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FILL OTHER MOSQUES FIRST, PM RESPONDS TO AYA SOFYA CALLS
Cihan News Agency, Turkey
June 6 2014
ISTANBUL
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that it is the public's
duty to fill mosques all around Turkey, speaking on Friday at a
ceremony for the reopening of İstanbul's Ortaköy Mosque, which has
been under renovation for the last three years,
During Erdogan's speech, someone from the crowd shouted, "Let the Aya
Sofya open [as a mosque]," to which Erdogan responded by saying that
the Blue Mosque must be filled first.
"Our duty is to fill our mosques. The Ortaköy Mosque is small,
so we should [concentrate on] filling the Blue Mosque, Suleymaniye
Mosque and Fatih Mosque first," Erdogan said.
Erdogan also paid tribute to Nigogos Balyan, the architect of the
Ortaköy Mosque, who was of Armenian origin.
"Ortaköy Mosque has a special place among our national monuments.
Therefore, we should commemorate all those who worked toward the
construction of this beautiful site," Erdogan added.
(Cihan/Today's Zaman)
http://en.cihan.com.tr/news/Fill-other-mosques-first-PM-responds-to-Aya-Sofya-calls_1614-CHMTQ1MTYxNC8yMDA3
Cihan News Agency, Turkey
June 6 2014
ISTANBUL
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that it is the public's
duty to fill mosques all around Turkey, speaking on Friday at a
ceremony for the reopening of İstanbul's Ortaköy Mosque, which has
been under renovation for the last three years,
During Erdogan's speech, someone from the crowd shouted, "Let the Aya
Sofya open [as a mosque]," to which Erdogan responded by saying that
the Blue Mosque must be filled first.
"Our duty is to fill our mosques. The Ortaköy Mosque is small,
so we should [concentrate on] filling the Blue Mosque, Suleymaniye
Mosque and Fatih Mosque first," Erdogan said.
Erdogan also paid tribute to Nigogos Balyan, the architect of the
Ortaköy Mosque, who was of Armenian origin.
"Ortaköy Mosque has a special place among our national monuments.
Therefore, we should commemorate all those who worked toward the
construction of this beautiful site," Erdogan added.
(Cihan/Today's Zaman)
http://en.cihan.com.tr/news/Fill-other-mosques-first-PM-responds-to-Aya-Sofya-calls_1614-CHMTQ1MTYxNC8yMDA3