied legal recognition and is still trying to reclaim around200 propertieslisted before a 2012 parliamentary commission. The varied and layered history of the Hagia Sophia has led to a range of different interpretations of its significance. [3], Hagia Sophia was built in Trebizond during the reign of Manuel I between 1238 and 1263. Pope Francis, following the recitation of the Marian Prayer and recalling Sea Sunday, also made reference to the Basilica of Hagia Sophia, recently transformed into a mosque. Former Istanbul Orthodox church becomes a mosque in Turkey The God of the Gulagis his two-volume study of communist-era martyrs, published by Gracewing in 2016. Hagia Sophia: Turkey turns iconic Istanbul museum into mosque It became a symbol of the Ottoman conquest of Istanbul by Mehmed II, also known as the conqueror. Between 1566 and 1574, Mimar Sinan extensively strengthened the Byzantine structure by adding two more minarets, securing its status as a monument that amalgamates symbols of both Christianity and Sunni Islam. When one of the world's greatest churches was reopened as a mosque on July 24, despite international protests, there were predictions of a new downturn in Christian-Muslim ties. March 2, 2021 By Patricia Blessing & Ali Yaycolu On July 24, 2020, the Turkish government opened Hagia Sophia in Istanbul to prayer for the first time in 86 years, reverting the building's status from museum back to mosque. The building was being converted "not from a church to a mosque, but from a museum to a mosque," Kalin reminded journalists, and Turkey would invite "everyone, including Christians and Buddhists," to visit it for free, scrapping the previous entrance fee. After the founding of the Turkish Republic, Cabinet members decided to secularize the space, turning it into a museum in 1945. After the quake, the community's surviving members moved to Istanbul. It is also one of Turkeys best-preserved late-Byzantine buildings, is free to enter and has much to offer visitors of all faiths or none. In 2007 a Greek-American politician, Christos Spirou, launched an international campaign to restore the Hagia Sophia to a Christian church. Erdogan, whose AK Party is rooted in political Islam, has positioned himself as a champion of Turkeys pious Muslims and last month joined tens of thousands of worshippers in the first prayers at Hagia Sophia in 86 years. Antakya is the city where two of the four earthquakes that have occurred throughout history have suffered the most loss of life. BRICS club boom: What to expect in Johannesburg, BRICS: Why Saudi Arabia and others are vying for membership. "The Byzantine Empires in the Thirteenth Century" in. This is a very debatable issue, and may seem controversial, but for those who believe this, the question which comes to the fore is whether the Turkish government has the right to convert the Hagia Sophia and mess with its intangible heritage context such as its legacy of being a museum. The New Testament says this city is where Christians were first called Christian. A view inside what was the dome of the historic Habib-i Najjar Mosque in Antakya. Muslims attend Friday prayers outside Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul July 24. Ruins of Turkish city of Antakya tell story of a rich past | AP News One of the cities most affected by the earthquake that hit 10 provinces was Antakya-Hatay. Part of Pasha Restaurant still stands amidst the rubble in Antakya. A kafir is not merely someone who does not agree with Islam, but a kafir is evil, disgusting, the lowest form of life. It has now suffered near-total destruction. Turkeys top administrative court approved the museums conversion into a mosque in November. Cathedral of Kars - Wikipedia The building has a similar history to that of the Hagia Sophia UNESCO World Heritage Site. Image Source. Orhan Uyanik (left), the owner of Pasha Restaurant in Antakya, sits in the rubble and opens one of the remaining beers that survived the quake. The Diyanet won the case and received the ownership of the building. Orhan Uyanik (left), the owner of Pasha Restaurant in Antakya, sits in the rubble and opens one of the remaining beers that survived the quake. hide caption. In the ancient Turkish city of Antakya, the oldest church in the world andthe oldest mosque in the country werereduced to rubble after two massive earthquakes hit in just 8 hours. It was destroyed yet again by an earthquake earlier this month . On 5 July 2013, the former church was partially converted for a while into a mosque according to the local Vakif Direction of Trabzon, which is the owner of the estate. Now it is completely gone. This brings the religion and state together. ", Cavdar said the move is a signal that says: "Look, we're still here.". "Unfortunately our church was destroyed after the earthquake. . In the 1940s it was reported to be locked and used as a store, but by the 1950s it was again in use as a mosque. The freedom to show your breasts: Why does Amaral's gesture matter? However, Erdogan has in the past few years placed a greater emphasis on the battles that resulted in the defeat of Byzantium by the Ottomans. The 1,000-year-old buildings history closely mirrors that of the Hagia Sophia its bigger neighbour on the historic western bank of the Golden Horn on the European side of Istanbul. Yusuf Kocaoglu stands in the wreckage of buildings damaged by the earthquake in Antakya, Turkey, as he tries to walk through the city where he used to give history tours. Pakistani brothers arrested for blasphemy after mob burns churches Hagia Sophia (named after Gods Holy Wisdom) in its original form was built by Emperor Constantine as a Christian church sometime around the year 537AD, about 500 years after Christ himself walked among us. Turkey's top administrative court approved the museum's conversion into a mosque in November. The adjacent monastery continued to be used by monks as late as 1701, when Tournefort found them still in residence. Stick together. The Hagia Sophia has just opened to receive Sunni Muslim worshippers for the first time since 1931. The ACLJ has direct experience with Turkeys contempt toward Christians. The founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, turned the Hagia Sophia into a museum in 1934. External stone figurative reliefs and other ornamenting is in keeping with local traditions found in Armenia and Georgia. The mosque that Turkey claims is the oldest in the Anatolia region has caved in. "We came here to pray after we learned about the decision. During renovation works from 2018 to 2020 the building was closed to visitors. Turkey's scattered Catholics enjoy greater recognition now than in the past, Bizzeti told Italy's Servizio Informazione Religiosa. That is why we call on Christians from all over the world to help us rebuild the Antakya Church. Although Hagia Sophia was built as a great Christian basilica, it hasn't functioned as a church for 567 years. Meanwhile, the Middle East Council of Churches branded the Turkish move an "assault on religious freedom," countermanding three decades of interfaith dialogues, and urged the United Nations and Arab League to intervene. ", The move was also criticized by the U.S. and 27-country European Union, with Greece's Culture Minister, Lina Mendoni, denouncing it as an "open provocation against the whole civilised world. It has already been announced they will be covered with curtains during prayer because Islamic law forbids images of people. The Blue Mosque is one of Turkey's finest architectural masterpieces, and it also comes with an interesting story. People used to first visit here before they go to a pilgrimage to Mecca. The church was built with a cross-in-square plan, but with an exterior form that takes the shape of a cross thanks to prominent north and south porches. Now the Erdogan government wants to do the same with the Chora Museum, a former Byzantine church, alarming historians and Christians. However, opponents accused Erdogan, who gained sweeping new powers after his June 2018 reelection, of pandering to Islamist feeling and seeking popularity for his governing Justice and Development party, the AKP, amid economic hardships exacerbated by the coronavirus. Prayer leader urges Muslims to sympathise with Christian community. Yusuf Kocaoglu stands in the wreckage of buildings damaged by the earthquake in Antakya, Turkey, as he tries to walk through the city where he used to give history tours. Copyright 20102023, The Conversation Media Group Ltd. Several Istanbul residents went to the building last week, some hoping to hold prayers there, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Currently, social media sites are full of videos showing long lines of people at the entrance of the museum, possibly trying to get a last glimpse of the works before they are closed to the public. In 19th century Armenian sources it began to be known as the Church of Holy Apostles. ' Holy Wisdom '; Turkish: Ayasofya; Greek: , romanized : Haga Sopha; Latin: Sancta Sapientia ), officially the Hagia Sophia Mosque (Turkish: Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i erifi ), [3] is a mosque and a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. Representatives from Turkey's Orthodox Christian community, including Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, voiced vehement opposition to the reconversion of the Hagia Sophia. Reactions to plans for the conversion of the Chora Museum have been similarly negative. Hagia Sophia, Trabzon - Wikipedia "Every province is believed to have a holy person that keeps it safe by Gods will and of course, Habib-I Nejjar was one of them. Plans to rededicate it for Muslim worship, long hinted at by Turkish officials, were confirmed in May by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and given final go-ahead on July 10, when Turkey's supreme court overturned Ataturk's 1934 decree. It was originally converted into the Kariye Mosque half a century after the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks. With tarawih prayers resuming after 88 years this Ramadan, the museum-turned-mosque stands as a sublime feat of Turkey's Ottoman past. Hagia Sophia, Turkish Ayasofya, Latin Sancta Sophia, also called Church of the Holy Wisdom or Church of the Divine Wisdom, an important Byzantine structure in Istanbul and one of the world's great monuments. Hagia Sophia Mosque. Much like the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the . Ayse Cavdar, a political researcher focused on conservatism, says the conversion of the Chora Museum is a political move. Exhibition shines light on Claude Monet's overlooked brother Leon, Czech brewery wins European Heritage prize, Archaeologists unearth slave bedroom in Roman villa near Pompeii. Reprising its role as a mosque, it has become a symbol of the modern Turkish nation where Turkish flags and the symbols of Sunni Islam are seen hand in hand. Turkey earthquake devastates Antakya, the ancient city of religions - NPR Built as a cathedral, Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, has also been a mosque and a museum and is now again a working mosque. This article was co-authored by ACLJ Executive Director Jordan Sekulow. . The interior of the Hagia Sophia when it was a museum. Strategically located for more than two millennia on the Bosporus between Europe and Asia, between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, Istanbul has been the site of major religious, political and artistic events in world history. The 1,500-year-old Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, will become an active mosque beginning on July 24, ending its 85-year run as a secular museum. "A breach has certainly been opened up for the possible recovery of buildings belonging to our own church, and we'll be looking at this problem afresh. Turkey's Hagia Sophia: "It's Like If Saint Peter's Had Been Turned Into Hagia Sophia was built as an Orthodox Christian cathedral and stood as the seat of Eastern Christianity for a thousand years before Ottoman Turks conquered its host city and turned it into a mosque in 1453. This made the building something quite unique in the world. In Turkey itself, even the conciliatory Bizzeti has hit out at the mosque conversion,accusingEuropean governments of failing to demand "legitimate reciprocity" for Muslim freedom of worship in the West. Turkey converts another former Istanbul church into a mosque Yet Turkey's Christian minorities have been guarded about the handover of Hagia Sophia now called Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque with some suggesting the move may not prove quite so damaging. "There is no place now I can take you because all of them are destroyed," he says. This place means so much to us, it is so valuable. Founded as the world's largest church by Emperor Justinian I in 537, Hagia Sophia ("Holy Wisdom") was used as a mosque for five centuries after the Turks captured Constantinople, renaming it . According to estimates, In 115 BC, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake killed 260,000 people. The church figures prominently and has key significance for the lead character's spiritual development in Rose Macaulay's novel The Towers of Trebizond. ", Vingas added that the Turkish government's actions could further alienate the country's minorities. Christians cautious as Turkey's Hagia Sophia becomes a mosque again Today, a narrow street of bars and restaurants lies in waste. It is likely that the monks gradually abandoned a building that failed to protect them from harassment and predation, and the Turks assumed its use without needing to expel them.[6]. It is mainly famous for its outstanding Late Byzantine mosaics and frescos . The head of Antakya's tiny Jewish community died in the earthquake. "We have no doubt that the heritage lost in these tragic events will take years to repair and that we will need a large international mobilization to support the local efforts.". It was also used as an observatory by local astronomers. We are waiting for the opening.". ", The director-general of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, whose organization declared Hagia Sophia a World Heritage Site in 1985, said the basilica, which attracted 3.7 million visitors annually before COVID-19, had been "a unique testimony to interactions between Europe and Asia over the centuries," and regretted its handover had been made "without any form of dialogue or prior notice. It is the cathedral church of the Ecumenical Patriarch. Founded as the world's largest church by Emperor Justinian I in 537, Hagia Sophia ("Holy Wisdom") was used as a mosque for five centuries after the Turks captured Constantinople, renaming it Istanbul, in 1453, before being turned into a museum in 1934 by modern Turkey's secularizing founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. A Muslim crowd attacked a Christian community in eastern Pakistan on Wednesday, vandalising several churches and setting scores of houses on fire, after accusing its . Even if the opposing political forces win in the future, they may never dare to change it back to a museum because religious stability is very fragile and extremely vulnerable in Turkey. It was converted into a museum in 1964[1] and back into a mosque in 2013. "Sadly Antakya is in great trouble. Historically it has served as the primary site of Byzantine religious, imperial, and diplomatic ceremony. It was very valuable for all of us, all Turks and Muslims. What will happen to the Hagia Sophia now that it's a mosque again The structure is 22 metres long, 11.6 metres wide and 12.7 metres tall. Many local Muslims were killed by the earthquake. The Hagia Sophia Was a Cathedral, a Mosque and a Museum. It's Church, Mosque, Museum? Reflections on Monuments in Turkey and Spain No. Turkeys President Erdoan just ordered a historic 1,500-year-old Christian church be reconverted from a Museum into a functioning Islamic mosque. 'The View's' Ana Navarro blasted for calling mosque 'yuck': 'Be respectful' "We will try to do something for our city again and again. In 2020 a retractable suspended ceiling was put in place underneath the dome, and a glass floor was placed over the opus sectile mosaic. The reconversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque sparked criticism around the world. Harassing and imprisoning Christians. Women will have to be veiled, entering via separate entrances from men, while Turkey's High Council on Religious Affairs has called on all Muslims to give the mosque support. List of mosques in Turkey - Wikipedia This will be a long process. The Hagia Sophia, originally a Byzantine church built in the sixth century, and for a short period in the 13th century a Catholic church, was converted into a mosque in 1453. The decree on the issue regarding the Kariye Museum was published in Turkey's official gazette on Friday. And yet Erdoan made it clear he rules over Turkey, including Turkish Christians, with impunity, almost provoking Western leaders to challenge him, stating: [T]he way Hagia Sophia will be used falls under Turkey's sovereign rights. "This is a provocation against all believers," the Greek ministry said in a statement. The Hagia Sophia's long history began life in 537 CE as Byzantine Emperor Justinian's grand church. Mosques probed over protest call in Pakistan blasphemy riots At Hagia Sophia, curtains have been drawn in front of an image facing worshippers of Mary and the infant Jesus. Claire Harbage/NPR Erdogan Is Trying to Erase Turkey's Christian Past The conversion is therefore very challenging in a multi-religious and multi-ideological society. The site of ancient Antioch a crossroads of civilizations and a modern tourist and religious pilgrimage destination in southern Turkey is one of the cities left most devastated by the Feb. 6 earthquake that killed tens of thousands in Turkey and Syria. What remains was covered with a carpet in 2013. The Taj Mahal is another heritage site at the centre of conversations of religous ownership. This move could be considered an instance of history repeating, as the historic church was conquered by Muslims and converted to a mosque in the 1400s. Speaking to journalists before inspecting work on the building, the president defended its conversion as "fulfilment of a historic debt," insisting he'd "given the necessary answers" to critics. hide caption. Right by the sea, it is a place of palm trees, birdsong and cool breezes, a welcome respite from Trabzons bazaar, busy port and humming Black Sea highway. And this is not the first time under Erdoan that Turkey has taken possession of Christian churches. How long can people survive in earthquake rubble? This Habib-I Nejjar mosque is so valuable to us Muslims. Two years ago, when we fought to obtain Christian Pastor Andrew Brunsons freedom from a Turkish prison, we told you that the indictment against him called Christianization preaching the gospel an act of terrorism. The bazaar, the breakfast place he'd take tourists, the local hangouts all are decimated. In ancient Turkish city of Antakya, historic places of worship reduced to rubble after quake. Senior Lecturer in marketing, SOAS, University of London. There were more than 200,000 people living in the city before the quake, but now survivors who have remained in the surrounding district are living in tents, Kocaoglu included. People visit Hagia Sophia in Istanbul June 30. The decision to transform the museum into a mosque comes just one month after a similar conversion of the UNESCO World-Heritage recognised Hagia Sofia. Habib-I Nejjar Mosque, Turkiye's oldest mosque, built in the 7th century, was also destroyed. This was followed up in July by Bishop Paolo Bizzeti, Italian-born apostolic administrator of Anatolia, Turkey, who said he shared the pope's sadness, but recognized that up to 70% of Turks had approved the move, making it "not just the whim of a president.". The Greek Foreign Ministry called the decision "yet another provocation against religious persons everywhere" by the Turkish government. Given such reassurances, some Christians think patience is advisable. "We urge Turkey to return to the 21st century, and the mutual respect, dialogue and understanding between civilizations.". The mufti of the Turkish province Trabzon said that the works for opening the Hagia Sophia mosque in the city to practice prayers again are going on, and claimed that during the prayer the mural paintings will be covered by curtains". Sertac Paul Bozkurt, a member of the board of Antioch Orthodox Church says that they are waiting help from all over the world to re-build the church. ANKARA, Turkey (AP) The president of Turkey on Friday formally converted Istanbul's sixth-century Hagia Sophia back into a mosque and declared it open for Muslim worship, hours after a high. Being a world heritage site ratifies a site as highly prestigious and culturally precious to the territory in which it is located. hide caption. Andrea Santoro in his church at Trabzon. Get ready for Uniqlo and Clare Waight Keller's newest collection, Italian general's self published book stirs controversy. But we're dealing not just with legal questions, but with a complex historical process.". The move was sharply criticised by church leaders and some Western countries, who said that reconverting Hagia Sophia exclusively for Muslim worship risked deepening religious rifts. Claire Harbage/NPR It, too, was built in the sixth century by the Byzantines. Getty Images A woman wrapped in a Turkish national flag gestures outside the Hagia Sophia museum The world-famous Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul - originally founded as a cathedral - has been. Dr. Bill Warner, the president of the Center for the Study of Political Islam (CSPI), notes: Chora Church "The Koran defines the kafir and kafir is not a neutral word. Just what that may mean in practice remains to be seen. The Hagia Sophia is an enormous architectural marvel in Istanbul, Turkey, that was originally built as a Christian basilica nearly 1,500 years ago. A state of emergency was declared in the region for 3 months. During the very sumptuous restoration works, old Byzantine . The domes and walls of the 1st century Antioch Orthodox Church, known as Antakya Church, and the 7th century Habib-I Nejjar Mosque have almost completely collapsed. Amid rubble stands one of his favorite old haunts, the Pasha Restaurant, sliced down the middle. In a short June statement, Turkey's bishops conference said it would have preferred Hagia Sophia to remain a museum, but also accepted the Erdogan government's right to determine its future. Is it to the nation where it is situated or does its beauty, value and significance go beyond national ownership? Despite the cataclysmic loss, Kocaoglu, and all those we meet along the way, cling to the Turkish government's promise to rebuild Antakya and its historic sites - and take solace in how the city has rebounded through the ages. The presidential decree came minutes after a Turkish court announced that it had revoked Hagia Sophias status as a museum, which for the last 80 years had made it a monument of relative harmony and a symbol of the secularism that was part of the foundation of the modern Turkish state. It is one of a few dozen Byzantine sites extant in the area and has been described as being "regarded as one of the finest examples of Byzantine architecture". The Hagia Sophia is a Unesco World Heritage Site, inscribed as a part of the historic areas of Istanbul in 1985. History haven Hagia Sophia in Trabzon, Turkey. The local union of architects from Trabzon filed a lawsuit against the ministry of religious affairs' conversion plan. Istanbul, a city of 18 million, had plenty of mosques already, the critics said, including a massive new Camlica Mosque, Asia Minor's largest, completed last year with room for 63,000 people. That was the hope expressed in June by Turkey's new Armenian Orthodox patriarch, Sahak Masalyan, who has been upbeat about the prospects for Turkey's Christian minorities. However, an important question is: to whom does such a site belong? The Lonely Planet guide to Turkey summarizes Antakya's charm in a sentence: "Atmospheric old-town fragments cling on amid the modern hubbub." But Turkey resumed diplomatic ties with the Vatican in 2016, and Catholics were encouraged by a warmmessagefrom Erdogan at Easter, praising Turkey's "culture of coexistence" and pledging to safeguard religious freedom. ", Having initially been criticized for failing to react, the pope said in a July 12 Angelus message he too had been "very saddened," while Greece's Bishops Conference said it had warned Erdogan in a letter that his "big mistake" would spur "division and conflict among peoples. Battle over whether Turkey's Hagia Sophia should be a mosque or museum The Antakya synagogue is still standing, having sustained minor damage. "The earthquakes damaged structures spanning centuries and cultures, from Roman forts to historic mosques to churches holy to a number of Christian denominations," Bndicte de Montlaur, president and CEO of the World Monuments Fund, tells NPR. Pakistani police have arrested two Christian brothers accused of blasphemy, a spokesperson and a source said on Friday, two days after a Muslim mob burnt churches and houses, blaming the two men . The church is itself an historic marvel. Many world heritage sites are used in national politics, national branding and promotion. .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct,.mw-parser-output .geo-inline-hidden{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}410012N 394146E / 41.00333N 39.69611E / 41.00333; 39.69611, Hagia Sophia (Greek: , meaning 'the Holy Wisdom'; Turkish: Ayasofya) is a formerly Greek Orthodox church that was converted into a mosque in 1584. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ordered another ancient Orthodox Church that became a mosque and then a popular Istanbul museum to be turned back into a Muslim place of worship. The Chora - Wikipedia Turkey's largest city is dotted with the tombs of religious figures, where pilgrims seek divine intervention. "We had lots of memories here with my friends, with my guests from different countries. hide caption. Overview [ edit] The cathedral is located at the base of the Kars Citadel. Muslims living in Antakya are also very upset. The Ulu Mosque, built in the 18th century, used to broadcast the call to prayer five times a day in the center of the city. "It's very hard," the pastor sighs. Other scholars suggest it was not converted until 1584, being spared the initial transformation because it stood several kilometers outside the city walls. She added that any government that assumes power after Erdogan leaves the political stage will have a very hard time undoing such major steps toward a further Islamization of the country. 10 Most Interesting Historic Sites In Turkey & The Amazing Stories

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