Greece
entertainment
How Sophia Loren Made Hollywood Fall in Love With Greece
Sophia Loren, the great Italian actress, was the star of the first Hollywood movie ever shot in Greece, on the majestic island of of Hydra.
Culture
Erdogan: Conversion of Hagia Sophia into Mosque "Crown of 2020"
In an address to the nation, Turkish President Erdogan called his decision to convert the Hagia Sophia into a mosque the "crown of 2020."
Culture
Council of Europe Condemns Conversion of Hagia Sophia from Museum to Mosque
In an official statement released on Friday, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) condemned Turkey's July 13 decision to convert the Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque.
PACE's Committee on Culture, Science, Education & Media...
Greece
Greek TV Channel Drops Turkish Series Due to Hagia Sophia
Leading Greek TV channel Antenna (ANT1) dropped a Turkish series from its schedule which was due to start screening in the summer, because of the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, an executive revealed on Tuesday.
ANT1 Chief Content...
Culture
Church Bells in Greece Toll Mournfully for Hagia Sophia
Orthodox Churches throughout Greece on Friday marked the conversion of Constantinople's Hagia Sophia to a mosque by mournfully tolling their bells.
Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, Ieronymos called the conversion of the cradle of the Greek Orthodoxy as "an...
Greece
Thousands Attend Hagia Sophia Prayers As Monument is Converted to Mosque
Thousands of worshipers, many waving Turkish flags, gathered at Hagia Sophia for Friday prayers as the UNESCO World Heritage Site was officially inaugurated as a mosque.
The 1,500-year-old site became a museum in 1934. But earlier this month, a Turkish...
Art
Greece Launches Campaign to Raise International Awareness of Hagia Sophia
A working group will be set up shortly in order to draw up a specific road map of actions to raise awareness within the international community about Turkey's conversion of Hagia Sophia to a mosque and to protect the priceless...
Culture
Greek President Sakellaropoulou Deplores Turkish Invasion, Hagia Sophia Decision
"This year, on the sad anniversary of the 20th of July, we are facing an unprecedentedly escalating Turkish aggression, which is manifesting itself throughout the Eastern Mediterranean region," President Katerina Sakellaropoulou said on Monday in her statement on the...
Diplomacy
US Ambassador Pyatt Meets with Greek FM Dendias on Hagia Sophia
Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias on Wednesday had a meeting with U.S. Ambassador in Athens Geoffrey Pyatt, according to a tweet issued by the Greek Foreign Ministry. According to reports, the meeting, which was held at the Foreign Ministry, focused...
Diplomacy
Greek PM: Turkey's Move on Hagia Sophia Severs Ties with the West
Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday blasted the decision by Turkey to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque, a move he said “which hurts us as Orthodox Christians but also as citizens of the world.”
Mitsotakis made his remarks after...
Greece
Pope Francis "Deeply Pained" as Hagia Sophia Becomes Mosque
Pope Francis said on Sunday that he is “deeply pained” over the decision by Turkey to change the status of Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque.
In a very brief, improvised remark, Francis, speaking from his studio window...
Diplomacy
Greece Launches International Campaign on Hagia Sophia
Greece will launch an international campaign at the European Union, UNESCO, the United Nations and world religious institutions to highlight the conversion of Hagia Sophia to a mosque, the country's foreign minister said on Saturday.
Speaking on Skai television, Nikos...
Greece
Turkey's Top Imam Now Wants to Build an Islamic School at Hagia Sophia
Turkey’s top imam, Ali Erbas, said on Saturday that he now hopes to build an Islamic school at Hagia Sophia which was converted to a mosque on Friday.
Erbas hailed the decision by President Erdogan to "break the chains" on...
Culture
Greece Calls Erdogan's Decision on Hagia Sophia a "Provocation"
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's decree to convert the Hagia Sophia museum, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, into a mosque has received sharp criticism from Greece and many political and world leaders.
Greece strongly condemns Turkey's decision to turn the World...
Culture
Official UNESCO Statement on Reconversion of Hagia Sophia into Mosque
UNESCO, the United Nations body tasked with the identification and preservation of sites with the greatest significance to the world's priceless common heritage, issued a statement on Friday regarding Turkish President Erdogan's official decree turning Hagia Sophia, the greatest...