Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan officially inaugurated a former Byzantine-era church previously known as the Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora, a United Nations World Heritage Site, as a mosque this week, drawing condemnation from the Greek government.

The change is part of a series of conversions in recent years, including the iconic Hagia Sophia in 2020, which garnered international criticism but no action.

The Chora Church Museum dates back to the Byzantine era when it was originally built as a monastery; during the Ottoman era, it was converted into a mosque before being changed to a museum in 1948. The interior is decorated with some of the oldest surviving Byzantine mosaics and frescoes.

Located in the Fatih district of Istanbul, near the ancient city walls, the building known locally as Kariye is celebrated for its intricate mosaics and frescoes dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries.

Erdogan’s bold move in 2020 to convert the Hagia Sophia brought little reaction so this recent move could be expected. Erdogan’s intention to take every step he can to re-establish the former Ottoman Empire is emerging and being made clear first of all to Muslim nations. Sunni Turkey will soon attack Shia Iran as prophesied in Daniel 8 to exert its dominance. Turkey is not impressed with Iran trying to exert its dominance with its proxies in Lebanon, Gaza, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.

Daniel’s Vision of the Ram and the Goat

“A male goat (Turkey) came from the west across the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground. And the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes. He came to the ram (Iran) with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, and he ran at him in his powerful wrath. I saw him come close to the ram, and he was enraged against him and struck the ram and broke his two horns. And the ram had no power to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled on him. And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power.” Daniel 8:5-7

“Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end.” As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia (Iran). And the goat is Javan (revived Ottoman Empire).” Daniel 8:19, 22

Javan conveniently describes an area that includes parts of Greece and Turkey, closely linking the historical nature of Alexander’s empire to what is to come. Indeed, the iron beast has bronze claws. Perhaps the revived Ottoman empire will include parts of modern-day Greece, the Balkans and Macedonia, reinforcing the significance of the contrast between “iron and the clay”.