Official announcements from the Turkish government or credible news sources

Turkey Converts Historic Byzantine Church into Mosque Amid Criticism

May 7, 2024, 04:20 AM

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has officially converted the eleventh-century Church of the Holy Redeemer (Chora or Kariye) in Istanbul, originally a Byzantine church, into a mosque. This event marks another instance of Turkey transforming historic Christian sites into Islamic places of worship, a move that has been met with criticism from Greece and other international observers. The conversion took place four years after the Turkish government designated the site as a Muslim house of prayer.