Turkey's Erdogan rejects criticism over Hagia Sophia landmark
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Monday, December 23, 2024


Turkey's Erdogan rejects criticism over Hagia Sophia landmark
This picture taken on July 2, 2020 shows the Virgin Mary and child fresco (L) and a calligraphic Roundel with Arabic letters bearing the name of Allah and other Muslim prophets hanging on the dome of the Hagia Sophia museum, in Istanbul, Turkey.
Turkey's top court considered Thursday whether Istanbul's emblematic landmark and former cathedral Hagia Sophia can be redesignated as a mosque, a ruling which could inflame tensions with the West. Ozan KOSE / AFP.



ISTANBUL (AFP).- Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday rejected criticism over his willingness to convert Istanbul's famed Hagia Sophia landmark into a mosque despite international and domestic concern.

"Charges against our country over Hagia Sophia are a direct attack on our right to sovereignty," Erdogan said.

Turkey's highest administrative court is considering whether the emblematic site and former cathedral can be redesignated as a mosque, prompting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday to urge Turkey to keep the site in its current status as a museum.

The Council of State convened on Thursday to evaluate the case brought by an association to change the museum's status.

The court, known as Danistay in Turkish, must announce its decision within 15 days.




Hagia Sophia was first constructed as a cathedral in the Christian Byzantine Empire in the sixth century but was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453.

Transforming it into a museum was a key reform of the post-Ottoman authorities under the modern republic's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

But calls for it to serve again as a mosque have led to anger among Christians and tensions between historic foes and uneasy NATO allies Ankara and Athens, which closely monitors Byzantine heritage in Turkey.

Erdogan said last year it had been a "very big mistake" to convert the Hagia Sophia into a museum.


© Agence France-Presse










Today's News

July 4, 2020

Guggenheim opens investigation into Basquiat show after racism complaints

For the first (and maybe the last) time, all the Walking Men are gathered in the same exhibition

Turner Prize was canceled, but organizers still gave out the cash

National Gallery's Room 32 reopens to the public after a 21-month refurbishment

Saroj Khan, choreographer of over 2,000 Bollywood songs, dies at 71

Outstanding Roman figures of Celtic Hounds at risk of export

Can a new arts center revitalize Provincetown?

Christie's to offer Nicolas de Staël's Place à Agrigente

Seeing paradise from behind a dashboard

Denmark's Little Mermaid vandalised

Meem Gallery's summer exhibition looks at the last century of Egyptian sculpture

Sir John Soane's Museum to reopen in Autumn 2020

The battle for Bollywood: virus, streaming apps spark fears for cinemas

The Momentary announces new visual arts projects and updates for 2020 exhibitions

Michael Lapthorn announced as new Chief of Design at National Gallery of Art

Thomas Del Mar to offer important arms & armour from prestigious collections

Turkey's Erdogan rejects criticism over Hagia Sophia landmark

The NYUAD Art Gallery announces next exhibition archive event, Permanent Temporariness

Rental Gallery opens "Friend of Ours"

Heritage Auctions sells J.C. Leyendecker's New Year's Baby Hitching to War for $275,000

SmithDavidson Gallery in Amsterdam exhibits with Zhuang Hong Yi

The music industry is wrestling with race. Here's what it has promised.

Marianne Boesky Gallery exhibits Donald Moffett's 'Aluminum / White House Unmoored, 2004'

Grayson Perry, Aida Muluneh and Russell Tovey invite artists to join WaterAid's Covid-19 campaign

TOP 6 REASONS WHY YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS SEO

Is It Worth Buying Presets

Impact of ransomware on Bitcoin Business

The arrival of Bitcoin Bankruptcy Virtual Currency Tax Book Present Campaign

Bitcoin Bankruptcy - Business book Unused New economy

SOME OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE TOILET IN THE WORLD




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
(52 8110667640)

Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful