Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan officially opened the former Byzantine church, The Church of St. Saviour in Chora, as a mosque in Istanbul on Monday. This conversion comes four years after the Turkish government designated it as a Muslim house of prayer, despite criticism from neighboring Greece.
The Church of St. Saviour in Chora, also known as Kariye in Turkish, was converted into a mosque in 2020, following a similar conversion of Istanbul's Hagia Sophia. Both structures are UNESCO World Heritage Sites and have historical significance dating back to the Byzantine era.
Like Hagia Sophia, which served as a church and then a mosque for centuries, The Church of St. Saviour in Chora had been operating as a museum for decades before its conversion into a mosque. The formal opening of the Chora mosque was delayed due to restoration work on the structure.
President Erdogan presided over the ceremony remotely from a conference hall in Ankara, expressing hopes for the mosque to bring good fortune. The event was attended by worshippers who were eager to pray in the newly converted mosque, including Musa Tombul and Haydar Senbahar.
The Church of St. Saviour in Chora is renowned for its intricate mosaics and frescoes and dates back to the fourth century, with its current form dating to the 11th-12th centuries. The structure had previously served as a mosque during Ottoman rule before being converted into a museum in 1945.
Greece has criticized Turkey's decision to convert these historical sites back into mosques, accusing Ankara of disrespecting the character of the World Heritage Sites. The conversions of Hagia Sophia and The Church of St. Saviour in Chora are viewed as efforts by Erdogan's ruling party to consolidate conservative and religious support amid economic challenges.
In 2020, Erdogan participated in the first Muslim prayers at Hagia Sophia in 86 years, disregarding international criticism. The conversions have sparked debate and drawn attention to the preservation of cultural heritage in the region.
