Greek tour operator ends all excursions to Turkey in response to Hagia Sophia conversion

The Kourentas Tour Agency has announced that it is stopping all trips from Greece to Turkey.

The agencies decision was in protest of the Turkish government's unthinkable intention to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque.

"We hope that logic and the historical monument of world heritage will remain a museum," the tour agency said in their announcement, according to Trikala Focus.

The agency based in the Thessalian city of Trikala has set a benchmark and it is expected that many other tour agencies in Greece will follow suit in not offering programs to travel to Turkey.

Meanwhile, a Greek political party has called for the birth home of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Thessaloniki to become a museum commemorating the Greek Genocide in the Pontus region on the Black Sea, as reported by Greek City Times.

The Greek Solution (Ελληνική Λύση) suggested to convert Atatürk’s house into a genocide memorial museum.

“No Turkish court can desecrate the over-chronic character of the Hagia Sophia,” the party said in a statement just one day before Turkey decided to turn it into a mosque.

“On the contrary, Greece can and must turn Kemal’s house into a museum of memory and honour of the victims of the [Greek] Pontian genocide,” Greek Solution said.

The only thing Turkey’s mad drive to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque has done, is provide the legitimacy for Greece to turn Atatürk’s birthplace into a Genocide Museum without any condemnation from Turkey, an opinion piece published by Greek City Times several day’s before Greek Solution’s suggestion said.

On Friday, Erdoğan also announced that Hagia Sophia mosque will be open for prayer on July 24.

“Hagia Sophia will start functioning as a mosque after 86 years. I hope this decision will benefit all of humanity. “The doors of Hagia Sophia will be open to everyone,” he said.

“Open to all, Muslims and non-Muslims,” ​​he added.