Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia will be converted from a museum to a mosque.
Lesson summary
Thanks for joining us for Plain English Lesson number 281. I’m Jeff, JR is the producer, and you can find the full lesson at PlainEnglish.com/281. The full lesson includes the transcripts, the video, one additional word we call “Learn the Lingo”, exercises, and much more. That’s all at PlainEnglish.com/281.
On today’s lesson, Turkey’s president has converted the Hagia Sophia, an iconic museum, into a mosque. We’ll talk about the decision and the history of this building in today’s lesson. Our expression is “a tiny sliver” and we have a song of the week. Let’s get going!
Turkey’s Hagia Sophia converted to a mosque
The Hagia Sophia is one of the architectural jewels of Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, which sits at the crossroads of the Eastern and Western worlds. It was first built as a cathedral for the state church of the Roman Empire between the years 532 and 537, back when the city was known as Constantinople. That makes it about 1,500 years old. It is one of the world’s best surviving examples of Byzantine architecture and is known for its enormous dome and the surrounding minarets, which were added by the Ottomans.
The Hagia Sophia has a rich history. In fact, the site was a religious site even before the current structure was built. Two previous churches, dating back to 346, stood on the same ground. The structure that exists today was built by the Roman Empire and served as a Catholic church for over 900 years; in fact, during that time, it was the world’s largest church. That all changed when Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II conquered Constantinople in 1453. The Ottomans turned the Hagia Sophia into a mosque, and it remained a mosque for almost 500 years.
In 1935, Mustafa Kemal Attatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, transformed the building into a museum, in keeping with his vision of Turkey as a secular republic. Although most of Turkey’s inhabitants were and are adherents of Islam, Atatürk wanted a modern Republic that would be separate from religion, as is the case in many European countries. And for that reason, Atatürk converted Istanbul’s most famous building to a museum.
That decision has been reversed. A Turkish court said that Atatürk’s 1935 decision to make the Hagia Sophia a museum had been unlawful; just hours later, Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdoğan re-converted the building into a mosque. The Hagia Sophia began religious prayers on July 24.
Though many are concerned about the decision, supporters say that the building will remain open to all. Even after becoming a mosque, Erdoğan said, the Hagia Sophia will remain open to visitors, including non-Muslims and tourists. The Hagia Sophia’s minarets have sounded Muslim calls to prayer every afternoon since 2013. A small room has been dedicated to prayer for museum staff for years and Muslims have prayed outside the Hagia Sophia, imploring the government re-convert it.
The decision is seen by opponents as more evidence that Turkey is moving away from its roots as a secular republic. In their view, this is just one more step that Turkey is taking toward becoming an Islamic state rather than a secular state. Opponents also said that the decision is a sign of disrespect to the country’s current and future religious minorities. Surveys show over 90 percent of Turkey’s 83 million people are Muslim. Only a tiny sliver of the population practices any religion other than Islam.
The international reaction was broadly against the move. The EU said it will “fuel mistrust” and “promote new divisions.” Pope Francis and ministers from France, Greece, and Russia condemned the move.
Many of Erdoğan’s religious supporters welcomed the move. They believe the building should be restored to its rightful place as a religious site, which it was for its entire history prior to 1935, and as a mosque, as it was for half a millennium. They believe that the Hagia Sophia as a religious site is a symbol of Turkey’s Muslim heritage and its cultural strength. They also point out that there are dozens of churches in the immediate area of the Hagia Sophia, evidence that Turkey remains a tolerant country.
There is another view, a more cynical view. Many Turks believe this is political showmanship by Erdoğan. His approval ratings have slid in recent years and his political party suffered a stinging rebuke in municipal elections two years ago. Erdoğan’s party lost the mayor’s offices of the country’s two largest cities, Istanbul and Ankara, the capital. His public support has been fading, especially during the coronavirus. Many Turks believe this move is a way of distracting the country from the poor economy. Many people believe this is a politically motivated move to shore up support among his more conservative, religious supporters.
In a recent survey, a majority of people said they thought the decision was made either to divert attention from the economy or to help the government’s chances of surviving the next election. Fewer than 30 percent thought it was borne of a genuine desire to make the building a mosque.
New Turkish translations
I have been to the Hagia Sophia. It is a beautiful building up close and inside, with a beautiful gold interior, detailed inscriptions on the dome and the walls. It’s a stunning building—and the fact that it has been there since 537 is incredible. That is probably the oldest building I’ve ever seen.
Just to put this in perspective: The Sistene Chapel opened in 1508, so that’s 1,000 years younger than the Hagia Sophia. Notre-Dame Cathedral opened in 1345, still 800 years younger than Hagia Sophia. Those of you who live in that old Roman Empire – slash – Ottoman Empire area, you have some rich, rich history.
If you live in Turkey, you can enjoy Plain English in a whole new way, with our instant Turkish translations. On our transcripts, we highlight 100 words or phrases in blue, and if you hover over the words in blue, you can see the translation from English to Turkish. Our first episode like that was last Monday, so now there are four in our growing library of English lessons with Turkish translations.
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