In continuation of its earlier interventions on the Byzantine monuments of Turkey and the way of their management and protection, the Association of Greek Archaeologists returns to the issue on the occasion of the official operation of the Monastery of Chora (Kariye Camii) as a Muslim mosque. Our Association had pointed out that the disconnection of the Byzantine monuments from the historical circle, where they belong, and their registration in the liturgical daily practice, devalues ​​the primary role they have, that of the bearer of memory, and shifts them to the opportunistic political situation and expediency that the monuments are called to serve. The fact that Byzantine monuments of Turkey are considered from a historical point of view exclusively and only starting from the time when they were converted into mosques, is nothing more than a distorted approach to the position they have in the cultural history of Turkey and the wider region.

The Association of Greek Archaeologists had sent a letter to UNESCO since 2022, calling on it to intervene for the protection of Hagia Sophia and the Monastery of Chora. The Association said at the time: “So, we are concerned with the news that work is currently being carried out on another leading Byzantine monument in Constantinople, the former Catholic Church of the Chora Monastery (Kariye Camii), so that it too can be reopened as a mosque. The concealment of the mosaics and frescoes of a specific monument, a prime example of Paleologian art, constitutes an act of historical distortion. its museum use and its transformation back into a mosque.”

While asking “UNESCO to intervene strongly in order to reverse the current situation which only poses risks for the world cultural heritage monument”. Unfortunately, UNESCO retained the role of mere observer. Today we expect an initiative to be taken for the proper management of the Byzantine monuments in the neighborhood, and especially for the two specific monuments, the historical and artistic value of which had emerged in recent decades based on archaeological science.