Christian architecture

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."  

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on July 24 marked the first anniversary of the reopening of Istanbul's iconic Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque.

Pope Francis has accepted the invitation of President Katerina Sakellaropoulou to visit Greece in September.

Sakellaropoulou issued the invitation in a telephone conversation with the pope about a year ago.

Erdogan's making Hagia Sophia a mosque

Within the scope of a research project that lasted three years, a Turkish historian toured the historical peninsula of Istanbul and explored underwater cisterns, aqueducts, wells and fountains.

"We scanned the mysterious remains under the Topkapı Palace, the Hagia Sophia and the Hagia Irene as we toured around the places with a boat," Arzu Ulaş told Demirören News Agency on June 12.

It’s at the Greek Orthodox Holy Monastery of St. Catherine in Egypt & reveals the proximity to the Greco-Roman art heritage

İYİ (Good) Party leader Meral Akşener criticized the controversial remarks on Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, by an imam in Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque.

"He curses the founder of our republic. May Allah corrects those who do this and those who condone it," she said, addressing the İYİ Party parliamentary group meeting on June 2.

The restoration works being carried out using the most advanced techniques in Istanbul's landmark Hagia Sophia have set a clear example for the world to see a work of exceptional precision, keeping the cultural heritage of different beliefs and civilizations intact, the provincial director of culture and tourism has said.

The imam at Istanbul's iconic Hagia Sophia mosque announced on April 8 he is stepping down from his duties to return to academic studies.

Mehmet Boynukalın, whose assignment at the nearly 1,500-year-old Hagia Sophia was temporary, asked to leave the post, and his request was accepted.

Turkey's Little Hagia Sophia, a church which was converted into a mosque, received thousands of tourists every year prior to the pandemic.

The architectural marvel situated in the Güzelyurt district of central Aksaray province was built by Roman Emperor Theodosius I for Saint Gregorius Theologos in 385 CE.

Christianity's most joyous feast day was celebrated worldwide with faithful sitting far apart in pews and singing choruses of "Hallelujah" through face coverings on a second Easter Sunday conditioned by pandemic precautions.