ANGELOS TZORTZINIS / AFP
The first Muslim worshipers prayed inside the Byzantine church of Saint-Sauveur-in-Chora on Monday.
Two days before his official visit to Ankara, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis indicated on Saturday that he would ask Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to“reverse the decision” of the reconversion into a mosque of the former Orthodox church of Saint-Sauveur-in-Chora in Istanbul.
The decision to reconvert this emblematic church was taken in 2020 by Ankara “but the fact that its implementation coincides with my visit will certainly allow me to raise this issue and see if there is a possibility of reversing this decision”indicated Kyriakos Mitsotakis during an interview with Greek public television AlphaTv.
A “provocation” from Turkey
Last Monday, the first Muslim worshipers prayed inside the Byzantine church of St. Savior in Chora, which reopened as a mosque after four years of restoration.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who celebrated its reopening from Ankara, ordered its reconversion in August 2020, a month after the reopening to Muslim worship of the ancient historic basilica of Hagia Sophia.
The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced on Monday a “provocation” on the part of Ankara, considering that the reconversion of Saint-Sauveur-in-Chora “alters its character and harms this UNESCO World Heritage monument belonging to humanity”.
BULENT KILIC / AFP
In addition to its millennial history rivaling that of Hagia Sophia, the Chora church is best known for its magnificent mosaics and frescoes dating from the 14th century, including a monumental composition of the Last Judgment. The announcement in 2020 of its conversion into a mosque had raised fears regarding the fate of the building’s mosaics and frescoes, Islam prohibiting figurative representations.
Monument listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
The reconversion of Hagia Sophia and the ancient church of Chora into mosques, two monuments listed as UNESCO world heritage sites, is interpreted by observers as an attempt to galvanize President Erdogan’s conservative and nationalist electoral base, in a context of economic difficulties then aggravated by the Covid pandemic.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed on Saturday that the reopening of this church was “a completely unnecessary action” And “to a certain extent provocative” not only with regard to Greek-Turkish relations but also world heritage and “respect for its timeless character”.
The meeting on Monday in Ankara between the Greek and Turkish leaders comes five months after the Turkish president’s visit to Athens and is part of an attempt to overcome the mainly territorial disputes which historically oppose the two neighboring countries in the Eastern Mediterranean.