Turkeys most iconic historical landmark ‘Hagia Sophia’ opened for prayers after a gap of 90 years.The historical landmark was reconverted to a mosque last week in a Presidential decree.The conversion of the historic site has infuriated neighboring Greece.
Turkey and Greece-both NATO allies are going through a bitter relation over the possession of Oil rich Mediteranean sea and now over Hagia Sophia.
Hagia Sophia was previously a museum and most Greeks view it as central to their Orthodox Christian religion.Istanbul was the seat of Roman empire before the Arab conquest. Church bells rang in mourning across Greece on Friday.Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday said what was happening in Istanbul was “not a show of force, but proof of weakness”.
The Turkish foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement on Sturday, “Greece showed once again its enmity towards Islam and Turkey with the excuse of reacting to Hagia Sophia Mosque being opened to prayers.”Turkey also condemned the burning of Turkish flag in Greece protests.
Turkish President Erdogan joined the Friday mass along with thousands of devotees since Hagia Sophia was reconverted into a mosque last week.”We see that the targets of those countries who have made so much noise in recent days are not Hagia Sophia or the eastern Mediterranean,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised speech on Saturday. “[Their targets] are the presence itself of the Turkish nation and Muslims in this region.”
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