Political repression and curtailed freedoms have earned Turkey a troubling reputation abroad in recent years. For generations of western artists and intellectuals in the 20th century, though, the country was a haven, and many congregated in Istanbul to lead a lifestyle of freedom, far from the Cold War repression of their own countries.
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Political repression and curtailed freedoms have earned Turkey a troubling reputation abroad in recent years. For generations of western artists and intellectuals in the 20th century, though, the country was a haven, and many congregated in Istanbul to lead a lifestyle of freedom, far from the Cold War repression of their own countries.
Can Turkey reconvert the Chora Church and Hagia Sophia into a mosque? - Hercules Millas
Stories from Turkey
14 minutes
6 years ago
Can Turkey reconvert the Chora Church and Hagia Sophia into a mosque? - Hercules Millas
A Turkish higher court this week ruled that the Chora Church in Istanbul, a 4th century Byzantine church which was converted into a mosque like many other churches when Ottoman forces captured the city in 1453, should be used in accordance with its function when it was transferred to Fatih Sultan Mehmet Foundation during the Ottoman period, that is, as a mosque.
The move can also clear the way for converting the giant 6th century former cathedral, Hagia Sophia, into a mosque.
Hercules Millas, a political scientist working on Turkish-Greek relations discusses the importance of those churches and the political symbolism behind the struggle of some Turks to reconvert those heritage sites into a mosque.
Stories from Turkey
Political repression and curtailed freedoms have earned Turkey a troubling reputation abroad in recent years. For generations of western artists and intellectuals in the 20th century, though, the country was a haven, and many congregated in Istanbul to lead a lifestyle of freedom, far from the Cold War repression of their own countries.
