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Saint Sophia in the role 3272-first mosque: precedents, symbols, and prophecies.Konstantin Mikhailov, chief editor of “Keepers heritage”the Cathedral Museum of St. Sophia (the Holy wisdom of God in the Christian tradition) in Constantinople-Istanbul was once again becoming a mosque. Few people happy in the world, as the transformation of one of the main symbols of the cultural heritage of humankind the hostage of political ambitions — a bad sign. Policy from such approaches if wins, for a while, but the legacy usually loses. Together with humanity.Remember to resultsanalysis Turkish domestic political scenario, coupled with the tactical and strategic goals of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — matter experts on the political situation. Not going to do it, but I say: have a great history, a different logic, it is simple and inexorable. Short-term tactical wins are the politicians devalued the next day, overshadowed new combinations are forgotten. Timeless and values — that, in fact, what is called the world heritage — live his long life.In the end, any world heritage site, almost any significant piece of world art culture at the time also had a political context and subtext. But these contexts and implications in our days interest to historians and other professionals; and millions of people admire the Parthenon, Angkor Vatom in Cambodia or the Church of the ascension, without going into details of political and other ambitions of their creators and customers.And it concerns not only the creation, but of destruction: no one cares, ambitions, feelings and motivation of Herostratus — remembered result.So, if you ignore the political Affairs in Turkey today, the answer to the question, what is happening in Istanbul, as soon as the Museum Hagia Sophia again, a mosque, which it remained until 1934, is simple.Mosques in Istanbul have enough — the Hagia Sophia will become 3272-th.In another case. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his supporters and voters repeat, reproduce, re-experiencing the capture of Constantinople in 1453. And misappropriation — more precisely, a recoding of the main symbol and spiritual centre of the captured city. The only difference is that unlike 1453 in 2020 Hagia Sophia, no one to protect.We can recall the Church of St. Genevieve in Paris, facing the victorious French revolutionaries in 1791 in “the temple of the Fatherland”, the Parthenon, and visited Christian Church and a Muslim mosque. And the transformation of Orthodox churches in Russia after 1917, in the temples of the new Soviet “cult” of the house of culture and school — a phenomenon of the same order.In Russia, by the way, the history of the Hagia Sophia is taken to heart, perhaps ��school and because after 1917, the winners, the Bolsheviks did with Moscow is very similar to what the conquerors of Constantinople in 1453 with Constantinople.The second and Third Rimpoche: Alexander Chizhenok, Commercants since elder Philotheus, a monk of Spaso-Eleazar monastery, lost among forests and swamps near Pskov, formulated the theory of “Moscow — the Third Rome and the Fourth will not happen”, our compatriots continually compare the fates, images and features of Rome, Constantinople and Moscow.Parallels certainly can be traced (this is a big separate issue, not going into it here to go). But surprisingly this: tracking certain individual similar features of the Second and Third Ream, of Constantinople and of Moscow, historians surprisingly pass by the similarity of their historical destiny.Focus on some of the. As we know, Constantinople was captured by the Turks in 1453 and transformed from the capital of the Byzantine Empire to the capital of the Ottoman Empire. But to declare someone else’s capital and its really to make it such — not the same thing. Captured by the Turks, the city was visually strange and alien. Everywhere rose the domes of Christian churches, the crosses, the memorial columns of the emperors. It was a different glory, a different story, a different philosophy, embodied in stone. And the stones spoke. The Turks took almost a century and a half to transcode a captured city in his own way. Let us briefly recall that they did.They closed almost all the Christian churches of the city. The main sanctuary of Constantinople — Hagia Sophia was turned into a mosque, added minarets to it — so that the temple resembles a mosque. The same transformation has experienced dozens of large and small urban churches and monasteries. While dozens of churches standing in winnable seats, represents an architectural dominant of the city was razed to the ground. In their place rose the mosque. The columns of the emperors were overthrown. Greek names of streets, squares and neighborhoods replaced with Turkish. And finally, the very name of Constantinople was erased from the maps, replaced by Istanbul.We do not like? Not whether Moscow was transformed in a similar way from the capital city of the Russian Empire into the capital of world communism? With that, however, the difference is that in recoding the Bolsheviks took 150, and some 15-20 years. Let us briefly recall that they did.Closed nearly all the Orthodox churches of the city. The city’s main Church — the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was blown up, to build in its place a symbol of the new Communist world — the Palace of Soviets. Dozens of churches have been rebuilt beyond recognition, they removed crosses, destroyed the bell tower and the head, knocked the decor was breaking off apse to builnie does not resemble an Orthodox Church. Dozens of other churches and monasteries that stood on the winning places, represents an architectural dominant, was demolished. In their place built workers ‘ clubs, schools and other sources of “proletarian culture”. Monuments of emperors had been overthrown. Old names of streets, squares and districts was replaced by the Soviet. That’s just the name of Moscow is still not been erased from the maps — although the question of renaming it in Stalinodar was discussed for some time, but a decision was not reached…the Parallel that, like any other, is in some way conditional. In fact, Moscow in 1917, is not seized by foreign invaders. But the fact that the power in the country came people who wanted to build a fundamentally different civilization, no doubt.As in Constantinople in 1453. And the mosque Hagia Sophia has become a symbol of this new civilization, built on the ruins of the old.So in the main sense of civilization all fell Rima — without exception.Breakthrough and crypto: Gleb Schelkunov, Kommersant 1934, when Moscow builders of a new civilization broke down the Sukhareva tower, Kemal Ataturk, the great reformer of Turkey, transformed the mosque Hagia Sophia into a Museum. Again leave in the direction of European and Turkish political situation and tactical calculations 1934 — with a large temporal distance, this act looks like a wise step in the field of cultural policy, predsjedavao many of the trends of the last third of the twentieth century.There was a vision. When the culture and its monuments cease to divide, begin to multiply. The new Museum coexisted with Christian and Muslim religious artifacts. Ataturk actually declared a Saint Sophia as a shared object, a world heritage site for several decades before the occurrence of the relevant UNESCO Convention (it was adopted in 1972). And millions of people around the world who value culture and heritage, still grateful to atatürk and Turkey for this step.So, by the way, a painful reaction in various countries — from Greece to France — Turkish step in the opposite direction. Historical memory is strong, and the attempt on it is a genuine pain. And as far as the decision in 1934 still looks like breakthrough in the future, as the solution of 2020 seems to disrupt the archaic.President Erdogan today called the transformation of Hagia Sophia into a mosque correcting the “mistakes” of the Turkish authorities, 1934. Alas, corrected the “mistake” that ought to be proud of.Prophecy collegiately Petrograd, the Turkish authorities assure the world that the world heritage site will not suffer any damage. “Let no worries, we will continue with the Hagia Sophia as a treasure, its cultural value,” says the President of Turkey. His spokesman Ibrahim Kalin adds even that representatives of all religions, including Orthodox Christians, will be able to visit the Hagia Sophia, where you will save all the Christian frescoes and mosaics.But “neutral” status of a Museum (a Museum use for such an ancient and venerable building is undoubtedly the best option) implies equal rights and equal opportunities for all religions or social groups. (It should be noted that this, and not anti-religious motives, was caused by the recent civil protests in St. Petersburg in connection with the intentions to make St. Isaac’s Cathedral from the Museum active Church. And our government acted very wisely by halting the implementation of this intention.)Turkish media have already reported about a special technique of lighting, which will make Christian frescoes, mosaics and symbols of the invisible — yet during prayers. For tourists, who now cannot visit the Cathedral during the prayer, will be arranged some special corridors. Marble floor of Hagia Sophia make a prayer rug. The new mosque has already appointed two of the four Imam and a muezzin. In General, World heritage is Turkish.And not to say, incidentally, that to everyone’s glee. Though Erdogan and States that doeth the will of 83 million Turkish citizens in the Turkish print can be found and such estimates: “we, Turkey, will gain from this? No one can say that there are no other mosques, and people have nowhere to go to pray… To date no one in the world has not received the statement: “well Done, we support you…” Dear readers, when Hagia Sophia will become a mosque, that’s what awaits us. Marble floor, which is more than a thousand years, is covered with carpets so that they did namaz. Local and foreign tourists coming to visit the Museum, will be on the entrance point to the appearance of inconsistency. Especially if there is a ban on entrance into the shoes of… the Hagia Sofia is almost a machine for printing money for Turkey. This is the second Museum after Topkapi Palace (former residence of the Turkish sultans in Istanbul.— “On”) which brings our country more than just income.” And the like.We will leave without comments such a pragmatic approach to the protection of cultural property. It is important that the hypothetical political dividends shall be submitted to the Turkish authorities the most important real economic income. Then again, it is impossible not to remember Russia — namely, the truly prophetic appeal of the Petrograd Board for the protection of ancient monuments and art treasures to the Soviet government in 1918, when it was decided that the Moscow Kremlin will be the residence of the new political power: “Experience is established that the seat of government, as the place of the most intense political life inevitably brings withboth the deaths of many monuments and art… the occupation of the Kremlin by the government creates a monstrous threat to the safe is at its greatest and exceptional world value of the monuments.”All so true, a reminder that the vacant lots on the site of the Chudov and Voznesensky monasteries, the Maly Nikolayevsky Palace, the Palace of congresses on the site of the old Armoury and other Kremlin of loss.***Critics of the new turn in the fate of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, the answer is that the transformation of Museum into a mosque — an internal affair and a sovereign right of Turkey.Nobody argues. However, we must not forget that Saint Sophia at the same time is the object of the world heritage Convention which was signed and Turkey.And in this Convention, adopted by UNESCO in 1972, there is an article: “Fully respecting the sovereignty of States on whose territory is the cultural and natural heritage… States parties to this Convention recognize that it is a universal heritage for whose protection it is incumbent on the international community to cooperate.”In the list of world heritage sites Saint Sophia included, as a Museum, so a radical change in status requires, if not approval, that consent of UNESCO.However, in these days Turkish press recalls that the name of Hagia Sophia “Mosque of Conquest” that leaves no doubt as to the political underpinnings of what is happening. The international community of Turkey in the question of the fate of Hagia Sophia, apparently, is not a decree. And between “conquest” and “common heritage” is not just a huge distance, but a chasm.