Istanbul, 21st August: Turkey now converts Istanbul’s historic Chora Church into a mosque after Hagia Sofia.
According to reports, Turkey has ordered the conversion of Istanbul’s Chora (Kariye) church, into a mosque and opened it to worship.
The church had served as a museum since 1945, Ahval reports citing a presidential decree published in the Official Gazette on Friday, August 21.
Friday Prayers at the Hagia Sofia Mosque after 86 years
The decree stated that the site has been transferred to the administration of the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) and will be opened for Muslim worship.
The move comes shortly after a similar decision to convert Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia into a mosque from a museum.
Located in Istanbul’s Fatih district, the Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora was constructed as part of a monastery complex in the fourth century during the Byzantine era.
Turkey’s Hagia Sophia to be converted into a Mosque
It was converted into a mosque around 50 years after the Ottoman conquest of the city in 1453 but was changed into a museum by a Council of Minister’s decree in 1945.
It may be recalled that in July, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also announced the opening of the Hagia Sophia to Muslim worship after the Council of State ruled that the building’s conversion to a museum by modern Turkey’s founding statesman was illegal.
Stay tuned to Baaghi TV for more news and updates!
