Istanbul, Turkey. Cypriot delegation head and vice-president of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, Nicos Tornaritis, called for Hagia Sophia to be returned to museum status during a meeting of the assembly’s cultural committee on Tuesday. He said the change was needed to safeguard the monument’s universal, historical and cultural value.
Hagia Sophia status
Tornaritis said Hagia Sophia, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, should be protected in a way that respects its special character, aesthetics and symbolic importance for humanity. He said it should also remain a space that supports intercultural dialogue and described it as a site for mutual respect and peaceful coexistence of peoples and cultures.
Committee discussion in Istanbul
The discussion took place during a committee session in Istanbul, where members examined cultural heritage issues and related policy questions. The agenda included the status of Hagia Sophia, which has remained a subject of international debate since its conversion from a museum into a mosque in 2020.
Earlier proposal
The issue was first introduced to the committee agenda in 2020 by Tornaritis and fellow Cypriot MP Kostis Efstathiou, following the decision by Turkish authorities to change the monument’s status.
Historical background
Hagia Sophia was constructed in the sixth century by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian and served as the main cathedral of Constantinople for nearly a thousand years. Following the Ottoman conquest of the city in 1453, it was converted into a mosque, four minarets were later built around the original structure and the interior’s ornate gold mosaics were plastered over.
In 1935, under Mustafa Kemal’s secular reforms, Hagia Sophia was designated as a museum and remained so until 2020.