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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Istanbul will remain Turkish and Muslim “until the end of time,” criticizing those who wrote “oppression began in 1453” on the city’s walls and describing them as “Byzantine leftovers.”
Speaking after a Cabinet meeting on Monday, Erdogan said some people still struggle to accept the conquest of Istanbul but stressed that the city’s identity would not change.
“Although the Byzantine leftovers who deface Istanbul’s walls with the words ‘oppression began in 1453’ still struggle to accept it, Istanbul is Turkish, it is Muslim, and with Allah’s permission it will remain Turkish and Muslim until the end of time,” Erdogan said.
Erdogan said the conquest of Istanbul was not only a military victory but also a transformation that won hearts and reshaped the city.
He said Constantinople, which he described as a ruined city inherited from Byzantium, was transformed through Sultan Mehmed II’s foundation-based reconstruction efforts into what poet Yahya Kemal called a “Turkish Istanbul.”
According to Erdogan, Hagia Sophia became both a symbol of the conquest and a place where the call to prayer rose from its minarets.
He said the monument remained in a state of sorrow for many years before being reopened for worship.
“After 86 years of longing, we broke the chains placed on the door of Hagia Sophia, the trust of Fatih Sultan Mehmed, and healed this wound opened in the heart of the conquest,” Erdogan said.
He added that Hagia Sophia has regained its distinguished place in civilization with Quran recitations echoing beneath its dome and the call to prayer rising from its minarets.
Erdogan said his government would not allow Istanbul to be detached from what he described as the spirit of the conquest and of Fatih Sultan Mehmed.
“I would like to underline once again that we will never allow Istanbul to be separated from the spirit of the conquest and Fatih,” he said.
He also said the city would not be left “to the mercy of those who do not know how to govern, do not know history and do not appreciate the value of qualified people.”
Erdogan pledged to continue serving Istanbul, investing in the city and carrying out large-scale projects.
“We will continue to serve Istanbul, invest in this beautiful city and sign projects worthy of Istanbul,” he said.
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