“A gesture to Muslims is [a] much more immediate [political gain] and preferable and the [gains from the] touristic side of Hagia Sophia can be negligible,” Sonmez argued. “That’s why he didn’t take it into consideration.”
That is, the benefits of asserting Islam’s superiority over both secularism and Christianity outweighed for Erdogan any economic considerations. The question now, however, is whether Turkey will retain sufficient economic strength for him to continue to try to make his caliphate dreams into reality.
“Turkey’s economy plunges as tourists stay away after Hagia Sophia, Chora conversions,” by Nicholas Frakes, Al Arabiya, August 31, 2020 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
As Turkey experiences an economic decline, the conversion of the Hagia Sophia and Chora museums into mosques dealt a blow to Turkey’s tourism industry which has already been dealt a blow from the global coronavirus pandemic. In the second quarter of 2020, Turkey’s economy shrank 9.9 percent from the previous quarter.
Revenue from the mosques was set to be around $35 million this year. But because of the pandemic and the conversions of the mosques, that revenue will not materialize.
In July 2020, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a controversial decision that was condemned by the international community, converted the Hagia Sophia back into a mosque. Built as a Christian church under the Byzantine Empire and converted to a mosque during the Ottoman Empire and then museum after the founding of the Turkish Republic, the decision sparked outrage by critics who said Erdogan was pandering to his conservative, religious base to bolster domestic support.
At the start of August, Erdogan announced that another historic site was also going to be converted into a mosque. This time it was the Chora museum.
This museum, like the Hagia Sophia, was built as a church and became a mosque under the Ottomans, only to become a museum following the founding of the Republic.
Every year, millions of people used to visit the two museums, bringing in tens of millions of tourism dollars for the Turkish economy. Now, however, tourists are still free to enter outside prayer times, but they do not pay entrance fees for the highly trafficked sites.
The loss of funds could pose a threat to the Turkish economy that depends on tourism for around 30 percent of its annual income. However, even without Erdogan’s controversial decision, this year has seen drastically lower numbers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Almost $35 million was expected [this year from the mosques],” Turkish economist Mustafa Sonmez told Al Arabiya English, “but unfortunately this is almost zero [because of the pandemic].” In 2019, total revenue from tourism hit a high $34.5 billion, Turkish state media TRT World reported….
Businesses were hoping that tourism would see a surge this autumn, when people are more likely to visit cultural sites rather than going to the beach or sea due to the drop in temperature, but some fear that with the Hagia Sophia and Chora becoming mosques, tourists may forgo planned visits.
“Turkish tourism had already suffered a blow with the pandemic when the European Union did not include Turkey as a ‘safe’ country,” Nazlan Ertan, a Turkish journalist, told Al Arabiya English. “Still the Turkish tourism operators were hoping to make a late recovery, meaning, in late autumn and when you speak of late autumn, of course, you are speaking about cultural tourism.”
According to Ertan, these decisions by Erdogan send a message that he and Turkey prioritize Islam and Muslims over other all other things, especially for those who are looking to visit from the West.
“It clinches Erdogan’s image in the eyes of the Western tourists as a conservative who has Islam foremost in his mind,” Ertan said.
This also comes at a time where Erdogan’s regional rival, Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, has been promoting his country’s diverse religious roots in an effort to boost tourism.
“This is when Sisi is sort of capitalizing on the Christian and Jewish heritage of Egypt,” Ertan stated. “So if you are going to come to the Middle East and on one hand you have one country which is opening its non-Muslim heritage and another that it is opening it for worship and removing their statuses as museums, which one are you going to visit?”…
“A gesture to Muslims is [a] much more immediate [political gain] and preferable and the [gains from the] touristic side of Hagia Sophia can be negligible,” Sonmez argued. “That’s why he didn’t take it into consideration.”
mccode says
Good
Rufolino says
The conversion of Hagia Sophia, a decision “condemned by the international community”..
But NOT condemned by the one man who should have condemned it, the Pope !!
James Lincoln says
Rufolino,
All Pope Francis said was that he was “very saddened”, an extremely weak response…
Malcolm Jackson says
Got to be crazy to visit any Muslim country.
Mike says
I would not visit if the Army was there to protect me
James Lincoln says
Malcolm Jackson says,
100% true.
I have been to a number of Muslim majority countries on US military orders – protected by US Marines or Navy SEALs.
Some may have a “veneer” of safety.
But…
DO NOT go there for a “vacation”, etc., you are NOT SAFE there.
And if you get sick or injured, good luck. Medical care is way below Western standards…
Linde Barrera says
To Malcolm Jackson- Agreed! I will not spend 1 cent of my hard earned
Social Security and teacher’s pension visiting any Islamic country, due to their doctrines. (Verses 8:12 and 9:5.)
Wellington says
If an Ataturk-type figure was leading Turkey at present, and if the previously very secular Turkish military were still such, I would consider visiting Turkey, which I almost did when in Greece close to fifty years ago.
But no way I am going to Turkey now. And I will go out of my way not to buy Turkish products found here in America. As long as Turkey continues to turn more and more to Islam under Erdogan, to that same extent I will shun Turkey and all things Turkish (no insult meant here to all present Turks who know Mustafa Kemal was correct about Islam, i.e. “a rotting corpse that poisons our lives,” and Erdogan effectively and horribly incorrect about the many nefarious aspects of Mo’s creed).
Yes indeed, there should be a price paid for becoming more Islamic as Erdogan has. A very high price. It is one of many ways of combating the iniquity and stupidity of Mo’s creed which Ataturk himself described, referencing such, “as a rotting corpse that poisons our lives.”
As an important footnote to what I have written above, I wish to say that Ataturk (Mustafa Kemal) grasped the many retarded aspects of Islam quite well, but he, to his discredit, let his Turkish nationalism run rough shod over human rights, particularly where the Armenians were concerned and to other nationalities too, no more so than the Greeks.
Still, between Erdogan and Ataturk it’s a no-brainer.
GreekEmpress says
+1000!!!!!
mortimer says
Boycott all things Turkish or the Turkish people will never vote him out. Sad, but they are so fanaticized by Erdolf that they would probably follow him into a new war.
At the end of WWII, the German people were finally demoralized by destruction of their country and demanded that the troops stop fighting.
Erdolf can only be stopped by his people, but they haven’t much say with a repressed media that can’t tell the truth.
Rufolino says
The Germans did not “demand that the troops stop fighting”.
The Germans only stopped fighting when they were compelled to do so by the Allies.
gravenimage says
Fine post.
somehistory says
I used to watch Rick Steves videos and one of the places he visited was Turkey. The land…which the moslims nor their evil government had nothing to do with and deserves no credit…is beautiful.
People who read the Bible, know that the land now called Turkey, had some of the first Christian congregations, a.k.a. churches One of the is named in Revelation, so many Christians like to go and see those places connected to early Christianity.
There is much less reason, and a whole bushel of danger, for Christians to go any place now where moslims are in control or are taking over control, of the countries.
Not that long ago, the er dog an guy begging for, threatening, and was demanding money to take care of his moslim population. Then, he destroyed a large reason for the country to have money without demanding or begging for it. Well, that’s just too bad for him, cause when the people don’t have any money, they don’t have any money for taxes, and no tax money means the “ruler” doesn’t get as much either.
Jesus said, “Send out your bread upon the waters and it will come back to yo:’u” with an increase.
er dog an sent out some very rancid and moldy bread and it’s all gonna come back to him….with interest.
mateenelass says
Actually, Jesus did not say “Cast your bread upon the waters….” That sentence comes from the Old Testament, specifically Ecclesiastes 11:6. Jesus said, “Do not cast your pearls before swine…nor give to dogs what is holy” (Mt. 7:6).
gravenimage says
Turkey’s economy plunges as tourists stay away after conversion of Hagia Sophia, Chora church to mosques
………………….
*Good*.
Jaydam says
I have to admit GI, that reading that Turkeys’ economy has plunged, as millions of tourists stay away, has left me utterly devastated. I don’t know how I’m going to get through the rest of the week now.
gravenimage says
🙂
European pagan says
Hagia Sophia as a museum: I would visit it, I would pay money for the ticket.
Hagia Sophia as a mosque: as a nonmuslim person I would not enter the building where muslims pray because I would feel unwelcome
Mauricio says
Since Turkey decided to convert Hagia Sofia into a mosque I suspected that Russia was backing them up, which was the reason why they were acting so risky and bravery about it. Take a look:
https://orthodoxtimes.com/dangerous-escalation-in-eastern-mediterranean-turkish-navtex-warns-of-russian-live-fire-exercise-in-the-region/
gravenimage says
That Russia is still playing footsie with the Turks is terribly disturbing.
Mauricio says
Today shows that it was fake news:
https://orthodoxtimes.com/russian-embassy-in-athens-fake-news-that-we-back-up-turkey/
gravenimage says
Russia is not backing turning Hagia Sophia into a Mosque; they are, however, selling them weapons and engaging in war games there.
Boycott Turkey says
Russia deliberately turned a blind eye to Turkey turning Agia Sophia and the Chora Church into mosques in retaliation to the Patriarchate of Constantinople recognising the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that broke from the Russia Orthodox Church there is a schism now between the Russian and Greek Orthodox Church Russian and greek relations are not very good and Erdogan took advantage of that when it came to turning Agia Sophia to a mosque
Valkyrie Ziege says
; Go Woke = Go Broke.
OLD GUY says
Stay out of Turkey if you value your life. Non-muslims are not safe in any islamic/muslim country. Erdogan is a bad leader and is leading Turkey down a dark road to destruction of its economy and society.
Herb Allen says
Visit only countries that are friendly to the West and to America. Much safer that way. Let Muslims stew in their hatred without our dollars.
Or better yet, see America first.
How hard is that to figure out?
gravenimage says
I would love to visit Turkey if they were not the fast re-Islamizing polity they are today.
Ade Fegan says
Reap what you sow
Ade Fegan says
boycott boycott boycott