World Heritage Watch Report 2023
Monastery of Chora and the role of UNESCO
14.05.24
Eleni Methodiou
Archaeologist, former vice-president of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, member of the UNESCO Chair's Scientific Committee on Threats to Cultural Heritage
The opening of the Katholikon of the Monastery of Chora to Islamic worship was expected, given that the relevant decision of the Council of State of Turkey was published in 2019, while the works for converting the monument into a mosque were already underway since 2020.
According to the World Heritage Convention, the World Heritage Committee, made up of 21 elected member states, is responsible for its implementation. The annual session of the Commission, in which our country also participates as a member, in the year 2021 and 2023 was limited to formulating recommendations to Turkey regarding the possible impact of the change of use on the outstanding universal value of Hagia Sophia and the work carried out in the Monastery of Chora.
