SERAFFETTIN WAS AT HOME UNDER COROnavirus lockdown on May 29 when Quranic verses were recited beneath the normally silent minarets of Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia. The reading, to mark the 567th anniversary of the Ottoman conquest of the city, lingered in his mind weeks after he returned to the courtyard outside Turkey’s most visited attraction.
“Hagia Sophia officially belongs to Turkey,” Seraffettin said, outside the UNESCO world heritage site where he has sold simit bread for 15 years. “But we have to understand that people come to visit it from many different countries. We have to let them see and feel their history too.” Like other vendors, he declined to give his full name so he could speak freely.
A seat of power for Orthodox Christians for almost 1000 years, the Hagia Sophia…
You're reading a preview of
Time Magazine International (Digital) - 1 Issue, July 20, 2020