ISTANBUL: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday inaugurated the first church built with government backing in overwhelmingly Muslim Turkiye’s 100-year history as a post-Ottoman state.
The Mor Ephrem Syriac Orthodox Church’s opening marks an important cultural and political moment for both Turkiye and its powerful leader.
Erdogan drew widespread condemnation during his two-decade rule for converting ancient churches into mosques and making Islamic conservatism into a leading social force.
