Giorgos Koumoutsakos urgently raised the issue of the conversion of the Monastery of Chora into a mosque and the violation of the character of a UNESCO monument which is of unparalleled cultural value and is a valuable part of the heritage of humanity.
According to information, the Greek Permanent Representative expressed the intense Greek concerns regarding the effects of this decision regarding the deterioration and alteration of the monument itself, as well as the intangible cultural heritage of which it has been a carrier for centuries.
He also pointed out that this decision directly contradicts the international rules for the protection of the cultural heritage of humanity. The deputy director-general of UNESCO committed diplomatically to the in-depth examination of the issue by UNESCO in accordance with the procedures provided by the Organization.
Yesterday, hundreds of Muslim pilgrims flocked to the Chora Monastery for the Friday noon prayer, the first since the monument was converted into a mosque.
The functioning of the pericallous Byzantine temple of Istanbul as a Muslim mosque was inaugurated by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, last Monday, in a special ceremony in which he was connected directly from the presidential palace via teleconference.
Few pilgrims fit into the limited space of the church’s catholicon, so many who came for prayer occupied the outer space around the monument. The inner space was already full half an hour before the prayer.
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