Pope Francis to visit Hagia Sophia in IstanbulOctober 21, 2014 - 16:04 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Pope Francis will visit sites that recall Turkey's often-tumultuous history at a cultural crossroads between continents and faiths during a three-day visit to the country next month, the Associated Press reports. The Vatican announced Tuesday, Oct 21, that Francis' first stop on the Nov 28-30 trip will be a visit to the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey. He will also meet Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The pope travels the next day to Istanbul, where he will visit the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, popularly known as the Blue Mosque, and the Hagia Sophia, a former Greek Orthodox patriarchal basilica that was transformed into an imperial mosque and is now a museum. While in Istanbul, the pope will also say a Mass at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Spirit and participate in ecumenical prayers at the Church of St. George and meet with Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew. Related links: Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. Baku: EU, U.S. share responsibility for Armenia’s “destabilizing actions” Azerbaijan has declared that the European Union and the United States will share responsibility for any destabilizing actions of Armenia Armenia to sing in 2nd semi-final of Eurovision The organizers of Eurovision 2024 have revealed the running order of the countries in the two semi-finals. |