Ankara condemns Greek reaction to Friday prayers at Hagia Sophia

The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned statements by Greek officials and a flag-burning protest in Greece after the first Islamic prayers in nine decades were held at Istanbul's Hagia Sophia.

"Greece showed once again its enmity towards Islam and Turkey with the excuse of reacting to Hagia Sophia Mosque being opened to prayers," ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a written statement.

He said "the spoiled children of Europe", who cannot accept the reopening of the iconic architecture as a mosque, are in a delusion again.

"These racist heads, who did not learn from history and disrespected our glorious flag, should well remember their fate in the Aegean," Aksoy stressed.

"Greece should wake up from the Byzantine dream, that it has failed to do so for 567 years, and get rid of its frustration," he said.

Aksoy highlighted that Hagia Sophia Mosque has opened for worship in line with the will of the Turkish nation.

"Hagia Sophia Mosque, like other cultural assets on our lands, belongs to Turkey, and it will forever be our property and in our protection," he said.

He also stressed that opening Hagia Sophia Mosque for worship complies with both requirements and essence of 1972 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

"In line with Turkey's commitment to all religious rights and freedoms, and its tradition of tolerance, Hagia Sophia Mosque, the place of worship for Islam, which is the religion of peace and embraces all religions, will continue to be open for everyone from now on as well," he said.

Greek criticism of the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque after decades as a museum has been scathing, underlining tense ties between Greece and Turkey. Church bells tolled in mourning across Greece on Friday as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan joined prayers at the building.

In a message marking Greece's 46th anniversary of the restoration of democracy, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called Turkey a "troublemaker", and the conversion an "affront to civilisation of the 21st century".

Friday's ceremony sealed Erdoğan's ambition to restore Muslim worship at the ancient site, which most Greeks consider as central to their Orthodox Christian religion.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said it strongly condemned hostile statements by the Greek government and parliament members to stir up the public, and the burning of a Turkish flag in the Greek city of Thessaloniki.

Greece and Turkey disagree on a range of issues from airspace to maritime zones and ethnically split Cyprus. This week they also exchanged barbs over the delimitation of their continental shelves in the eastern Mediterranean, an area thought to be rich in natural resources.

The Hagia Sophia served as a church for 916 years until the conquest of Istanbul, and a mosque from 1453 to 1934 -- nearly 500 years -- and most recently as a museum for 86 years.

One of the most visited historic buildings in Turkey by domestic and international tourists, Hagia Sophia was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985, during its time as a museum.

On July 10, a Turkish court annulled a 1934 Cabinet decree that had turned Hagia Sophia into a museum, paving the way for its use again as a mosque after an 86-year hiatus.

The first prayer since its official reconversion to a mosque was held on Friday.