Column
Hagia Sophia: Crossroad of Nations
What Trump achieved by recognizing Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel, Erdogan replicated by reverting Hagia Sophia to a mosque
By Zarqa Naquib
Orhan Pamuk, the Nobel laureate mentions in his book Istanbul: Memories and the City that a particular event can have two perspectives. In a uniquely intriguing incident, he talks about how his wife Aylin, while submitting an essay at Columbia University was caught in the center of an orientalist-occidental debate. The debate was over the interpretation of the entry of Ottomans in Turkey and the events thereafter. May 29th, 1453 famously marks the ‘Fall of Constantinople’, under Fetih Mehmet Sultan which for the Easterners is the ‘Conquest of Istanbul’.
Aylin had used the word ‘conquest’ in her essay and her American professor accused her of nationalism. What the Europeans regard as a defeat, is commemorated by Turks as a major victory. This triumph got etched in the minds of Turks as a feat-par-spiritual rejuvenation because they saw it as a fulfillment of Mohammed’s (PBUH) prophecy. An iconic symbol associated with the event is the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hagia Sophia or Ayasofya in Turkish parlance.
