Images circulating online appear to show cracked and damaged floors caused by heavy cleaning machinery used at the historic structure.
Istanbul
Posted inNews
Turkey Faces Suspension From Council of Europe if Osman Kavala Is Not Freed
Amnesty International urged the council to begin infringement proceedings against Turkey for its arbitrary detainment of the arts philanthropist.
Posted inArt
Reasons for Optimism in Istanbul’s Art World
The new generation of artists and curators is eager to explore alternative organizations and to tackle current social inequalities and issues.
Posted inOpinion
What Happened to the Hagia Sophia Is a Terrible Shame
I recently visited the Hagia Sophia for the first time after its conversion and felt overwhelming sadness.
Posted inArt
A Kurdish Artist’s Creative Resistance From Behind Bars
“Politics, war and oppression are a part of my life,” Fatoş İrwen explained of her current solo show, Exceptional Times.
Posted inSponsored
SALT Presents Climavore: Seasons Made to Drift by Cooking Sections
Exploring how to eat as humans change the climate, Climavore: Seasons Made to Drift is on view until August 22 at SALT Beyoğlu.
Posted inNews
Turkey Targets Osman Kavala’s Arts Organization in Unprecedented Lawsuit
Turkey’s Trade Ministry filed a lawsuit demanding the dissolution of Anadolu Kültür, an institution founded by Kavala in 2002.
Posted inNews
After Istanbul Students Detained for LGBTQ Posters, Protests Against Government Censorship Escalate
The initial protests started one month ago after President Erdoğan appointed one of his political allies as the school’s rector, inciting outrage over political motivations.
Posted inArt
Walk With Me: A Performance Artist Adapts to the Pandemic
For two weeks last fall, performance artist Alisa Oleva walked with 33 different women in Istanbul; sometimes for 30 minutes, sometimes for three hours, but always from 1500 miles away.
Posted inArt
Who Really Owns Hagia Sophia?
As the Turkish government announced that the Hagia Sophia will be converted back into a mosque, one of the primary responses worldwide has been to assert that the edifice constitutes “universal” heritage, that it belongs to all of us.
Posted inNews
Turkish Activist and Arts Philanthropist Osman Kavala Nears 1,000 Days in Prison
Kavala has been detained since 2017. Human rights activists have called for his release due to a lack of “facts, information, or evidence.”
Posted inNews
After 85 Years as a Museum, the Hagia Sophia Will Become a Mosque
Art historians and conservationists worry Turkish authorities might remove the centuries-old Byzantine mosaics that adorn it.