• Turkey: Turkish Justice allows Hagia Sophia to be converted into a mosque
  • Correspondent's gaze: 'Iconoclasm operation' in the Turkish mosque of Hagia Sophia
  • Vatican.The Pope, "very afflicted" by the conversion into a Hagia Sophia mosque
  • Hagia Sophia.Erdogan highlights the return as a mosque as the first step of an Islamic "renaissance" that must reach Al Andalus

Around the mosque there is no room for a kufi . Only in the vicinity and within the temple of Saint Sophia , which ceased to be a museum two weeks ago to comply with a judicial ruling favorable to the interests of the Turkish Government, is it possible to maintain social distance. On the streets of historic Istanbul, which lead to one of the wonders of the Middle Ages, the Police can scarcely bring order to the immense influx of Muslim worshipers trying to commune with God there for the first time in 85 years.

Some pious had been on guard duty since Thursday night to procure a position near the building , completed during the eastern Roman Empire of Justinian, converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of the city and deconsecrated in 1934 under the lay policies of Mustafa Kemal ' Atatürk '. Many dressed in Islamic clothing and with a small rug on which to kneel facing Mecca, thousands recited the Koran as they awaited the Turkish president .

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, one of the promoters of the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, has closely followed the work to adapt the building to Islamic worship. According to local media, it was he, personally, who chose the turquoise color of the carpet spread over much of the floor, except on the omfalion, the space where Byzantine emperors were crowned. He demanded, says the floor manufacturer, that the wool was made in Turkey.

This is the extent of the symbolism pursued by the Turkish leader and which, according to his critics, serves to cover the economic problems facing the country, aggravated by the consequences of the pandemic. Some of those critics had expressed concern about some work, such as those done to cover the Orthodox Christian iconography of the temple. Apparently, a system of white curtains, hanging on a mechanical hook, will allow the Madre de Dios to be covered from the apse during prayer hours.

Turkish authorities have insisted that, despite the changes, tourists will still be able to visit the temple . In addition, they emphasize, the entrance will be free from now on. Of course, external visitors will only be able to access it during the hours when there is no prayer, and they must comply with a series of modest dress guidelines . The measures will be similar to those applied at the nearby Blue Mosque, another of Istanbul's best-known works.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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Correspondent Erdogan's gaze digs up the debate on the Islamization of Hagia Sophia

VaticanThe Pope, "very afflicted" by the conversion into a Hagia Sophia mosque

TurkeyErdogan highlights the return of Hagia Sophia as a mosque as the first step in an Islamic "renaissance" that must reach Al Andalus

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