The Greek Orthodox Church of the United States petitioned the United Nations on Tuesday to force Turkey into protecting Orthodox Christianity’s cultural heritage following the Turkish government’s unilateral decision to convert Istanbul’s landmark former cathedral Hagia Sophia into a mosque.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has ordered that a second ancient Christian church be turned into a fully functioning mosque, just one month after a similar decision to convert Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia for Muslim worship.
Over 30 suspected Russian mercenaries detained in Belarus last week were passing through the country en route to Latin America, a Russian diplomat said on Monday.
Thousands of Muslim faithful gathered outside the historic Hagia Sophia site in Istanbul on Friday ready for the first prayers since Turkish authorities ruled the building’s rich Christian heritage could be overturned and the building reconverted into a mosque.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has invited Pope Francis to visit Hagia Sophia, which will revert to being a full-time mosque on July 24.
A majority of Greeks have expressed dissatisfaction with the international response to the Turkish regime announcing it would be converting the Hagia Sophia into a mosque.
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.
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.
Pope Francis on Sunday expressed his dismay at Turkey’s decision to make Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia museum a mosque, joining a growing list of religious and political leaders to condemn the move.
The ancient cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul – the former seat of eastern Christianity – could now be dedicated to use as a mosque after Turkey’s high court on Friday ruled its conversion into a museum in 1934 was unlawful.
Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas has come out against the proposal from Turkey to convert Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia back into a mosque, saying such a move would strain relations between Christians and Turkey.
ISTANBUL — In its more than 1,400-year existence, the majestic domed structure of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul has served as the Byzantine Empire’s main cathedral, a mosque under the Ottoman Empire and a museum under modern Turkey, attracting millions of tourists each year.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is once again exploring ways to convert the Hagia Sophia Museum in Istanbul into a mosque, Kurdish news agency Rudaw reported on Tuesday.
Istanbul — Turkish people aged 65 and over on Sunday described their joy after the government allowed them to go outside for the first time in nearly two months in an easing of the coronavirus restrictions.
Istanbul — At the entrance of an Istanbul mosque, the racks usually reserved for the shoes of the faithful are loaded with pasta packages, oil bottles, biscuits — like a supermarket.
ISTANBUL — Turkey introduced a lockdown over the weekend that took many by surprise, since the country had previously adopted a more relaxed approach to fighting the coronavirus than its neighbors in Europe and the Mideast.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is under increasing pressure to impose a full lockdown as coronavirus cases mount in his country.
Istanbul — Turkey stepped up controls Saturday on crowded public spaces including markets and ferries in Istanbul, a day after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan imposed the use of face masks to curb the coronavirus outbreak.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced he will be hosting a migration summit with French and German, but not Greek leaders
A Saudi court sentenced five people to death on Monday for the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018.
ISTANBUL — A former British army officer who helped found the White Helmets volunteer organization in Syria was found dead in Istanbul early Monday, Turkish officials and the group said. The cause of death was under investigation.
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.
Istanbul Mayor-elect Ekrem Imamoglu called his election Sunday – in a special election called to overturn his initial victory in May – a victory for Turkey and democracy generally after winning by a wider margin than during the first election.
ISTANBUL— Turkey’s opposition supporters partied long into the night after their candidate for Istanbul mayor beat a rival backed by long-time President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan celebrated his government on Tuesday forcing Istanbul to host a do-over of the March 31 mayoral election after secularist opposition candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu won the race against Erdogan’s former foreign minister.
Turkey’s top election authority voided the Istanbul mayoral election won by an opposition candidate and ordered a do-over, ruling Monday in favor of a request by the president’s party to throw out the vote it narrowly lost.
ISTANBUL, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP on Tuesday appealed against results in Istanbul and Ankara following a weekend election after tallies showed the ruling party lost both key cities.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed converting the fabled Hagia Sophia into a mosque on Sunday. The Greek government responded with anger on Monday, pointing out that the Hagia Sophia was the seat of Greek Orthodox Christianity for centuries and has been designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations.
Turkey’s Islamist president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been inflaming his supporters by showing footage of the suspected far-right terror attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, at political rallies — a move which potentially “imperils the future and safety of the New Zealand people and our people abroad”, according to the Pacific country’s foreign minister.
TEL AVIV – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “twist the ear” of his son Yair to punish him for calling Istanbul by its former name of Constantinople. “You should twist the
