Greeks around 550 BC:
Greek speaking Byzantine Empire around 1130 AD AFTER Turkish incursion into Asia Minor/Anatolia
Posted on 04/15/2007 5:53:27 PM PDT by eleni121
The European Parliment requested that it be turned back to a church? I don’t believe it for a second. Now if they demanded that Spain return the Cordoba Cathedral, that I would believe.
Anyone who thinks that there is the slightest chance that the Hagia Sophia will be restored as a Christian Cathedral probably also believes that Islam is a ROP.
Doesn't it suck when you can't impose your worldview on others (it must for you anyway).
I think you will find that Turkey has always been a fair weather somewhat pragmatic and self serving “friend”...the kind of “friend” we do not need.
If it quacks and walks and smells like one it is one. In this case, Turkey has cleverly exploited its cold war alliance..and now its exagerrated importance in the middle east. In short, not a friend at all!
Ok, well just ping me when the peaceful Catholic Church returns the Cordoba Cathedral to the Muslims, the Pantheon to the polytheists, or any of a thousand Mexican churches built on expropriated Indian temples to the Aztecs, the Tarrascos or the Zapotecs. I'll be waiting...
I have no idea what you're talking about, but that's ok. You don't seem to have much to say.
i understand that.
but the greeks did not help themselves by over extending themselves militarily.
my original point above was that they’d been better off not invading anatolia but hanging onto constantinople.
if you noticed in my original post, i did not use “istanbul”.
My memory of what happened differs considerably from yours.
The Turks kept changing their demands, and raising the ante, until it was a total deal of around $30b.
That whole charade went on for a long time - over a month.
The Turkish military told the US leaders it would not be a problem - they actually unloaded some of the 4th ID’s equipment - but in the end the new Turkish government told it’s members to ‘vote their concience’ on the issue instead of holding them to a party line.
When the issue went down to defeat, the new government had egg on their face as that is not quite what they wanted or expected.
By that time it was far too late for the 4th ID to make it around to Kuwait for the initial war.
I was in Turkey when the new government was elected - Nov 2002 - and closely followed the buildup to war when I returned home.
Turkey took a hugh economic hit for all of this - when the new government was elected they immediately rasied the cost of a visa for Americans to $100. Tourism fell off because of that and the war tensions. By ‘04 when I went back a visa had dropped to $20.... and they were happy to see me and my dollars.
Turkey is all of 80 years old.
I have always wondered if it would even be possible to get the ugly Muslim plaster off of the beautiful frescos which cover the walls and ceiling. I don’t suppose that there is a prayer of this ever happening, anyway. But it would sure be exciting to see those masterpiece frescos.
Weren't the Emperor and his family real people; how about those priests and prelates, real people or not? What's wrong with a private chapel? Hagia Sophia was a treasure of historical architecture and Christian art. It would be wonderful if it could be restored, but it would take miracles both politically and artistically.
American Balkan Ping!
Are you saying that the largest church in Constantinople was exclusively used by one family for almost thousand of years? It does not make any sense.
Emperors had private chapels and as they say they had private PASSAGE from the palace to the cathedral.
Greeks around 550 BC:
Greek speaking Byzantine Empire around 1130 AD AFTER Turkish incursion into Asia Minor/Anatolia
What do you think the chances are of this happening?
Just speculation on my part, but the fact that Powell wasn't making trips to Ankara might be because he had to do a lot of shoring up with our allies in Europe and elsewhere.
Obviously, St. Sophia should be restored as a church, and the slightest thought of Turkey in the EU without this being done is a travesty.
But this is not the symmetrical response to all the mosques being built in the West.
Before the giant mosque in London is allowed to open, a cathedral must be built in Mecca, and the Pope must be invited to say mass there.
Let's get a petition going on that.
They tried to liberate Greek inhabited coasts of Asia Minor. It was Greek for 3000 thousand years almost as long as Western Armenia (erased by the Turks in XX century) was Armenian.
“the Greeks were betrayed by the great powers” in truth the Greeks were flim-flammed by the English. Cast the opprobrium where it belongs.
True, tolerant and secular Turks make a good job of purging Christian people. While at the beginning of XX century there were millions of Christians there (Greeks and Armenians) now they are less than 0.4% (yes that is right, less than half percent).
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