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Added on the 09/10/2019 17:38:44 - Copyright : France 24 EN
Istanbul (Turkey), Jun 30 (EFE) .- (Camera: Ilya Tooper / Lara Villalón) Church or mosque? The secular Turkish Republic that emerged from the Ottoman Empire decided in 1935 that the Byzantine Basilica of Hagia Sophia would be a museum without religious charge, a decision that Islamism and Ottoman nostalgics in the country, represented by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, now want to reverse. On Thursday, July 2, the State Council, or Danistay, the highest administrative court, is expected to decide on the request of an unknown association to reverse the decree that 85 years ago secularized the building.FOOTAGE OF HAGIA SOPHIA.SOUNDBITES OF LÜFTI, WHO GOES TO FRIDAY PRAYERS AT THE BLUE MOSQUE IN FRONT OF HAGIA SOPHIA. Translation:"Now we have a museum here, which is neither a church nor a mosque. At the moment, the mosque is there, and that is enough for us. If the population grew a lot and there were many more people, then we would see it right to open the Hagia Sophia to prayer. But for now, there is no need. In this mosque here, for all the people who are going to pray, there is plenty of space."
A military convoy sent by Ankara transporting Turkish-backed Syrian fighters and military vehicles arrives in the Turkish town of Akcakale near the Syrian border, a day after president Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched an offensive in northern Syria. IMAGES
A military convoy sent by Ankara transporting Turkish-backed Syrian fighters and military vehicles arrives in the Turkish town of Akcakale and heads to the Syrian border, a day after president Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched an offensive in northern Syria. IMAGES
Damascus pitched pro-government forces into the fray Tuesday against Turkey in a Kurdish-held border region. The pro-regime fighters entered the northern Afrin region, escalating a month-long offensive by Ankara in another major twist for Syria's complex near-seven-year war. IMAGES
It's always heartwarming to see humans working together to help animals in need. Disaster struck when one unlucky puppy fell into a freshly dug 230 foot deep well on February 5th in the Dereseki neighbourhood of the Beykoz district of Istanbul. Animal rights activists, fire fighters, municipal rescue teams and members of the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) went up in arms to help with the operation.
Dozens of Kurdish Peshmerga fighters head to Syrian town of Kobani to battle Islamic State militants. Rough Cut. (No reporter narration)
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