Hagia Sophia

The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) has condemned the US State Department's decision to agree to Turkey's request for a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which imposes import restrictions on cultural goods originating prior to 1924 or the establishment of the Turkish Republic.

The Cultural Heritage Preservation Board has approved a structural strengthening plan for the Basilica Cistern presented by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality 66 days ago, according to daily Milliyet.

"When the formal decision is delivered to us, we will start the renovation process in the Basilica Cistern," said Mahir Polat, secretary-general of the municipality.

Over the last 18 years, Turkey's AKP governments have brought back some 4,440 artifacts to the land where they belong, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Dec. 28. 

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the State Museum of Paintings and Sculptures in the capital Ankara, Erdoğan said Turkey embraces everything which belongs to its land as part of its wealth.

The decision on Friday by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe's Culture Committee condemning Turkey's move to convert Hagia Sophia in Istanbul from a museum into a mosque was hailed by the Greek delegation head, Dora Bakoyannis, as Europe's response to Turkey's "systematic violations of democratic principles and values."

The Orthodox Public Affairs Committee (OPAC) was officially launched Wednesday in Washington DC.

The organization aims to "expose and combat the persecution of Christians around the globe," according to a statement it released.

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.

The issue of performing Islamic prayers at the Hagia Sophia next month was discussed at a meeting of the High Advisory Board of the Turkish presidency, as the status of the landmark historical structure is a widely debated subject in local politics.

Turkey's justice minister on June 15 announced that all legal proceedings and trials in the country would continue as of June 16 after having been halted due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

"We've taken all the precautions in the courthouses," Abdulhamit Gül said, speaking during an interview with Anadolu Agency.

Armenian Orthodox Patriarch Sahak Mashalian has endorsed the idea of restoring Hagia Sophia's status as a place of worship, a controversial debate in Turkey brought to the country's agenda after the ruling party voiced will to turn the museum into a mosque.

Monuments that have endured through time and hardship are free of the bonds of their age, of the vision and fate of their creators. They become part of our global heritage, "judging" those responsible for their preservation.

The way that people and governments behave toward great works reveals their principles, their qualities, the future of their society.