Turkey-Greece fight over Haya Sophia

Turkey-Greece fight over Haya Sophia

There has been a heated exchange between Turkey and Greece over the conversion of Istanbul's traditional facility, the Haya Sophia Museum, into a mosque.

The nearly one and a half thousand-year-old installation Haya Sophia is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built in the sixth century by order of the Byzantine emperor Justinian. Haya Sophia was one of the major religious centers of Orthodox Christians for nearly a thousand years.

When Istanbul became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1453, the structure was converted into a mosque. Nearly five hundred years later, in 1934, the first president of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, declared it a museum.

But earlier this month, Turkey's top administrative court revoked the status of the Haya Sophia Museum and converted it back into a mosque.

Friday congregation is held there on Friday. After almost 90 years, Haya Sophia started praying again.

The Greek government has described Turkey's decision as "cruel" and said it would increase tensions between the two countries.

Turkey had earlier announced that Haya Sophia would open its doors to the public on Friday for Friday prayers. Meanwhile, mourning bells have been rung in churches across Greece since Friday morning, according to Reuters. The Turkish flag was also burned.

 

Turkey did not like this behavior of Greece. "Greece has once again shown its hostility towards Turkey and Islam under the pretext of opening the Haya Sophia Mosque for prayers," a foreign ministry spokesman said.

In a statement, the Greek Foreign Ministry also expressed its displeasure, saying, "The international community of the 21st century is shocked by today's fanatical attitude towards Turkey's bigotry and nationalism."

In a speech on Friday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a "troublemaker" who "insulted 21st-century civilization."

Disputes between the two countries over a wide range of religious and cultural issues, from the airspace to the sea.