The assistant director-general of UNESCO has requested the return of its special envoy, the internationally renowned Algerian archaeologist Mounir Bouchenaki, to Constantinople to examine the interventions and possible alterations that have occurred in Hagia Sophia and the Chora Church.
The rumors and information regarding the two monuments and the alterations they have undergone cause concern over the condition of Hagia Sophia and the Chora Church, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan converted into mosques against their use and physiognomy as defined by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
In particular, Assistant Director-General Ernesto Ottone is concerned about the interventions that the Turkish side continue to make in the monuments, and is deeply concerned about the false statements of the Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism, according to UNESCO sources, that the organization “adopts the Turkish views regarding the change of use of the two museums,” as reported by iefimerida.gr in an article.
Despite the serious difficulties posed by the pandemic in travel and inspections, Mounir Bouchenaki was instructed to visit Constantinople in early January and to submit a detailed report to the director-general of UNESCO at latest by the end of February.
