The now infamous head of Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs, Ali Erbas, called the iconic Hagia Sophia, the greatest of all basilicas of eastern Christendom, a symbol of “…Turkish heritage”.
Erbas, one of the closest associates to Islamist Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, made the outrageous statement at a press conference ahead of an annual assembly of mosques and Muslim clerics in Turkey, which is held in the first week of October.