UNESCO Assistant Director-General Ernesto Ottone has again expressed concern over the alterations undertaken by Turkish authorities on the iconic Hagia Sophia and the Chora Church — both UNESCO World Heritage sites that Islamist Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan converted into mosques this past year.
The top UNESCO official has instructed noted Algerian archaeologist Mounir Bouchenaki to visit the Bosporus metropolis in early January and to submit a detailed report to his office, at latest by the end of February.
Ottone is particularly concerned over interventions that the Turkish state continues to make to the landmark Orthodox basilicas, as well as recent outrageous statements by Turkey’s culture and tourism minister.
The Ecumenical Patriarch had received Bouchenaki at the Patriarchate see last October.