Istanbul, Turkey – The massive church had stood there in the Turkish capital for almost a millennium – and then the Turks decided to take it over and convert it into a mosque.
The despicable act of religious hatred is just another one in a series of attacks carried on by the Turks against other communities such as the massacre of the inhabitants of Constantinople.
“It happened almost overnight” claims local resident Amir Bozoglu “as if they had entered from some secret door in the city walls and did what they please”.
The mosque, formerly known as the Holy Sophie Orthodox Church, still sports Christian religious symbols such as Jesus and the Holy Mother. Prof. Alfred Manfred, a History of Religions researcher at the University of South Carolina, claims nevertheless that “it is just a matter of time before the images will be covered with plaster”.
Most interestingly, the Turks have decided to further vilify the religious appeal of the church converting it into a museum. “It is just a symbolic act aimed at presenting this monument as a relic of a long-gone past”, adds Prof. Manfred.
Tourist tours have already started touching the Holy Sophie museum. The Istanbul city plans to install a museum store at the entrance selling souvenirs of any kinds – most notably, a 3D interactive model where the church is converted into a mosque and finally into a museum.
