France latest side to condemn talks of converting Hagia Sophia back into a mosque
France's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that the sixth-century Hagia Sophia museum originally built as a Christian cathedral in Istanbul must remain open to all.
A Turkish court on Thursday heard a petition seeking to convert the Hagia Sophia, one of Turkey's most visited and beloved tourist sites, back into a mosque.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
"A symbol of tolerance and diversity, this place must remain open to all," a French Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
France's appeal comes after the spiritual head of the world’s Orthodox Christians warned that converting Istanbul’s sixth century Hagia Sophia back into a mosque would sow division.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also urged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan not to convert the Hagia Sophia into a mosque.
The Hagia Sophia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was at the core of both the Christian Byzantine and Muslim Ottoman
empires, and is today one of Turkey's most visited monuments.
Read more:
Erdogan says Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia could be turned into mosque
Also Read
-
Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia sees first Quran reading in 85 years
The Hagia Sophia was turned into a museum accessible to all by the secular founders of modern Turkey in the 1930s Art and culture -
Turning Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia into mosque would be divisive: Orthodox Patriarch
Converting Istanbul’s sixth century Hagia Sophia back into a mosque would sow division, the spiritual head of the world’s Orthodox Christians warned ... Middle East
