Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered another historical Orthodox Chora church, which was now a famous Istanbul museum called Kariye Museum, to be turned back into a mosque, on Friday, 21st August. The decision came a month after the controversial conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque- recognized as a Unesco World Heritage Site, reports Dawn News.
The changes of these historical sites into mosques reflect Erdogan’s efforts to impel his nationalist supporters in a time when Turkey is undergoing inflation and tough economic times due to the coronavirus. However, this has added to the tension between Turkey, Greece and its Church.
The decision was called as “yet another provocation against religious persons everywhere by the Turkish government”, by the Greek foreign ministry.