Hagia Sophia – आवारा मुसाफिर

Turkey reopens ancient church with prized mosaics to Muslim worship

May 12, 2024334 Views

Turkey has opened the ancient Chora church, one of Istanbul's most celebrated Byzantine buildings, to Muslim worshippers after it was used as a museum for more than 70 years, making it the second such major conversion under President Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan, a champion of pious Muslims in Turkey and head of a party with Islamist roots, turned Istanbul's world-renowned Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque in 2020 in a ceremony attended by tens of thousands of people. That move was criticised by church leaders and some Western countries, who said reconverting Hagia Sophia risked deepening religious rifts. Erdogan said this was interference in sovereign rights and that he was determined to protect Muslims' rights. FILE PHOTO: 3-year-old Esra waits with his father to attend an af...

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Europe’s iconic churches struggle to accommodate both worship and tourism

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

July 22, 2023695 Views

A recent Saturday evening Mass at Sagrada Familia parish had all the hallmarks of a neighborhood worship service, from prayers for ill and deceased members to name-day wishes for two congregants in the pews. But it also featured security checks to get in and curious tourists peering down to take photos of the worshippers from above. The regular Mass is held in the crypt of modernist architect Antoni Gaudí’s masterpiece church, one of Europe’s most visited monuments. With tourism reaching or surpassing pre-pandemic records in Barcelona and across southern Europe, iconic sacred sites are struggling to accommodate the faithful who come to pray and the millions of visitors who often pay to view the art and architecture. Worshippers attend a Mass in the Sagrada Familia basilica in Bar...

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After Hagia Sophia, Turkey’s historic Chora church also switched to mosque

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

August 21, 20201135 Views

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan reconverted the historic Chora church, one of Istanbul’s most celebrated Byzantine buildings, into a mosque on Friday, a month after opening the famed Hagia Sophia to Muslim worship. The mediaeval Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora, built near the ancient city walls of Constantinople, contains 14th century Byzantine mosaics and frescoes showing scenes from biblical stories. FILE PHOTO: Turkish police officers stand guard atop the Kariye (Chora) museum, the 11th century church of St. Savior, during a visit by Britain's Prince Charles and his wife Camilla in Istanbul, November 28, 2007. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas They were plastered over after the city was conquered by the Muslim Ottomans in 1453, but brought to light again when - like Hagia Sophia - th...

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हागिया सोफ़िया पर तुर्की सरकार ने कहा, कोई भी जा सकेगा

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

July 19, 20201419 Views

तुर्की सरकार ने हागिया सोफ़िया को फिर से मसजिद में तब्दील कर देने के फैसले की दुनियाभर में हुई आलोचना के बाद यह सफाई देने की कोशिश की है कि इससे सैलानियों को कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ेगा। तुर्की के संस्कृति मंत्रालय ने हागिया सोफ़िया का नियंत्रण आधिकारिक रूप से अब देश की सर्वोच्च धार्मिक सत्ता को सौंप दिया है। लेकिन साथ ही उसने यह आश्वासन भी देने की कोशिश की है कि सैलानी उसमें स्वतंत्र रूप से जा सकेंगे और उन्हें उसके लिए कोई भुगतान नहीं करना होगा। इस प्राचीन व ऐतिहासिक कैथेड्रल को मसजिद में परिवर्तित करने के लिए एक सहयोग समझौते पर देश के संस्कृति मंत्रालय और वहां के मज़हबी निदेशालय के बीच एक समझौते पर दस्तख़त किए गए हैं। तुर्की के संस्कृति मंत्री मेहमत नूरी एरसोय ने उन तमाम चिंताओं को तवज्जो देने की कोशिश की है कि इस फैसले से पर्यटन पर प्रतिकूल प्रभाव पड़ेगा। उन्होंने एक ट्विट में कहा कि “...