Browsing by Author "Noor, Manahil"

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    Hagia Sophia: Turkey’s road to secularism
    (Bilkent University, 2020) Taghiyev, Tunjay; Örge, Kaya; Alam, Maryium Nayyar; Noor, Manahil; Dar, Muhammad Anas Saad
    Hagia Sophia, one of the greatest monuments in the world, has always been subject to propaganda to represent the power and the message of its ruling authorities. Throughout its life, Hagia Sophia represented the power of Christianity and Islam respectively under the Byzantines and the Ottomans. This paper analyzes the conversion of Hagia Sophia from a mosque to a museum in 1935, concentrating on the overarching events fueling the change and the aftermath for the modern Turkish Republic in its pursuit of secularism. The association between the conversion and the ideologies of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is also studied to understand the social and political reforms of the country. The primary sources such as newspaper articles from that era, official government documents, and archeological reports regarding the relics in Hagia Sophia facilitated the discussion around the core of the conversion and its legitimacy. Meanwhile, to comprehend the significance of Hagia Sophia and the overall historical context, a variety of secondary sources are used. The background on the events preceding the conversion elucidates the underlying reasons for the reactions of society. While its architectural history and significance are discussed to understand the multi-faceted masterpiece, the domestic political reception and the portrayal of the process in the international media are brought up to stimulate the connection of the musealization to the new secularist principles.