ABSTRACT The debates over contemporary restoration practices in Turkey have become heated in recent years especially after the reopening of the Hagia Sophias in İznik and Trabzon as mosques. Iconic Byzantine churches that functioned as mosques in the Ottoman period, these monuments had been functioning as museums for decades following the museumification of Istanbul’s famous Hagia Sophia. Meanwhile, Hagia Sophia in Vize has already been reopened as a mosque without receiving much attention. The repeated statements of Turkish authorities expressing their wish to see Istanbul’s famous Hagia Sophia function as a mosque raise further concerns. While Turkish authorities try to justify these transformations through the ownership rights of pious endowments and religious freedom, the multi-layered identity of these monuments and their symbolic associations for different groups are commonly ignored. This paper focuses on the recent transformations of four Hagia Sophias in Turkey, which are regarded as ideological battlegrounds by Turkish authorities. Challenging the most symbolic achievements of the secular Republic, the concept of “restoration” is not only used as an instrument to glorify the Ottoman pasts of these monuments but also suppress their Byzantine and Republican pasts. This paper aims to open up a debate on how to intervene in the past, as well as its limits and effects, through the recent histories of four Hagia Sophias.

中文翻译：

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挑战拜占庭的过去：四个圣索菲亚大教堂作为土耳其建筑保护的意识形态战场

摘要 近年来，关于土耳其当代修复实践的争论变得激烈，尤其是在伊兹尼克和特拉布宗的圣索菲亚大教堂重新开放为清真寺之后。标志性的拜占庭教堂在奥斯曼帝国时期用作清真寺，在伊斯坦布尔著名的圣索非亚大教堂博物馆化后的几十年里，这些纪念碑一直用作博物馆。与此同时，维泽的圣索菲亚大教堂已经作为清真寺重新开放，没有受到太多关注。土耳其当局多次表示希望看到伊斯坦布尔著名的圣索菲亚大教堂作为清真寺的功能，这引起了进一步的关注。虽然土耳其当局试图通过虔诚的捐赠和宗教自由的所有权来证明这些转变是合理的，这些纪念碑的多层次身份及其对不同群体的象征意义通常被忽视。本文重点介绍了被土耳其当局视为意识形态战场的土耳其四座圣索菲亚大教堂最近的转变。挑战世俗共和国最具象征意义的成就，“恢复”的概念不仅被用作美化这些纪念碑的奥斯曼帝国历史的工具，而且还压制了他们的拜占庭和共和时代的历史。本文旨在通过四座圣索菲亚大教堂的近期历史，开启一场关于如何干预过去及其局限性和影响的辩论。被土耳其当局视为意识形态的战场。挑战世俗共和国最具象征意义的成就，“恢复”的概念不仅被用作美化这些纪念碑的奥斯曼帝国历史的工具，而且还压制了他们的拜占庭和共和时代的历史。本文旨在通过四座圣索菲亚大教堂的近期历史，开启一场关于如何干预过去及其局限性和影响的辩论。被土耳其当局视为意识形态的战场。挑战世俗共和国最具象征意义的成就，“恢复”的概念不仅被用作美化这些纪念碑的奥斯曼帝国历史的工具，而且还压制了他们的拜占庭和共和时代的历史。本文旨在通过四座圣索菲亚大教堂的近期历史，开启一场关于如何干预过去及其局限性和影响的辩论。