Byzantine architecture

Turkey: Renewing Efforts to Transform Another Emblematic Byzantine Church Into A Mosque

The newspaper Yeni Safak reported that the Turkish authorities are continuing with their plans to convert another significant Byzantine monument into a mosque, intending to open it to Muslim worshippers for the Friday prayers on February 23.

Erdogan exploits Hagia Sophia’s symbolic power

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has strategically utilized the symbolic significance of Hagia Sophia, once the world's largest Byzantine cathedral, which he reconverted into a mosque in 2020, in order to mobilize his devout and nationalist supporters ahead of Sunday's runoff vote. "The entire West got mad - but I did it," he said during a rally in Istanbul on Saturday.

Turkey welcomes UN move to extend cross-border Syria aid

Ankara on July 9 welcomed the U.N. Security Council's decision to extend the delivery of humanitarian aid from Turkey to northwestern Syria for the next 12 months.

Earlier, the U.N. Security Council voted to extend the authorization of the cross-border mechanism to aid Syrian people.

The council mandate for the operation was due to expire on Saturday.

Cyprus settlement ‘key’ to solution of region’s tensions: UK minister

A settlement for the Cyprus issue is "key" to the resolution of the tensions in the Mediterranean, according to Wendy Morton, the U.K.'s minister for European Neighbourhood.

Speaking during an interview with private broadcaster CNN Türk, Morton said that the U.K. supports a "comprehensive, fair and lasting" settlement to the Cyprus issue.

US continues to urge preservation of Hagia Sophia’s ‘multireligious history’

An official with the US State Department has reiterated Washington's belief in the protection of the "complex multi-religious history" of Hagia Sophia, the UNESCO World Heritage site in Istanbul and former Greek Orthodox patriarchal cathedral.

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