Turkey converts ancient church into mosque, sparking debate on heritage preservation

Turkey has opened the ancient Chora church, one of Istanbul's most celebrated Byzantine buildings, to Muslim worshipers after it was used as a museum for more than 70 years, making it the second such major conversion under President Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan, a champion of pious Muslims in Turkey and head of a party with Islamist roots, turned Istanbul's world-renowned Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque in 2020 in a ceremony attended by tens of thousands of people.

That move was...