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

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.

Erdogan`s edict on Friday did not say when the first Muslim prayers would be held at Chora, or what arrangements would be made for the Christian artworks there.

"Today's decision of the Turkish authorities to turn Chora church into a mosque is another challenge that harms religious people around the world and the international community, which respects the monuments of human civilization," the ministry was quoted as saying in a statement.

The pro-government Daily Sabah newspaper reported that Turkey’s religious authorities plan to cover the renowned Byzantine-era frescoes and mosaics during prayers. A similar approach was taken with the Hagia Sophia, the UNESCO World Heritage site converted to a mosque last month. 

Greece has slammed Turkey's move to convert the Chora museum, the 1,000-year-old former Byzantine Greek Orthodox church, into a mosque, saying it was "totally condemnable".

Dating back to the sixth-century Byzantine Empire, the beautiful structure of the building remains intact.

The interior of the building is covered with some of the oldest and finest surviving Byzantine mosaics and frescoes. They were uncovered and restored after the building was turned into a museum.

Ottoman Empire historian Zeynep Turkyilmaz called the conversion "destruction" because the building's walls are lined with Christian art that would have to be either covered up or plastered over -- as it was by the Ottomans.

"It is impossible to hide the frescoes and mosaics because they decorate the entire building," the historian told AFP.

Yet some locals fully supported the change.

"There are dozens, hundreds of churches, synagogues in Istanbul and only a few of them have been opened to prayer as mosques," said Yucel Sahin as he strolled by the building after the morning rain.