Pope to visit Hagia Sophia

http://tks.nationalreview.com/

The most dramatic moment of the pope’s visit is likely to come Thursday, when he tours the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. The massive, imposing red and gray structure was built as a church in the 6th century, then converted to a mosque in 1453 by the Ottomans. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, converted the site into a secular museum in 1935.

Turkey’s Islamists have always opposed that decision, and from time to time rush into the museum, throw down prayer mats, and pray until museum security and the police forcibly remove them.

So what will the Pope do upon entering what was once one of the holiest sites in Christendom, but has not been used as a church in five and a half centuries? Will he cross himself? Genuflect (kneel on one knee in respect)? The Turkish media has already speculated about Benedict’s secret plans to reconsecrate the site; the rumor alone may be enough to trigger a round of Islamist rage, on par with the Danish cartoon controversy of February or Benedict’s speech in September quoting a 14th-century Byzantine emperor’s criticism of Islam…

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