• Turkey Converts Additional Byzantine-Era Church into Mosque

    Turkey Converts Additional Byzantine-Era Church into Mosque

    Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed an order on Friday morning formally converting the Byzantine-era Chora Church in Istanbul into a mosque, several weeks after declaring the Hagia Sofia a mosque and leading Muslim prayers at the site. The Chora Church was originally commissioned by Byzantine emperor Justinian in the sixth century, and boasts pristinely-preserved …