New photos and videos of vandalism, rubbish and dirt in Hagia Sophia are spreading like wildfire on Turkish social media.
The photos are accompanied by comments from users against the Turkish authorities who cannot protect the monument, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Diyanet’e bağlanarak ibadete açılan Ayasofya’dan paylaşılan görüntüler sosyal medyada gündem oldu. pic.twitter.com/6kIVsI3por
— 🎙 Muhbir – #YeniHesap (@ajans_muhbir) April 19, 2022
The vandalism of the imperial gate of the cathedral-turned-mosque provoked the reaction of Greece, which the Turkish media refer to today.
A statement from the Foreign Office said that “We are appalled and saddened by the images of vandalism against the Imperial Gate of Hagia Sophia – a World Heritage Site – in Istanbul”.
“We call on the competent authorities to exercise due diligence so that those responsible are brought to justice and that the damage caused to the Monument is immediately repaired,” said the statement added.
They also echo the denunciation of the Turkish Art History Association, which caused a stir.
The General Directorate of Islamic Endowment has already announced that it is opening an investigation into the vandalism and the identification of the perpetrators.
For his part, the Secretary General of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Mahir Polat, requested the intervention of the prosecutor.
“The person or persons who caused the disaster must be identified by the cameras. The question must go to the public prosecutor’s office, in accordance with article 65 of law 2863, because the damage concerns a historic building of the 1st degree and was caused intentionally,” Polat commented on his personal Twitter account.
Diyanet’e bağlanarak ibadete açılan Ayasofya’dan paylaşılan görüntüler sosyal medyada gündem oldu. pic.twitter.com/6kIVsI3por
— 🎙 Muhbir – #YeniHesap (@ajans_muhbir) April 19, 2022
The Directorate General of Religious Endowments has announced that an investigation has been opened to identify the perpetrators.
As we know, two administrative inspectors and two technical inspectors from the Directorate have undertaken to investigate the case of the destruction of the imperial gate of Hagia Sophia.
Over the past few hours, photos and videos of decaying images at Hagia Sophia have been posted on Turkish social media, along with a variety of comments.
Video from last December shows damage to the interior walls of the monument, just behind the Imperial Gate, which has since seen signs of vandalism.
Bedevi zihniyetindekilerden his şey beklenir. Derhal Ayasofya’ya derhal kameralar takılmalı zarar verenler cezalandırılmalı https://t.co/xguTcghdcH
— Caner Gokbayrak (@canergokbayrak) April 19, 2022
A photo of the Hagia Sophia Imperial Gate in 1890, one of the oldest, when cathedrals functioned as a mosque again, has been posted on social media.
Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami Şerifi 1890…#series#Ayasofya
İnnâ lillahi ve İnnâ İleyhi Raciûn pic.twitter.com/vQ4zTfK2km— Sinan (@suntakinte007) April 19, 2022
READ MORE: Sainte-Sophie – So, now, always.
