The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey and the Office of Religious Affairs of the country (Diyanet) signed a Protocol under which Hagia Sophia in Istanbul will be protected as a world heritage site after changing its status, said the head of the Ministry of Culture Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.
The Supreme administrative court of Turkey on July 10 annulled the decision of 1934 to turn Hagia Sophia into a museum. Immediately after that, the President announced that he had signed a decree to turn the cathedral into the mosque and start Muslim services there. They will start on July 24.
"Let no one be afraid - just as Hagia Sophia was protected before,so it will continue to be protected. We are signing a Protocol stating that it will be protected as a world heritage site in accordance with international standards. Restoration work in the building will be accelerated. Foreign tourists will be able to visit Hagia Sofia for free, " Ersoy told reporters at the Protocol signing ceremony.
In turn, the head of Diyanet Ali Erbash said that the Turkish authorities expect to increase the number of visitors to Hagia Sofia.
"Hagia Sophia is a heritage that serves all of humanity, it is one of the best historical and cultural monuments, and it is our privilege to preserve it. I believe that the number of visitors to Sofia will increase, both for prayer and for visiting, will increase to millions, " he said.
The church of Saint Sophia was founded by the Christian Emperor Justinian and opened on December 27, 537. The cathedral was the largest church in the Christian world for about a thousand years. After the capture of Constantinople by the Ottomans and the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, the cathedral was converted into the mosque, but since 1934, the building became the museum by decree of the founder of the modern Turkish state Kemal Ataturk and was included in the UNESCO world heritage list.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from RIA Novosti