Erdogan rejects global outcry over Hagia Sophia move


Supporters of Erdogan pray yesterday as they celebrate court decision that the 1,500 year old Unesco World Heritage site of Hagia Sophia can be converted into a mosque. – EPA pic, July 11, 2020.

PRESIDENT Recep Tayyip Erdogan today rejected worldwide condemnation over Turkey’s decision to convert the Byzantine-era monument Hagia Sophia back into a mosque, saying it represented his country’s will to use its “sovereign rights”.

Erdogan, who is accused by critics of chipping away at the Muslim-majority country’s secular pillars, announced yesterday that Muslim prayers will begin on July 24 at the Unesco World Heritage site.


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