Hagia Sophia Diaries 17

The Turkish government now requires all female visitors to Hagia Sophia to wear headscarves and to cover their legs. The government had given assurance that visitors could visit Hagia Sophia for free, but anyone who is not properly dressed must now pay to purchase coverings in order to enter Hagia Sophia. Throughout much of the Muslim world their continues to be praise for the Turkish government for its actions in converting Hagia Sophia.

The support of Palestinian groups for the conversion of Hagia Sophia and Turkey should be seen by Greeks as a signal that alliances are changing. Greece and Cyprus have been establishing better relations with Israel over the last decade or so, and this must continue. Greece must view any and all governments that support the conversion of Hagia Sophia in an unfriendly light.

The Greek Foreign Ministry should call diplomats from those countries to raise a formal protest over their public support for the conversion of Hagia Sophia. The Ministry of Culture should also begin putting pressure on UNESCO to take a more aggressive stance on the issue. UNESCO sent one letter of protest to the Turkish government and went silent again.

The further conversion of the the Church of the savior at Chora indicates that the conversion of Church-Museums in Turkey may not stop. The Greek world, the international media, and cultural institutions waited much too long to respond to these Turkish provocations. This is a process that began in 2013 with the conversion of the Church-Museum of Hagia Sophia in Trebizond.

As far as the international reaction is concerned, better late than never. However, the danger now is that the media and cultural organizations will simply accept what Turkey has done and will go back to sleep. There needs to be a continued reaction of protests and boycotts of Turkey at all levels.

Greece should also make it clear to any country that has praised the actions of the Erdogan government that this will lead to a deterioration of relations with that particular country. Hagia Sophia can never be considered a Mosque as its Christian origins are beyond dispute. The Erdogan government’s conversion of all Churches since 2013 constitute acts of aggression.

Those governments which supported these acts of provocation display an unfriendly attitude toward Greece. The Greek Foreign Ministry should convey this stance to the diplomats of those countries that are stationed in Athens.