Byzantine art

Excavations that have been ongoing in the Central Anatolian province of Yozgat have unearthed a 3,500-year-old mosaic, believed to be the oldest in the world.

By George Gilson

When in July, 2020 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan turned the Hagia Sofia Museum into to a mosque, he sparked an international outcry.

Over a year later, addressing members of his AKP party in Rize, Erdogan accused the opposition of trying to keep Hagia Sophia closed.

New mosaics belonging to the Byzantine period have come to light during the excavations in the 2,300-year-old complex buildings in Balatlar in the northern province of Sinop.

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Turkey also came under criticism over the conversion of the Chora Monastery into a mosque

The Turkish foreign ministry on July 24 rejected the U.N. cultural agency's remarks on the state of Hagia Sophia after it was converted to a mosque and said its statement is "biased and political."  

A 1,500-year-old golden medallion depicting a figure of Jesus Christ is on display at a museum in Turkey's northern province of Çorum.

The medallion was found by treasure hunters during illegal excavations in 2017 and was later seized by security teams after a successful anti-smuggling operation. The medallion has been included in the inventory of the Çorum Museum.

A 1,500-year-old golden medallion depicting a figure of Jesus Christ has been displayed at a museum in Turkey's northern province of Çorum.

The medallion was found by treasure hunters in illegal excavations in 2017 and was seized by a successful anti-smuggling operation of the security teams.

A monastery, built during the Roman period, and a 1,500-year-old mosaic have been unearthed during an illegal excavation carried out in the western province of İzmir's Aliağa district.

Restoration and excavation work has resumed at the Saint Simon Monastery in southern Turkey after a pause of 60 years, and the site will host tourists once it is completed.

The monastery, located in Hatay province, is believed to have been built in the 6th century by Saint Simon.

A figure of a "Seraphim Angel" on a ceiling of the Hagia Sophia Mosque has come to light on dismantling a scaffold that was inside the mosque for about seven years.

"We have completely demounted the scaffold today," said the officials on Nov. 22.