Sveti Stefan Church was restored with a cost of over 15 million liras, which was covered by a large part of the Istanbul Special Provincial Administration and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality budget, opened with a ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The opening ceremony was attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Bulgarian delegation. Community non Sveti Stefan Erdogan, speaking at the opening of the Church, the restoration is completed together for the opening of the Iron Church, said on this occasion in Turkey thanked the Bulgarian Prime Minister and his delegation boykoborisov. Erdogan reminded that the European Union Presidency was in Bulgaria, saying that Bulgaria has a different position during this period. "I consider this opening as a very important message given to the international assembly in such a period. Istanbul has once again shown to the whole world that it is the city in which this photograph, different religions and cultures live together in peace."
"IRON CHURCH IS THE END OF RESTORATION"
Erdogan said: "The bitter memories of a certain period of history should not overshadow our experience of coexistence, which is much longer and much more rooted. So we have the following; There is a sense of wisdom in the field. This shows us our approach to all beliefs, thoughts, and beliefs. I mean, it's mostly unity. With this understanding, we are carrying out and carrying out studies for the worship of our citizens belonging to other religions on every corner of our country. Recently, the Great Synagogue in Edirne, Aya Nikola Church in Gökçeada, Syriac Catholic Church in Iskenderun, Sur Armenian Protestant Church in Diyarbakır, Nizip Fevkani Church in Gaziantep, Taksiyarhis Church in Cunda, Aya Yorgi in Edirnekapı 14 churches, including the church, were repaired. Iron Church is the final of this work, the last example. We will continue to repair religious sites such as synagogues, chapels and churches in the coming period. We do not separate the freedom of worship in Istanbul, Demir Church and the freedom of worship in the Mosque of Plovdiv Muradiye."
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım:
167 THOUSANDS OF WORKS FOR CEMAAT FOUNDATION ARE ACTIVATED TO CEMAAT FOUNDATIONS
Speaking at the opening of the Iron Church, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said, "This work represents a character who has held all the beliefs of Istanbul together for centuries. The President decided to return the goods of community foundations by law which we have issued in the period of Prime Minister. Thus, a total of 29 works belonging to 167 community foundations have been transferred to community foundations, and this important problem that has been coming from the past has been abolished. Within this scope, 60 thousand acres of Şişli Kaptanpaşa Quarter have been delivered to an important Bulgarian foundation."
THIS WORK IS SUPPORTED BY THE PRESIDENT
Yıldırım who says that Istanbul is a world city, said that "this work has been revived and today the re-opening ceremony has been completed with the contributions of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality with the will of the President of the Republic of Turkey. Thanks to your dedication to our historical values during our 15-year government period, nearly 5 foundation works have been relocated to future generations. Istanbul is a world city. The role played by our Turkish Bulgarian citizens in the development of relations between our countries, the role played by Bulgarian Turkish citizens is very important. Turkey's European Union membership bid also assume that Bulgaria's EU term presidency will emerge at this time and I believe that additional opportunities for cooperation gained momentum." he said.
WE NEED TO EFFORT TO IMPROVE TIES WITH EU
Bulgarian Prime Minister Borisov, "Turkey is a big state and is Europe's largest neighbor. We must do everything that comes to us. We have watched with great interest the meeting of President Erdoğan with Macron, and we are watching the Minister of Foreign Affairs. In 2018 with the normalization of Turkey-European Union relations, we need to make efforts for improvement. We saw good relationships already in Strasbourg a few years ago. Business associations, trade and security associations must enter into a new recovery process. It does not matter if the countries are big or small, it can be a contribution for all of us. We will make as much contribution as possible. I believe that this is the right way." he said.