Topic: Hagia Sophia

By Taner Akçam WORCESTER, Mass. – During the recent return of the Hagia Sophia/Hagia Sophia Museum to the status of a mosque, three moments stuck out as highly symbolic: the sight of a group of persons running to the mosque shouting[...]

By Philip Chrysopoulos BOSTON (Greek Reporter) — The mosaics of Hagia Sophia are world-renowned priceless artifacts not only of Greek Orthodoxy but also of Byzantine Civilization and Hellenism. What is lesser known is that the[...]

By Mustafa Akyol The recent decision by the Turkish government to reconvert the majestic Hagia Sophia, which was once the world’s greatest cathedral, from a museum back to a mosque has been bad news for Christians around the world. They[...]

BERLIN — On July 12, two human rights organizations based in Berlin issued a joint declaration on the decision taken a day earlier to alter the status of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Both organizations have been in the forefront of[...]

By Carlotta Gall ISTANBUL (New York Times, AP) — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a decree on Friday, July 10, ordering Hagia Sophia to be opened for Muslim prayers, an action likely to provoke international furor around a World[...]

By Prof. Taner Akçam Basically, the whole Hagia Sophia affair can be summed up with the phrases “improper” or “a shame.” But I think that the audience whom I am addressing do not possesses the cultural delicacy to find these words[...]