After the 10th Department of the Council of State canceled the decision of the Council of Ministers dated November 24, 1934 regarding the conversion of Hagia Sophia from a mosque to the museum, yesterday prayer was held for the first time in Hagia Sophia. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who read the Qur’an at the opening, said, “Now this place has returned to its original form, it was a mosque, it became a mosque again. I learned that 350 thousand people attend Friday prayers. We will make this place a much more meaningful structure. ” Ali Erbaş, the President of Religious Affairs, who came to the pulpit with the sword symbol of conquest while reading the Friday sermon, made a reference to the decision of the Council of Ministers of 1934 signed by Atatürk and said, “Fatih Sultan Mehmet Han devoted this place to remain as a mosque until the apocalypse. He suffers the curse that violates the devoted. ”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan entered the area to perform the Friday prayer. Erdogan was welcomed by the President of Religious Affairs, Ali Erbaş. When the citizens saw Erdogan, he drew a single with applause. With Erdogan entering the area, security measures were taken by helicopter in and around Hagia Sophia. While reading his first Friday sermon, Ali Erbaş appeared on the pulpit with a sword with a symbol of conquest. Erbaş, who has the signature of the great leader Ataturk in the sermon and refers to the decision of the Council of Ministers dated 1934 regarding the transformation of Hagia Sophia into a museum, said: “Fatih Sultan Mehmet Han dedicated this place to remain as a mosque until the apocalypse. He suffers the curse that violates the devoted. ”
CORONAVIRUS FORGOTTEN
Citizens came from the night and started to wait around Hagia Sophia. Thousands of people waiting on the road in front of Gülhane Park were allowed in the morning hours. Those who passed through the search point went to Hagia Sophia. Citizens spread their prayer rugs and waited for the prayer time to come. It was observed that the citizens did not comply with the social distance rules both when entering the area collectively and during the prayer. Citizens who wanted to be closer to Hagia Sophia competed with each other. Police teams and TOMAs were held at many points. Ambulances and medical teams also took part in the area. As we approached the mosque, besides the mask, water and prayer rug, the flags written “President Erdoğan”, “Destination 2023” and Palestinian flags were put up for sale. Box juice, water and biscuits were distributed free of charge by the IMM, Red Crescent and Religious Affairs Directorate. It was seen that the banners with the photograph of Erdogan and Fatih Sultan Mehmet, “Here is grandfather, here is grandchild” were hung. The park next to the Sultanahmet Tomb for women and the parks on the corner of the Horse Square were reserved for prayers. Many women who could not find a place were left out. Due to the frequent ranks, there were faints while performing prayers. Some roads leading to Hagia Sophia were closed to citizens by calling a protocol entry. There was a congestion as a result of a discussion between a citizen and the bodyguards. A woman mechanic was attacked by those who wanted to go to Hagia Sophia due to the halting of metro services with the decision of the Istanbul Governorship. İBB President Ekrem İmamoğlu said, “I congratulate our employees who continue their duties despite this incident, we will be followers of the issue”.
IMAM AT FETO EVENT
In the first Friday prayer, 3 imams and 5 muezzin took part. According to the news of OdaTV, it was revealed that Bünyamin Topçuoğlu, one of the imams who took part in prayer, participated in the activity of Erzurum Employee Assistance and Solidarity Association (Alterieri) in 2013. It turned out that the association was closed with a decree law (KHK) published in 2016.
PRAYER BEFORE PRAYER
President Erdogan also read a prayer before the Friday prayer. While Erdogan was reading Fatiha, it was seen that some citizens watching the inside of Hagia Sophia through barcovisions were crying. After the Friday prayer, President Erdoğan left Hagia Sophia and passed to the Tomb of Fatih. Speaking to journalists here, Erdogan said, “I just took it as an official figure, 350 thousand people attended Friday prayer. We did all the worship with the organization of our Religious Affairs Directorate. After that, there are restoration works to be carried out by our Ministry of Culture and Tourism. We will have a much more meaningful structure. I say to everyone who contributed, the attitude of the judiciary, the continuation of the attitude we put forward as the President of the Republic. Now this place has returned to its original form, it became a mosque again. Now, I hope it continues to serve all believers as a mosque. As a cultural heritage of all humanity, it is a place where people from all religions can come and visit. ”
HEAD OF GENELKURMAY AT THE PRAYER WITH UNIFORM
It was noteworthy that the Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Güler and the force commanders attended the Friday prayer in Hagia Sophia in their uniforms. Chief of General Staff Güler, Commander of the Land Forces Gen. Umit Dündar and Commander of the Naval Forces Admiral Adnan Özbal accompanied President Erdogan during his entrance to Hagia Sophia. Guler and force commanders then prayed by standing behind the Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar. Guler and force commanders accompanied Erdogan, who visited the tomb of Fatih Sultan Mehmet after the prayer.
RESPONSE MESSAGES from the EU, MAAS: TURKEY-EU CONTRIBUTION TO NO DIALOGUE
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, the decision to be converted into a mosque of Hagia Sophia in a new, mutual understanding with the European Union and Turkey (EU) to contribute to the dialogue between, he said. Maas, “This is not a decision we can understand us, because it is located in the World Cultural Heritage list has a significance far beyond this unique building in Turkey,” he said. Pointing out that UNESCO will review the status of Hagia Sophia in the World Cultural Heritage list, Maas said, “I hope there will be no developments that will endanger the status of Hagia Sophia in the coming period.” A reaction to the Hagia Sophia decision came from the EU. Ankara’s EU Commission Vice-President said that weaken the bond with Brussels SCHINAS Margaritis, “Turkey’s geopolitical where to stop at a certain point and you need to decide whether you want to cooperate with others in the future,” we said.
SINGLE WALKING IN SULTANAHMET
After performing the first prayer in Hagia Sophia, a group took a walk in the streets of Sultanahmet accompanied by takbirs. After the first prayer was performed in Hagia Sophia, which was handed over to Diyanet by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a group took a walk in the streets of Sultanahmet accompanied by takbirs.
‘CASES WILL INCREASE’
Nihat Çetinbaş, who is waiting in the field, said, “I came from Germany for the opening of Hagia Sophia. I didn’t think there would be such a crowd because of the pandemic. We talked ‘Maybe there is a social distance’. This place is crammed, ”he said. Gözde Nur Karadağ, who came from İzmir, said, “We came here at around 8.30 in the morning. We are very happy that Hagia Sophia opened to worship. It is a great chance that it was in our period after 86 years. We are witnessing the history right now. ” Saying that he came to find a place in the early hours of the morning, Esra Poyraz said, “It is necessary to look at Hagia Sophia as a place of worship without using any ideology or politics. Today is a feast for us. Embracefully, we wish everyone to respect Hagia Sophia. We are here with our whole family to witness this moment. ” A male citizen from Bursa also noted that the social distance rules were ignored, “We came with our family early in the morning to witness the historical moment. When the coronavirus cases are dropped, the presence of so many crowds indicates that the figures will increase again. There is an incredible crowd. There is no social distance. Still, we are happy to be here. ”
They did not listen to the warning
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca stated that the biggest crowd to be gathered during the epidemic will be in Hagia Sophia and warned of coronavirus and distance. Husband’s warnings were not observed.
MUHARREM İNCE: I WERE PRAYER TO SULTANAHMET
Muharrem İnce from CHP, invited by the President of Religious Affairs Ali Erbaş, held the Friday prayer among the citizens in Sultanahmet. İnce, after the prayer, from his Twitter account, with the invitation of the President of Religious Affairs, who said, ‘Azan is an invitation to prayer, what invitation’, I went to Sultanahmet, not to Hagia Sophia. What are you shouting? Are those who go to Hagia Sophia great and those who go to Sultanahmet are few? ” shared his message.
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