ARIANA FERENTINOU

Hagia Sophia revisited ARIANA FERENTINOU

Hagia Sophia revisited

Since the beginning of the process that ended up with the conversion of Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque, I have been spending a lot of my time around the vicinity of that magnificent structure dominating Sultanahmet Square.

July 30 2020
Hagia Sophia, a continuous story of schisms ARIANA FERENTINOU

Hagia Sophia, a continuous story of schisms

If “well sourced” rumours are confirmed – and we have had them coming thick and fast during the last two days – the saga of Hagia Sophia may reach its legal conclusion on July 10, with the announcement of the Turkey’s High Administrative Court’s decision on the matter. The court may decide to annul the Cabinet’s 1934 decision, which was signed by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, to turn the mosque of Hagia Sophia into a world museum. Thus, this ancient architectural masterpiece, which served the biggest monotheistic religions, Christianity and Islam, from 537 to 1934, may again become a Muslim mosque. 

July 09 2020
Scientists: ‘How can we best care for Hagia Sophia’ ARIANA FERENTINOU

Scientists: ‘How can we best care for Hagia Sophia?’ 

When I first found myself in Sultanahmet Square in mid 90s as a visitor from London, I had difficulty in finding my orientation. I could not locate north from south, east from west. I could not differentiate between all those old structures, around the ancient Hippodrome.

July 02 2020
Turkey-Greece: Everything is on the chessboard ARIANA FERENTINOU

Turkey-Greece: Everything is on the chessboard

These are hectic days for Greek diplomacy. Recently, Turkey announced that it was to go ahead with its plans for exploration and drilling in areas in the eastern Mediterranean, it believes they are covered under the Turkish-Libya memorandum of understanding (MoU) as well as areas in its southern coast. According to the Turkish plans, seismic research and drilling will start - if appropriate licenses are granted to the TPAO - around September.

June 18 2020
Conversions of Hagia Sophia ARIANA FERENTINOU

Conversions of Hagia Sophia

It is a very cumbersome task, but I keep on doing it for years — carrying my old books with me wherever I move cities or countries. I mean books that matter to me for different reasons, like some of my university handbooks, history books, second-hand books, books that might have no value or use to anyone else but me. But although I rarely read them now, there comes a time when an old volume that has been with me for years and now gathering dust on the shelf becomes suddenly useful.

June 11 2020
Greece and Turkey: Tensions need to ease ARIANA FERENTINOU

Greece and Turkey: Tensions need to ease

This year’s “Fetih” anniversary was not like that of previous years. Aside from being an important anniversary that touches sensitive chords in both countries’ historical memory, this year’s edition was also loaded with contemporary politics. Hagia Sophia, or Ayasofya, became the latest arena to lay bare the differences between Turkey and Greece amid the recent, dangerous escalation of tension between the two neighbors.

June 04 2020
Amid a corona lull, Mitsotakis may opt for snap polls ARIANA FERENTINOU

Amid a corona lull, Mitsotakis may opt for snap polls

What do you do when you are a relatively new prime minister ruling a medium-size EU country that has just come out of a decade-long economic catastrophe and have managed to defeat the deadliest enemy of our times? You try to benefit from your successful management skills in order to stay in power.

May 21 2020
Lack of knowledge about non-Muslims of Turkey ARIANA FERENTINOU

Lack of knowledge about non-Muslims of Turkey

Not long ago, I had asked my students of communication and media if they knew who the Rums are. In a class of about 30 young Turks who — at least some of them — would aim to work as journalists or media people, one or two answered, but wrongly: The Greek-Cypriots, they said. A third one, though, knew better, and said, they are some people who are “Orthodox” and they go to the “Rum Patriarchate,” which is in Fener.

May 14 2020
Mitsotakis so far so good with pandemic, but economy lurks ahead ARIANA FERENTINOU

Mitsotakis so far so good with pandemic, but economy lurks ahead

As of next Monday, May 4, Greece will enter the second phase of the government plan to combat the COVID-19 epidemic. After a prolonged period of curfews, quarantines and heavy fines, the deputy minister of Civil Protection, Nikos Hardalias - by now a familiar face due to his daily briefings and strict style - spoke about life after Monday with some kind of normality but under new rules:

April 30 2020