Turkey says Greece mistreated Ottoman legacy

Following reports of damage to Hagia Sophia, Istanbul’s Byzantine-era monument that was converted into a mosque by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey has accused Greece of mistreating the cultural legacy of the Ottoman Empire.

“The fact that those who are supposedly upset over [the damage to] Hagia Sophia did not oppose the demolition of mosques in Greece, [monuments of important] cultural heritage dating back to the 1500s which were converted into cinemas, exhibition spaces, hotels and warehouses, is too serious to be explained away as hypocrisy,” the country’s Defense Ministry said on Twitter Sunday. 

“The Greek administration, which refuses to even provide a burial ground for Muslims after they die, is trying to deceive its own people with raw delusions… You cannot cover the sun with mud,” it said.