In April, Recep Tayyip Erdogantalking about her transformation Hagia Sophia at the mosque in 2020, he spoke of restoring it “in its original form, according to the legacy of Muhammad the Conqueror.” Referring to the same event the day before the May 14 elections, he stated that “the whole West has gone crazy, but I did it!”, and in a recent interview on Turkish television, he said, again referring to the West: that we have liberated Hagia Sophia.”

Even the style of the so-called current president of Turkey (who declared that his victory in the second round of elections on May 28 will be celebrated along with the fall of Istanbul) distinguishes the instrumentalization of the monument, but some questions about the situation with Hagia Sophia are also raised from the point of view of the management of world cultural heritage.

“It is clear that Erdogan is using the political advantage of turning the Hagia Sophia into a mosque,” says “K” Professor of Byzantine Archeology at AUTH Natalia Poulos. “UNESCO did respond,” he continues, “but not as strongly as it should have, and not in the way that a World Heritage site like Hagia Sophia would deserve.”

Ms. Poulos even cites the damage done to the monument by the uncontrolled entry of thousands of worshipers every day. “The marble floor of Hagia Sophia is covered with a huge carpet, so we don’t see the monument in its entirety,” he says and adds: Mary in the arch, and adhesive tapes were pasted on the Byzantine marble of the narthex floor, informing the public that the main temple is now mosque – it is forbidden to enter with shoes. Since the carpet covering the temple also needs to be cleaned with heavy special brooms, they are carried over the damaged marbles of the vestibule.

The archaeologist characterizes the whole situation as “unacceptable” and believes that Erdogan is using the monument as a “political weapon” for his re-election. The scientific community, he continues, reacted back in 2020, and she herself, as president of the European Center for Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Monuments, then convened a board of directors. center. “We issued a resolution,” he concludes, “which was published in Greek and English along with the corresponding resolutions of many other scientific bodies. We are reacting, but, unfortunately, there is no answer.”