KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Turkey converted the ancient Byzantine Chora Church into a mosque.
- Like the previous conversion of Hagia Sophia to a mosque in 2020.
- Both are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, stirring controversy.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan formally inaugurated a Byzantine church located in the heart of Istanbul as a Mosque on Monday, May 6th, 2024.
The Church of St. Saviour in Chora (also known as Kariya in Turkish) into a mosque back in 2020, right after it, the Turkish authorities turned Hagia Sophia into a Mosque.
Both sites are listed as United Nations’ World Heritage Sites, and both conversion to Mosque drew praise from the Muslim community.
Just like Hagia Sophia was a church for centuries, and Chora had operated as a museum for decades. Chora was launched as a mosque in 2020 but had to undergo some changes to make it an operational one.
Erdogan on Monday attended the ceremony of the opening of Chora as a mosque.
The Church dates back to the 11th to 12th century but was transformed into a museum in 1945.
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