If Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia gets turned into a … Boston-born Thomas Whittemore, a friend of Turkish reformer Atatürk, uncovered the gems that had been hidden for 500 years. It was classified as a museum in 1934 after a declaration from Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first Turkish president and founder of the Republic of Turkey. Despite the repairs, one assumes that the city saw the survival of the church, amid city rubble, as yet another indication of divine guardianship of the church. For almost a millennium after its construction, it was the largest cathedral in all of Christendom. The building was severely damaged by three quakes during its early history. Hagia Sophia , officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (Turkish: Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi) and formerly the Church of Hagia Sophia, is a Late Antique place of worship in Istanbul. The enduring legacy of Atatürk, the architect of the modern secular Republic of Turkey, has so far proven unbeatable. The most recent of the reformist achievements in Islamic awakening is the ultimate restoration of the glory of Hagia Sophia. By 2015, Erdogan’s increasing consolidation of power emboldened one of his lawmakers to declare the end of a “90-year commercial break with the 600-year [Ottoman] empire.” This was a reference to Turkey’s republican era as an interval in the Ottoman caliphate that Erdogan would presumably restore. So much so that Erdogan, who once insulted Atatürk as a “drunk,” has since then felt the need to pay respects, albeit tactically. No part of this site may be reproduced without our written permission. It will always be a Church. The Directorate of Religious Affairs, an institution devised to keep religion under government control, evolved into a sectarian instrument for not only disciplining the Sunni majority but also for dominating minorities. I want emails from Lonely Planet with travel and product information, promotions, advertisements, third-party offers, and surveys. With more than 300 suggestions for destinations across Europe and the best time of year to experience them, this book is the ultimate trip planner for every month of the year. Although the principles of equal citizenship and secularism were enshrined in the constitution, ethnic and religious exclusion continued to haunt minorities. Photo: EPA-EFE/ERDEM SAHIN. Photo: EPA-EFE/ERDEM SAHIN. With the sacralizing of the Hagia Sophia, which had been secularized by Ataturk in 1934, the president can drop the pretense. © 2020 Lonely Planet. View this post on Instagram On the one hand, Erdogan has overseen an ambitious social engineering project, using all instruments of the state, namely the 140,000-strong Directorate of Religious Affairs, compulsory religious education in schools, and sectarian indoctrination in state-run media, to mould what he has described as a “pious generation.”. Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II had converted what was then the world’s greatest church into a mosque after his conquest of Constantinople in 1453, as a symbol of Muslim domination of his empire. However, the same tradition of the ballot box has since become an obstacle to his ambitions to redesign Turkey in accordance with his Islamist ambitions. @aykan_erdemir. It is ironic that in a country of 84 million citizens, the biggest obstacle to Erdogan’s Islamist ambitions continues to come from a man who died in 1938. Although, from left to the right, many Turkish politicians have attempted to legitimize their positions by tracing them to the dictates of a so-called golden age, the true legacy of Atatürk has been to empower the subjects of an oppressive empire so that they can dare to challenge and hold accountable their rulers as equal citizens. The sixth century Hagia Sophia and 11th century Chora (Kariye) Byzantine structures are revered in Christianity, with a large number of Orthodox Christians regarding them as holy sites. We likely pride ourselves on the ability of modern engineering to compensate for daring 6th Century building technique. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held the first Muslim prayers since 1934 in Istanbul’s sixth-century former Byzantine church, Hagia Sophia, on July 24, marking the building’s re-conversion into a mosque. The two ancient Christian basilicas of Hagia Sophia and Chora were turned into museums in the first half of the 20th century under the republic founded by Atatürk. This was also evident in the fact that many who despise Erdogan’s Islamist designs for Turkey and the Middle East failed to articulate what was wrong from legal, political, and moral perspectives with his conversion of the Hagia Sophia into a mosque. The only thing Turkey’s mad drive to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque has done, is provide the legitimacy for Greece to turn Atatürk’s birthplace into a Genocide Museum without any condemnation from Turkey. For all its shortcomings, the republican modernization project set into motion colossal transformations that opened Turkey up to new ideas and practices, laying the groundwork for a robust multiparty democracy. "I am sorry to lose Gli," tweeted Istanbul governor, Ali Yerlikaya in a Turkish-language post. ... Hagia Sophia's waqf, endowed by Sultan Mehmed, had designated the site a mosque; proponents of the decision argued the Hagia Sophia was the personal property of the sultan. A post shared by Ayasofya Kedisi Gli (@hagiasophiacat), A post shared by Ayasofya Kedisi Gli (@hagiasophiacat), The green-eyed Gli captured imaginations worldwide after the then US president, Barack Obama, stroked her during a visit to the structure in 2009. Extensive repair and restoration are ongoing in the modern period. Hagia Sophia’s future made news most recently as a result of the Christchurch attacks, the perpetrator of which referred to its status as a mosque. It was classified as a museum in 1934 after a declaration from Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first Turkish president and founder of the Republic of Turkey.Â, Istanbul's iconic Hagia Sophia converted from a museum to a mosque. He warned shortly before his death: “I am leaving no sermon, no dogma, nor am I leaving as my legacy any commandment that is frozen in time or cast in stone.”. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the secular founder of the Turkish Republic, turned the Hagia Sophia into a museum in 1934 in a symbolic break with the … Copyright BIRN 2007 | Terms of use | Privacy Policy | Powered by WordPress / WPML, Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, 2020. For over four decades, first as a youth wing member of an Islamist party in the 1970s, then as the mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998, then as prime minister between 2003 and 2014, and finally as president since then, Erdogan has pursued his dream of dismantling Atatürk’s secular republican legacy. Subscribe to our mailing list and get interesting stuff and updates to your email inbox. The building, therefore, came to embody some population fractions’ reactions to Atatürk … Erdogan’s rise to power, despite all the challenges Turkey’s hardline secularist generals and judges hurled his way, owes much to the legacy of the parliamentary democracy that secular republican reforms set into motion. The transformation of Hagia Sophia into a museum in 1934 was one of the cornerstones of Atatürk’s cognitive revolution. Hagia Sophia means “Divine Wisdom” in Greek, this was an Orthodox church dedicated to holly wisdom, not to a Saint Sophia as some people wrongly call it today. As recently as March 2019, Turkey’s Islamist leader publicly opposed demands from his supporters to alter the status of this World Heritage Site, which Turkey’s founding father, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, had transformed into a museum in 1934. Some Turkish Muslims, like President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, believe that Atatürk’s actions vis-à-vis the Hagia Sophia constituted a disenfranchisement of the religious rights of Turkey’s Muslim majority, and Atatürk’s secular agenda was nothing other than Western colonialism designed to deprive Turkey of its authentic Muslim heritage. More importantly, it reflects his ongoing struggle with Atatürk’s legacy, which exerts surprising influence despite Erdogan’s consolidation of power, and continues to inspire calls for a more secular and pluralistic democracy. To the president’s disappointment, however, under his rule, the young have grown less religious and more anti-government, inflicting an embarrassing defeat on him in the 2019 municipal elections. Hagia Sophia and Turkish constitutional tradition . It is now impossible to bring back those historical values. Hagia Sophia was originally built as a cathedral in 537 CE by Roman emperor, Justinian I. Considered a jewel of Byzantine architecture, the Unesco World Heritage site was the cat's home for 16 years, and visitors loved seeing her there and capturing photos with her. It was a very shrewd move as the world looked on in awe at this magnificent new museum and the thought of a secular Turkey. Third, his description of the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque after 86 years as the second conquest of Istanbul was attention-grabbing. Join our list. Although a spokesperson for the ruling Justice and Development Party, AKP, was quick to deny plans to change the regime’s “democratic and secular” qualities, many saw this as one of the next steps Erdogan is poised to take, when he feels the time is right – just like his patient strategy to convert Hagia Sophia, more than 17 years into his rule. Despite the dismal state of the Turkish economy and the waning popularity of the government, it is difficult to predict how the ongoing clash between Turkey’s pro- and anti-secular blocs will end. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of BIRN. Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II had converted what was then the world’s greatest church into a mosque after his conquest of Constantinople in 1453, as a … The transformation of Hagia Sophia into a museum in 1934 was one of the cornerstones of Atatürk’s cognitive revolution. Erdogan has gone so far as to tear down dozens of public structures around the country, from stadiums to airports, that monumentalized Atatürk’s name. His U-turn on Hagia Sophia results in part from his need for a political stunt to boost his party’s waning popularity. "Hagia Sophia's cat Gli, who has been treated in a private veterinary clinic in Levent since September 24, unfortunately, passed away due to old age. Hagia Sophia or Ayasofya, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, that was a Byzantine cathedral before being converted into a mosque which is currently a museum, is seen in Istanbul, Turkey, June 28, 2020. Despite holding its first free and fair democratic elections only in 1950 and being repeatedly haunted by coups carried out by a tutelary military that felt entitled to hold the reins, Turkey’s citizens have time and again found ways to reimpose their democratic will and take back their country. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, had turned the Hagia Sophia into a museum that respected all traces of faith in the building while keeping it secular in 1934. Aykan Erdemir is a former member of the Turkish parliament and senior director of the Turkey Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Hagia Sophia sits astride an earthquake fault. Atatürk”—three days too soon, to Halaçoğlu’s mind. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1928. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was both threatened by name in the manifesto and also … A skewed understanding of secularism ended up guaranteeing neither freedom for nor from religion to the full extent. After the monument reverted back into a mosque this year, authorities confirmed that it would remain her home although it is now used as an active worship space. Atatürk himself was keenly aware that he could not offer a golden age for future republicans to emulate. Gli had 130k followers on Instagram, where her activities were documented by her loyal minders. The Hagia Sophia is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site in Istanbul. Hundreds of California mountain lions have suffered during the wildfires this year, This live-cam wild cat footage takes adorable animal content to the next level, Florida's 7 best natural springs for year-round adventure, Everything you need to consider before becoming a digital nomad, Airline launches quarantine-free travel to Amsterdam from the US. Turkey's highest administrative court, the Council of State, reached a unanimous verdict declaring that president Kemal Atatürk's cabinet had no right to turn Hagia Sophia into a … On the other hand, he has worked meticulously to erase Atatürk’s legacy, whether it is secular reforms or institutions. Although Erdogan has failed to erase Atatürk’s legacy, that legacy alone has not sufficed to articulate and build an inclusive and pluralist alternative in which all citizens, regardless of their ethnicity, faith, class, gender and sexual orientation, feel at home. This is one legacy that will prove to be the most resilient to Erdogan’s sectarian project – and has the potential to reverse his supremacist policies in future. Hagia Sophia was originally built as a cathedral in 537 CE by Roman emperor, Justinian I. Moreover, Atatürk’s decision mostly erased the Ottomans’ six-century-long artistic legacy in Hagia Sophia’s inner design. Both Atatürk’s and Erdoğan’s Hagia Sophia decisions were products of one-man rule. In designating it a museum, Atatürk said the Hagia Sophia was for “all nations and religions.” Priceless mosaics covered in plaster to comply with Islamic tenets were revealed, and more than 3 million tourists now visit the site each year to marvel at … It was also a gesture of peace and goodwill not only toward neighbouring Greece but also to other Christian nations that the Ottomans had fought for centuries. Erdoğan says that Turkey’s sovereign right to turn the Greek-built Hagia Sophia into a mosque is being interfered with. As the city expanded, so did the church. Further complicating matters, the decree’s issue number was 1589, while another decree issued two days earlier was numbered 1606. Known as Ayasofya in Turkish language, it is a domed monument built as the cathedral church of Constantinople between 532 and 537 on the orders of the Roman Emperor, Justinian I. In 1453, after the Fall of … Turkish people call it Aya Sofya, it’s a former Byzantine church and former Ottoman mosque, now located in Sultanahmet neighborhood being one of the most important museums […] Hagia Sophia was the premier cathedral of the Roman Empire and later the center of Orthodox Christianity. Modern Turkey sits at a crossroads between Asia … Hagia Sophia (Greek), Sancta Sophia (Latin), Ayasofya (Turkish)—the Church of the Divine Wisdom —is among the most important buildings in the history of architecture.. Shortly after Hagia Sophia’s conversion into a mosque, an Islamist weekly owned by a pro-government media group called for the reinstatement of the caliphate abolished in 1924 by none other than Atatürk – reinforcing the pro-secular opposition’s accusations about Erdogan’s hidden agenda. Get inspired to travel everyday by signing up to our daily. Atatürk’s project of building a secular nation state from the ashes of a multi-ethnic and multi-religious empire was far from perfect. A top Turkish court will soon rule on a petition to cancel a 1934 decision by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of Turkey’s secular republic, that converted the Hagia Sophia — known as Ayasofya in Turkish — from a mosque to a museum. I n 1931, in the leadership of Thomas Whittemore, the Byzantine Institute took the responsibility of recovering the mosaics of the Hagia Sophia after getting touch with the founder of the Turkish Republic-Atatürk who also turned Hagia Sophia to a museum.. The more the President’s desire to set the country on a new course meets the electorate’s pushback, the more daring some of his die-hard supporters have become. In 537 Byzantine emperor Justinian, whose rule stretched from Spain to the Middle East, dedicated a reconstructed Hagia Sophia. I can unsubscribe any time using the unsubscribe link at the end of all emails. Both ages h… This architectural marvel was an expression of opulence, power and piety. Erdogan’s Target in Hagia Sophia Stunt was Ataturk’s Legacy. The ongoing battle between Turkey’s two longest-serving presidents, separated by more than seven decades, will impact not only on the prospects for secular democracy in Turkey but also in other majority Muslim polities. The re-designation of this iconic building as a mosque was not just a sop to the Turkish President’s Islamist fans – but another blow at the memory of the statesman whose legacy haunts and frustrates him. Ali Erbas, head of Turkey's religious-affairs directorate, visits Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, July 22. Hagia Sophia is a mosque again, and Atatürk’s secular experiment is over. The modernizing reforms undertaken by President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in the 1920s and 1930s further established secularism in Turkey. In 1935, Hagia Sophia reopened as a museum. For Erdoğan and the main current of his political affiliation, ''Milli Görüş'' (National View), Hagia Sophia has always been one of the major symbols in their struggle to abolish Atatürk's heritage, which they often express as a "parenthesis in Turkish history", an era that must be brought to a close. However, the cat sadly became ill in September and was moved to a veterinary clinic for treatment, but subsequently sadly passed away from old age. With support from Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss of Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C., Whittemore obtained permission from the Turkish government to uncover and restore the medieval mosaics of Hagia Sophia. Hagia Sophia in Istanbul was a Christian cathedral that became a Muslim mosque that became a museum. Her passing has inspired an outpouring of love from fans, including senior Turkish figures. We will never forget you, Gli. Although voters have frequently looked the other way when elected leaders trampled on fundamental rights and freedoms, particularly of the opposition and of minorities, they have continued to cherish the ballot box as the sole source of legitimacy. Erdoğan has always been sensitive about not criticizing Atatürk, the country’s national hero and savior, and this time he did it in an indirect way. Photo: Wikipedia commons/Presidency of the Republic of Turkey. In 1932, the arduous works began on restoration of the mosaics. Built in 537 as the patriarchal cathedral of the imperial capital of Constantinople, it was the largest Christian church of the eastern Roman Empire (the Byzantine Empire) and the Eastern Orthodox Church, except during the Latin Empire from 1204 to 1261, when it became the city's Roman Catholic cathedral. Converting the Hagia Sophia Mosque, earlier a church, into a museum in 1935 was Kemal Atatürk’s way of resolving a centuries-old tussle between the two Semitic faiths. It served as a center of religious, political, and artistic life for the Byzantine world and has provided us with many useful scholarly insights into the period. His U-turn on Hagia Sophia results in part from his need for a political stunt to boost his party’s waning popularity. A woman holds a Turkish flag with the picture of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as she waits to enter the Hagia Sophia Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, 2020. In 1934, Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal 's government Atatürk decreed that Hagia Sofia, an architecturally and symbolically significant Byzantine basilica converted into a mosque following the Ottoman conquest The restrictions on events commemorating the day the Lausanne Treaty was signed came as Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia opened for Muslim prayers. Extensive repairs were required. Atatürk’s secular legacy has proven more resilient than the Islamists expected. By reversing this highly symbolic act and by turning Hagia Sophia into a museum for all citizens to cherish, regardless of their faith, Atatürk challenged the sectarian hierarchies of the Ottoman era. Hagia Sophia’s transformation into a museum in the 1930s was in large part due to an American socialite and fundraiser, Thomas Whittemore. ", Istanbul's iconic Hagia Sophia converted from a museum to a mosqueHundreds of California mountain lions have suffered during the wildfires this yearThis live-cam wild cat footage takes adorable animal content to the next level. Neither was discussed in the public sphere, or even in parliament. But the motion that desanctified Hagia Sophia was passed on November 24, and it was signed “K. All rights reserved. Atatürk understood the symbolism of Hagia Sophia and in doing so he converted Hagia Sophia from a mosque to a museum.