Istanbul

Turkey Removing Christian Relics from Hagia Sophia

Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Ministry says it is setting up “a new museum” to house the Hagia Sophia’s “portable icons and Holy relics” indicating that the former cathedral’s Christian relics and iconography will be removed from the site, the Greek City Times reported Friday.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - FEBRUARY 11: The interior of the Hagia Sophia Museum is seen on February 11, 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey. The Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya) Museum is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Turkey, with more than 3 million visitors per year. Constructed in 537 the museum originally …

Turkey Sentences Three to 1,000+ Years in Prison for Terrorism

An Istanbul court on Monday sentenced three Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists to over 1,000 years in prison each for allegedly perpetrating a 2016 terror attack that killed 12 people, including six police officers, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) reported on Tuesday.

President of Turkey and leader of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures as he delivers a speech during his party's parliamentary group meeting at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) in Ankara, on October 30, 2019. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by …

Turkish Police Disperse Gay Pride March with Tear Gas

Gay rights activists pushed ahead with a pride rally in Istanbul, Turkey, on Sunday despite a ban from the governor’s office that has been in place for five years. Istanbul police allowed the demonstrators to gather and listen to a statement from the organizers before firing tear gas into the crowd.

People run to avoid the effects of tear ga , fired by police to disperse activists on a street in central Istanbul, after a Pride march event was banned by authorities, in Istanbul, Sunday, June 30, 2019. Activists gathered in Istanbul to promote rights for gay and transgender people Sunday …