The function as a mosque of the Monastery of Chora, the pericallous Byzantine temple of Constantinople, was inaugurated by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a special ceremony in which he was connected directly from the presidential palace via teleconference.

It is the monument with the most elaborate Byzantine mosaics preserved in Constantinople, together with Hagia Sophia and the Monastery of Pammakaristos, which also functions as a mosque.

“Over the past 21 years, we have restored 5,500 ancestral monuments in our country and across the geography of our hearts” said the Turkish president in his introductory speech at the ceremony, which was about the completion of the restoration and maintenance projects of 201 historical monuments by the General Directorate of Endowments (Public Beneficial Institutions) across Turkey and in Pristina, Kosovo.

Watch video from the opening:

“I see this important ceremony today as another sign of the sensitivity we show in terms of heritage protection,” continued Tayyip Erdoğan, while it was the turn of the Hora Monastery to give the floor to the Provincial Mufti of Istanbul, Safi Arpagius, who stated: “Mr. President, after 79 years, it is being restored and reopened for the faithful by the General Directorate of Foundations. “Karige” was turned into a museum 79-80 years after the mosque of Agia Sophia. It was a place that was used as a mosque before. This mosque, which became a museum after 1947, was renovated and repaired with the efforts and support of our foundations, and today, with God’s help, it will be dedicated again for prayer and welcome the faithful in Istanbul.”

At this point the Turkish president gave the order to cut the inauguration ribbon: “You have the scissors in your hands and the ribbon in front of you. Let’s all say “in the name of the Lord” (for Allah bismillah) and cut the ribbon. Good luck”!

The mosque will function on the model of Hagia Sophia. The mosaics on the walls in the prayer area were covered, while an area was determined to be visited by tourists with a guide.

The church of Agios Sotiros in Chora, the catholicon of what was once a monastic complex, dates from the 6th AD. century, while its unique mosaics and frescoes were crafted in the 14th century, from 1305 to 1320, during the reign of Paleologus.

The Monastery of Chora was converted into a mosque in 1511, 58 years after the Fall of the City, and by decision of the Council of Ministers of Turkey in 1945 it became a museum. After this decision, specialists from the United States carried out a huge restoration and conservation project for the mosaics and frescoes, removing the plasters that covered them. Work began in 1948 and was completed ten years later in 1958. In 2019, Turkey’s Council of State (Danistay) revoked the 1945 decision, and a year later, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the monument would once again function as a mosque.